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Founded in 1882 in Havana, Cuba, Cuervo y Sobrinos prides itself on being the only Swiss brand with a true Latin legacy. Inspired and animated by Havana’s golden years, Cuervo y Sobrinos timepieces evoke a unique combination of Swiss watchmaking expertise with a vibrant Latin flair. The brand’s newest release — the Historiador Historic Endurance — was designed for the Iberian Historic Endurance, a series of races staged on some of the most iconic race tracks in Portugal and Spain. While the Iberian Historic Endurance is a competition, there is somewhat of a relaxed, friendly environment around the series that sets it apart from other race competitions. Best of all, only vintage cars produced in 1976 or earlier can compete in the race.
As the official timekeeper of the Iberian Historic Endurance, Cuervo y Sobrinos offers an exclusive timepiece to the winner of the Index Performance of each of the races. Rather than awarding the first to cross the finish line, Index Performance gauges the best “performance” of a driver according to the age of the car, cylinder capacity, and vehicle type. Further, in honor of this year’s Iberian Historic Endurance, the brand has introduced a striking new limited-edition bicompax chronograph that is now available to collectors.
The Historiador Historic Endurance pairs the canvas of the brand’s popular Historiador chronograph with a beautiful British Racing Green dial. A great representation of the classic, yet somewhat flamboyant design appeal of Cuervos y Sobrinos, the case of the Historiador Historic Endurance features large, angular, downward-sloping lugs that immediately stand out and make the piece instantly recognizable.
While the design has an outspoken, aggressive edge, the timepiece maintains a refined, vintage-inspired energy on the wrist, thanks to a compatible 40mm diameter and thickness of just 12.45mm. The piece features an ample water resistance rating of 50 meters.
The dial is dynamic and legible, featuring a bicompax chronograph layout with silver subdials, stark white Arabic numeral indices with black outlining, and leaf-shaped hands filled with green luminescent material. As a nod to its association with race timing, the British Green Racing background is surrounded by a black scale that reads “taquimetro” (tachymeter in Portuguese and Spanish). A scale that can measure speed over a fixed period of time, the taquimetro scale frames the dial beautifully and adds some nice balance to the design.
Upon taking a closer look, one will notice other tastefully implemented details, such as the concentric circles on the subdials and the arrow-tipped chronograph seconds hand. Altogether, the design of the watch is very effectively done. Not only is the design extremely balanced, but it’s also rare to find a modern watch that has this amount of character while retaining so much classic appeal.
The Historiador Historic Endurance runs on the brand’s calibre CYS 8129, a modified version of the tried and true modular ETA 2894 chronograph movement. Visible through a sapphire caseback, the CYS 8129 beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a power reserve of approximately 42 hours. The sapphire caseback is adorned with a red decal featuring the Historic Endurance logo and the number 76. The “76” on the caseback represents the year 1976 (the cutoff date for cars competing in the race), as well as the edition size for the timepiece. Completing the look is a perforated racing-style black calfskin strap with green stitching.
A charming vintage-inspired chronograph with a distinctive Latin-inspired edge, the Cuervo y Sobrinos Historiador Historic Endurance is a limited edition of just 76 individually numbered pieces that will no doubt appeal to car racing enthusiasts and watch collectors, alike. Retailing at $4,680 USD, the piece is presented in a special humidor cigar box and is now available for order through the brand’s website.
