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LS-1 Land speed (1927)

Mans quest for speed

LS-1 Landspeed is powered by the mighty Valjoux 7750 Swiss automatic movement giving it an impeccable time and chronograph function. Presented in a “Bulls Head” configuration, LS-1 has a stopwatch feel harking back to the dashboard mounted timing watches seen on speed record and racing cars of the era.

The main body is machined from billet 316L stainless steel and finished in matt black PVD with straight barrel knurl and brushed top chamfer. The backplate and lugs are billet machined from a single piece of 316L stainless steel which is then mirror polished to create a beautifully sculpted cradle for the body to nest into. Time  adjustment is by an oversize diamond knurled and dome topped crown and the chrono function pushers are sculpted into the cradle to accentuate the flowing three-dimensional form of LS-1.

The dial has a contemporary feel with balanced vintage design.  A satin steel index ring frames the ink black dial, which features white numerals in SuperLuminova X1 pigment along with the matt steel hour and minute hand.

LS-1 is fitted with a Zero West leather strap which is hand crafted in our workshop. The result is a rugged, vintage feeling strap that will develop a lovely patina over time.

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LS1 watch on black leather strap close up
LS-1 Zero West watch 6

Design Attributes

  • Latitude and Longitude reference Daytona Beach
  • Date code references the Sunbeam land speed record
  • 1920’s period dial and hand design
  • Laser engraved watch back denoting record
  • Polished stopwatch cradle emulates vintage dashboard fixing

Case

  • 44mm diameter body in 316L stainless steel billet and finished in matt black PVD with straight barrel knurl and brushed top
    chamfer
  • Backplate and lugs are billet machined from a single piece of 316L stainless steel and mirror polished

Winding Crown and Pushers

  • Main Crown: Screw lock & sprung oversize straight diamond knurled and dome topped crown in polished 316L stainless steel with triple seal technology
  • Chronograph Pushers: Sprung & double sealed pusher at 11 o’ clock (start/stop red polished) & 1 o’clock (reset silver polished)

Crystals

  • Front: Custom double curved domed sapphire glass with blue AR coating on the internal surface

Movement

  • Valjoux 7750
  • 28,800vph
  • 25 jewels
  • Self-winding ball bearing rotor
  • Power reserve ~48 hours
  • Water resistance: 10ATM (100m) 100% tested

Dial

  • Black enamel over brass substrate with over printed vintage dial
    numerals highlighted in Super Luminova X1 luminous pigment
  • Sweep seconds sub-dial & minute & hour Chronograph sub-dials
  • Steel satin dial ring with 0.2 second resolution indexes

Hands

  • Matt steel with inset SuperLuminova X1 luminous pigment
  • Red Chronograph function hands

Dimensions

  • 44mm diameter
  • 15.7mm thick
  • 22mm lug width
  • 52.5mm lug to lug pin spacing
  • Weight 150g including strap

Strap

  • 22/22mm Custom handmade leather strap
  • Single wide sliding keeper loop
  • Polished 316L stainless steel buckle with engraved ZW logo
  • 180mm – 220mm wrist circumference
LS1 technical drawing
LS1 watch wrist shot
Colour illustration of Sunbeam car
Daytona beach, Land speed record, 1927 map

Ever since the first motorcar took to the road, man has wanted to make it go faster. It’s a human trait, a lust for adrenaline, a thirst for competition. This compulsion to race cars has taken many forms but the ultimate goal is to be the fastest person on Earth, whether that was is in the air, on water or land.

The 1920’s saw great international competition in land-speed record attempts. The mechanised world was developing fast after the horrors of WW1 which included the advancement of the internal combustion engine and the motor industry and a fierce international rivalry existed for holding the much coveted land-speed record. During the 1920’s the land-speed goal was to break the 200mph barrier and during that decade, the land-speed record was broken no fewer than eleven times.

Daytona beach 1927 and the Sunbeam (slug) becomes the first vehicle to go over 200mph. Zero West

The elusive 200mph barrier was finally broken on 29th March 1927 at Daytona Beach, USA, by an Englishman called Sir Henry Segrave, driving a British built Sunbeam car called “Mystery” aka Sunbeam 1000 hp. The speed recorded was 203.79 mph.

It was an incredible car built by the British Sunbeam Motorcar Company of Wolverhampton. A colossus at 24ft long, 8ft wide and weighing in at 4 tons it was clad in aluminium alloy and painted in a bright red livery. Two 22.4 litre V12 Sunbeam Matabele aero engines, synchronised and mounted in tandem powered the car, one in front and one behind the driver cockpit. Transmission was via a 3 speed gearbox, its final stage being twin chain direct drive to the rear wheels.

The record would not stand for long and was broken in February of the following year by another Englishman, Sir Malcolm Campbell, at a speed of 206.956 mph.

Seagrave however went on to retain the record again in 1929 in a car called Golden Arrow at a speed of 231.446 mph, and once again Britain’s dominance in leading the world in engineering and setting new land speed records was upheld.

Black and white picture of sunbeam car

TIME: 29/03/1927 – PLACE: 29.262°N – 81.024°W