If you’re a fan of luxury watches, you may want to take a deep breath before you continue. Bravur, the Swedish watchmaker and cycling enthusiast, just dropped their newest model, The La Corsa Rosa model III, and it’s as stunning as you’d come to expect from the manufacturer. The founders, with all their watches, pay homage to The Grand Tour—La Corsa Rosa (nickname for Giro d’Italia), La Grande Boucle (referring to the Tour de France), and La Vuelta (or Vuelta a España)—three of the biggest, most historic bike races in the world. Each watch is hand built in Båstad, Sweden, and the detail and style are nothing short of perfection.
The La Corsa Rosa model III
The new model was inspired by the Giro d’Italia, which is the first Grand Tour of the year. It has a case diameter of 38.2 mm, both beautiful and weighted thoughtfully. The case, made from 316L stainless steel, has been treated with a matte black ceramic coating. The sandwich dial has gorgeous pink accents, an homage to the leader’s jersey of the race. Additionally, the tricolor on the sub-dial is a reference to the blue climber’s jersey and the purple sprinter’s jersey, worn by the rider with the most points in the mountains and sprinters classification.
According to the website, this watch features “3 sub-dials with a 15-minute counter, perfect for timing those intervals, a 12-hour counter, which should be enough to keep track of your riding time, and lastly, running seconds. The main secondhand in the center is a 60-second chronograph.” The watch comes with automatic winding and a power reserve of up to 62 hours, so you don’t have to worry during a long ride or race.
A little more history
Like all of the Grand Tour watches, the La Corsa Rosa III dial has an upside-down number 13 on this model on the 15-minute sub-dial, a reference to the cycling tradition that the rider with start number 13 turns their start number upside down, preventing bad luck during the race. The dial and hands on each of the three lines are distinctly different, unique to them as the three races are to each other.
From a manufacturing perspective, Bravur has its own assembly in Sweden, giving them “maximum control of the production,” creating watches that will last a lifetime. On the case back of each watch, you will see a recessed “finish line” checker pattern, a nod to their love of cycling and passion for the sport.
The cost of the watch reflects its handcrafted nature, coming in at $2,590. Keep in mind if you are ordering one outside the EU, import fees and taxes are not included. It’s a big price tag, but it comes with the luxurious look and feel that’s very much worth it.
