New: Depancel Serie-A Stradale

A new (est 2018) French independent Depancel releases the Serie-A Stradale, a new neo-vintage inspired meca-quartz chronograph.

Release information with commentary in italics.

New: Depancel Serie-A Stradale

The new Depancel Serie-A Stradale retails for EUR 395, and is available on the brand’s website. The watch is offered with a lifetime warranty.

Commentary

The use of meca-quartz movements is quite a blast from the past. In the 1980s, IWC had chronographs with meca-quartz movements made by Jaeger-LeCoultre with the Cal 631 as one of the more popular models. As did Seiko. The Seiko 7A28 was an analog chronograph with a quartz movement. The principle of the meca-quartz is to offer a combination of quartz precision with the beauty of traditional watchmaking. Usually, this pairs a mechanical chronograph module powered by a quartz movement. Start, stop and reset are mechanical, and timekeeping is taken care of by the quartz base movement.

Its been a while since we saw a new watch with a meca-quartz movement. And it is with interest when we receive the information from Depancel. The company is a very young brand based in France, and the name is a contraction of famous French car manufacturers – Delange, Panhard et Facel Vega.

The watch is released with three dial options, in green with yellow markings, green with orange markings and in black with red markings. All are in 39mm steel cases and have a rather interesting textured fumé style dial. Markings are very clear and the sub-dials are arranged in a classic bicompax layout.

The movement is from Seiko – the VK64, and is rather thin, enabling a thin case measuring only 11.5mm. The movement, as is manufactured by Seiko, should prove to be reliable and accurate over the long run. The chronograph second hand on the VK64 has a rather smooth sweeping motion, unlike most quartz chronographs that impulse with a ticking motion.

Battery is said to last several years before requiring a change.

We continue to watch this brand for more information, and have requested for a review loaner. Will update when we receive it.

Release information

Depancel is thrilled to launch Serie-A Stradale: a timepiece with neo-vintage style and a hybrid meca-quartz movement. For a watchmaking brand inspired by the automotive world, this elegant and sporty new watch is a seamless addition to the Serie-A line designed for gentlemen drivers. Read on for more details about a collection that will take you back in time.

With this new product, Depancel is offering its community of enthusiasts a watch they can wear every day, with a neo- retro look that reminds the timepieces that marked watchmaking in the 1950s.

Serie-A Stradale thus features the large display and the glassbox of old chronographs, which allow you to admire the dial’s many details: a gradient effect recreating the patina of classic bodywork that’s stood the test of time, two large counters characteristic of retro watches that provide maximum readability and a combination of ultra-thin metallic numbers & hour markers for the utmost refinement.

Nero, Verde and Azzurro: each of the three versions is associated with a combination of retro measurement scales, while adding a sporty touch with its telemeter and central red, yellow or orange hand. Use the tachymeter to measure your speed and the telemeter to calculate the distance to a phenomenon you see and then hear.

Depancel designed Serie-A Stradale as an essential watch for fine mechanics lovers, so it retains the codes of the Serie-A range with its recognizable crown inspired by a radiator cap and its ultra-vintage, ergonomic mushroom pushers.

In 2021, Depancel invited its community to co-create the collection’s very first chronograph. The widely distributed questionnaire showed the team that there was an interest in a meca-quartz chronograph, a hybrid movement that combines the precision of quartz with the beauty of traditional watchmaking in the form of an automatic chronograph module.

The Serie-A Stradale has a Seiko VK64 movement, perfect for a watch that is both elegant and easy to wear. The combination of a quartz movement and an automatic module means the case is thinner (39mm for 11.5mm thickness) and very light.

Depancel Serie-A Stradale Technical characteristics

MECHANISM

SEIKO VK64 meca-quartz chronograph movement

CASE

Material: 316L stainless steel
Crystal: composite
Diameter: 39mm
Thickness: 11.5mm
Water resistance: 10 ATM / 100m Alternate finishes: brushed / polished Caseback: decorated with a wheel pattern Dial: 3 scales (tachymeter, telemeter, minutes)

FUNCTIONS

Hours, minutes
Chrono seconds (1/5s), chrono minutes 24H function

STRAP

Black or brown microperforated racing leather strap Folding clasp or pin buckle
Lug: 20mm