First Look at the Singer Reimagined Heritage Collection – Watches and Wonders 2025
Singer Brings Resto-modding to Watchmaking
Singer Reimagined has built its reputation on defying convention. Known for radically rethinking the chronograph, the brand’s signature Track 1 and 1969 Chronograph models turned traditional layout and function on their heads. Now, with the debut of the 38.8mm Heritage Collection, Singer takes a different kind of leap—by embracing convention. At least, at first glance.
Singer’s First “Traditional” Chronograph
The Heritage Collection marks the brand’s first dual-register chronograph with a conventional layout—central hours and minutes, running seconds at 9 o’clock, and a 30-minute counter at 3. This is a departure from the central chronograph displays that helped define Singer’s modern aesthetic. But while these watches might look more familiar, they’re far from ordinary.
That’s largely thanks to what powers them: vintage, new old stock Valjoux 236 movements, originally manufactured in 1974.
The Valjoux 236, Restored
Singer has long drawn parallels between watchmaking and automotive restoration—fitting, given the brand’s ties to Singer Vehicle Design, the company behind some of the most revered Porsche 911 resto-mods in the world. Just as those vehicles blend the soul of a classic 964 with the performance and precision of a modern build, the Heritage Collection takes a similar approach to watchmaking.
Each Valjoux 236 movement has been completely disassembled, inspected, and regulated. But the restoration goes far beyond cleaning and lubrication. This is haute horology-level finishing. The bridges have been frosted to give a modern matte texture, while their edges have been painstakingly hand-beveled and polished to catch light with every movement of the wrist. Rhodium plating adds both brilliance and corrosion resistance.
Singer has also made a number of engineering upgrades to improve the movement’s performance, all while retaining the column wheel architecture and high-beat frequency that made the Valjoux 236 a standout in its day.
Each movement is then signed with a quiet but significant mark: “Restored by Singer.”
A Return to Form Through Restoration
It would be easy to frame this collection as a break from the past, given its departure from the signature central chronograph layout. But in spirit, the Heritage Collection is entirely aligned with what Singer Reimagined has always been about: elevating mechanical history with modern design and craftsmanship.
The watches may tell time in a more familiar format, but everything else—the movement, the restoration philosophy, the execution—speaks to a brand that sees value in the past and the future in equal measure.
The all-new Heritage Collection is a at collectivehorology.com. As always, feel free to get in touch with your thoughts and questions. And thank you for supporting independent watchmaking.