Bravur, the Swedish watch brand that has developed a very specific niche dedicated to cycling themed watches, has announced their latest in that ongoing series, the Grand Tour Sprinter. To this point, most of Bravur’s cycling watches have been limited releases tied to specific races. A cycling race, it turns out, really lends itself to creative watch design, as it allows a brand like Bravur to take advantage of the unique jersey colors associated with specific races as well as easy to recognize timing and texture nods that cyclists will immediately recognize but would be very subtle (and unobtrusive) for everyone else. The Grand Tour Sprinter is a little different. Rather than taking inspiration from any particular race, the Sprinter pulls from a racing concept and an important individual on any competitive cycling team.
A sprinter on a cycling team plays an important role reserved for the race’s final moments. Over the course of a long race, the sprinter is held back and protected by the rest of the team. Near the end of the race, the sprinter is repositioned with assistance from the rest of the team to make a break for it at the 1 kilometer mark. Timing the sprinter’s final run and orchestrating that moment is critical in a close race.
The Grand Tour Sprinter is a chronograph with many subtle and not-so-subtle nods to cycling and the role of the sprinter that is very much in keeping with previous Bravur watches in the same vein. Like other watches in this series, the dial has a tarmac-like texture in the outer ring, and a minute scale at the perimeter patterned after the finish line motif often seen in professional cycling. Like every other Grand Tour chronograph Bravur has made, this edition features an inverted 13 (said to avert bad luck for the rider assigned bib number 13). This time, it can be spotted at 1:00. Also, the 12:00 hour marker is shaped like the “flamme rouge,” the red triangular flag used in cycling to denote the 1 kilometer to go spot.
Perhaps most notable though is the decision to ditch the traditional 30 minute counter at 3:00 in favor of a 15 minute totalizer. According to Bravur, this makes the Sprinter uniquely applicable to a training environment, as it’s more suited to interval timing. Bravur is using the Sellita SW511 automatic chronograph movement here, which has been fitted with a custom rotor and has a power reserve of over 60 hours when fully wound.
The case is stainless steel and measures 38.2mm in diameter. It’s paired with a sapphire crystal and has a steel bezel with a purple aluminum inlay that matches the purple tones present on the dial. The Sprinter is available on a black rubber strap, a black perforated leather strap, or a matching steel bracelet. As part of a launch offer, Bravur is offering the bracelet at no extra cost to those who pre-order (it will be sent separately at a later date).
The Bravur Grand Tour Sprinter is available to pre-order now, with deliveries anticipated to begin in June. Pricing is set at $2,550. Bravur
