The Heritage Worldtimer by Carl F. Bucherer simplifies the world time complication, but not in the way you’d expect
Borna Bošnjak- Carl F. Bucherer looks to the 1950s for its latest Heritage model, replacing the Derby movement with a modern variant.
- In order to lower pricing and thickness, the Heritage Worldtimer requires user input each time you want to check the time in another city, essentially functioning as an internal bezel.
- With a rose gold limited edition, the pricing for the steel variants starts from US$7,900.
Though there is no shortage of watches with vintage-inspired cues on the market, as watch enthusiasts seem to have a particular penchant for old-school made new. This is exactly where Carl F. Bucherer’s new Heritage Worldtimer is looking to fit in, with a versatile 39mm case and a unique complication proposition at this price point.
And speaking of vintage, it’s this mid-century Bucherer piece that inspired this latest release. The reference 71.1960.00.003 shows off the minimal dial approach as well as the ear-like dual crowns you’ll find on the new model, albeit powered by a manually wound Derby 7510 movement.
The new Heritage Worldtimer borrows pretty much all of the design cues from the original and upscales them to fit the 39mm diameter, while retaining a svelte height of just 10.25mm. These are Goldilocks dimensions for any daily wearer, and the addition of an actually useful complication is a bonus. Bucherer offers two choices of material – stainless steel and rose gold – with the latter being an 88-piece limited edition. Regardless of the material you choose, you get 30 metres of water resistance which, while not fantastic, is understandable given the two crowns and thin construction.
Continuing the trend of the case, the dials pretty much carry over their design from the 1950s watch, including the simple stick indices that are actually engraved into the sunburst blank. The vintage-style, sans-serif typeface doesn’t lose any of its charm, and the stick hands don’t overcomplicate things either. The one complaint I have is with the brand logo. I get that Carl F. Bucherer would want to make sure to be as distinct as possible from parent company Bucherer, but the additional space and change of style required for the modern logo doesn’t sit quite right with me. In fact, simply going with the heritage logo and eliminating the dial text at 6 o’clock would’ve made this one even more compelling as one of the most attractive world time dials out there.
Flip the Heritage Worldtimer around, and you’ll be greeted by the CFB A2020, showing off Bucherer’s signature peripheral rotor. Not only does it allow a better view into the decently decorated bridges, it also enables the brand to decrease overall movement thickness. This at times comes at the expense of a larger case as more horizontal space is needed, but that’s thankfully not the case here. The A2020 is based on the A2000, one of Bucherer’s three pillar movements, and a base it commonly builds on with complications, offering a 55-hour power reserve and COSC-certified accuracy.
But let’s chat briefly about that complication, as it’s not the kind of worldtimer you may expect. Rather than simply setting your home time once and forgetting it (only having to adjust for pesky daylight savings), the Heritage Worldtimer requires a bit more input than that. Its simplified mechanism essentially acts as an internal bezel controlled by the crown at 9 o’clock, needing the user to align their current time zone to its corresponding 24-hour time on the fixed inner ring, and read off all the other times accordingly, doing so each new time they need to take a reading. I can see this being a potential sticking point for some, and while this lack of complication (or simplification, if you will) is reflected in the pricing, US$7,900 is still a significant sum. To the Heritage Worldtimer’s credit, though, it backs itself with a well-designed case, handsome dial, and a unique movement that’s finished to a satisfying standard.
Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer pricing and availability
The Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer is now available, with the 18k rose gold variant limited to 88 pieces. Price: US$7,900 (steel, strap), US$8,400 (steel, bracelet), US$14,900 (rose gold)
| Brand | Carl F. Bucherer |
| Model | Heritage Worldtimer |
| Reference | 00.10805.08.13.01 00.10805.08.33.01 00.10805.08.13.21 00.10805.08.33.21 00.10805.03.13.01 |
| Case Dimensions | 39mm (D) x 10.25mm (T) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel 18k rose gold |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Double-domed sapphire front, sapphire back |
| Dial | Sunburst silver or black |
| Strap | Black wool, steel pin folding clasp Steel bracelet with folding clasp Black wool, 18k rose gold pin buckle |
| Movement | CFB A2020, peripheral rotor automatic, COSC-certified |
| Power Reserve | 55 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, simplified world time |
| Availability | Rose gold limited to 88 pieces |
| Price | US$7,900 (steel, strap) US$8,400 (steel, bracelet) US$14,900 (rose gold) |