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Singer Reimagined restored a stash of Valjoux 72s and built the Heritage V72 around them

New-old-stock movements, refinished to modern standards, in a 38.8mm case. Fifty in steel, twenty in gold, and nothing like this will be repeatable.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 2 min read · 8 August 2026

The Singer Reimagined Heritage V72 in steel, grey dial with white subdials and a gold-toned bezel, on a grey strap — Image: Singer Reimagined

Singer Reimagined has done something you cannot do twice. The Heritage V72 is built around pristine new-old-stock Valjoux 72 movements, restored and refinished, and when the stock runs out the watch stops existing.

The Valjoux 72 is one of the genuinely important chronograph movements, and Singer has not simply cleaned these up and dropped them in. Monochrome reports that the bridges and plates have been frosted and their bevels polished, while the steel parts are rhodium-plated and satin-brushed.

A restored Valjoux 72 chronograph movement photographed on white, showing its bridges, wheels and blued screws — A new-old-stock Valjoux 72, refinished. When the stock runs out, the watch stops existing. Image: Singer Reimagined

The running specification is left alone. It beats at 18,000 vibrations per hour, or 2.5Hz, with a 44-hour power reserve. Modern chronographs run at twice that and keep better time. Singer has not tried to fix it, because a V72 rebuilt to run at 4Hz would no longer be a V72.

Macro of the movement through the caseback, with "RESTORED BY SINGER" engraved across a bridge — Frosted bridges, polished bevels, and the engraving that explains the whole exercise. Image: Singer Reimagined

Fifty in steel, twenty in gold

There are two. The steel SR621 is limited to 50 pieces at 23,000 Swiss francs excluding tax. The 18k yellow gold SR620-1 is limited to 20 pieces at 45,000 francs excluding tax.

The Heritage V72 in 18k yellow gold on a black leather strap — The gold SR620-1, twenty pieces. Image: Singer Reimagined

Both use the same case: 38.8mm across and 13.25mm thick, with a sunray satin finish and polished bevels. The pushers are piston-style, the crown is flat and fluted, and there are glassbox sapphire crystals front and back. Water resistance is 50 metres.

Close-up of the Heritage V72 dial showing the Singer signature, two subdials and the fluted bezel — Two registers, a fluted bezel and an orange chronograph hand. Image: Singer Reimagined

The dial is a two-register layout, running seconds at nine and a thirty-minute counter at three, under a fluted bezel with an orange chronograph hand running across it. Look through the sapphire back and one bridge carries the words "Restored by Singer", which is the entire proposition of the watch written onto the movement.

They reach Singer Reimagined retailers in early November.

Twenty-three thousand francs for a 1970s movement

Twenty-three thousand francs is a great deal of money for a watch running a movement designed decades ago, and nobody should pretend the V72 keeps better time than a modern chronograph calibre. It does not.

What you are buying is finite. There is a fixed number of unused Valjoux 72s in the world, that number only goes down, and the ones here have been finished to a standard the movement never received when it was in production.

It is also worth saying who this is not for. If you want a chronograph to time things accurately, a modern column-wheel calibre will do it better for a fraction of the money, and Singer would not argue. This is a watch for someone who cares that the thing on their wrist was made in the 1970s, sat unused for fifty years, and has now been finished to a standard nobody bothered with when it was new.

In our view this is the most interesting watch announced this week, and it is not close. Whether it is the best value is a completely different question, and the answer is probably no.