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Zach Weiss
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Ford Mustang VIN number 6F87CT85151 lived a rather average life. Born in early 1966, it toured the roads in style and power for years before it fell by the wayside after a minor accident. Left to sit in a field for far too long, what started as an easily repairable issue became unsalvageable as rust and decay set in. With a production run of over 600,000 in 1966 alone, it’s by no means a unique story. Still, when talking about such an icon, it’s always sad to see one fall through the cracks and become lost forever. Luckily for 6F87CT85151 and for the rest of us, the story didn’t end there. Dead as it was, the Mustang still had more to give, and thanks to its owner’s generous donation, VIN number 6F87CT85151 sacrificed its body to bring us this- the REC P-51.
The P-51, named for the Ford Mustang’s famous warbird namesake, is the fourth effort for Danish brand REC and the fullest extension of their unique mission- to create evocative, attractive timepieces out of reclaimed automotive materials. Mustang DNA is plentiful here, and as a design exercise there’s no denying it’s a striking achievement, full of clever elements and callbacks to the ’66 in three separate colorways. The P-51 is also REC’s first mechanical offering, and offers a hi-beat Miyota movement with a sapphire crystal, stainless steel and PVD case, and a rare-for-a-microbrand power reserve indicator at a reasonable $896.00 for early Kickstarter supporters ($1495 retail). But what is the P-51 like to live with?
REC P-51 Review (P-51-01)
CASE: Stainless Steel (Polished/PVD)
MOVEMENT: Miyota 9130 Automatic
DIAL: Recycled 1966 Ford Mustang Sheet Metal/Rhodium/Gloss Black
LUME: None
LENS: Sapphire
STRAP: Leather
WATER RES.: 30M
DIMENSIONS: 44 X 48mm
THICKNESS: 14mm
LUG WIDTH: 24mm
CROWN: 7 X 5mm
PRICE: $1495 ($896 for early supporters)
Case
The five-piece case design of the P-51 is all about the details. Chock full of referential Mustang cues and evocative shapes, most of which don’t reveal themselves at a glance, this is a case that demands careful inspection. From the front view, it’s a late 60’s rounded square case on steroids, evocative (intentionally I’m sure) of the Heuer Camaro, named for the Mustang’s Chevrolet rival. The size, however, is decidedly un-60’s, at 44X48mm with a 24mm lug width. Moving around to the side view, however, the idiosyncrasies of the P-51 really come into view.
The multi-layer case, with its mixture of polished stainless and PVD surfaces jutting out from the matte PVD center case, seems almost reminiscent of modernist architecture for a moment, until six little impressions on the crown side bring it all into focus- this is the rear end of a ’66 Mustang, complete with fins, chrome bumper, and the iconic Mustang triple taillights.
It’s a feature that could so easily come off as cartoonish or hokey, but the finish is so fine and the execution is just abstract enough that it all works. The large 7mm screw-down crown sits off-center, signed with REC’s shield-and-gears emblem. It’s completely smooth, which certainly makes for a polished, minimal look, but in practice makes the crown difficult to get a good grip especially while unscrewing. I’d be more than happy to sacrifice a bit of style for functionality and some teeth here. Around the other side, the REC logo is engraved in the “corral” of a stylized ’66 Mustang grille, once again just stylized enough to keep the design flowing. The side view also gives a much better view of the short, sharply downturned polished lugs, sticking just a few millimeters past the tall case sides.
Around back, the multi-part construction comes into even clearer view, with six allen screws securing the caseback to the polished outer chassis and lug assembly. Engraved vertical lines and info text frame the narrow slice of sapphire display back, with a surprisingly unorthodox format. The 26-jewel Miyota 9130 movement sits well off center in the watch, filling only a portion of the display window, but what is visible is impressively decorated with côtes de Genève, and a custom decorated rotor reminiscent of the optional hubcaps on the ’66 Mustang. The rest of the window is sparse, with nothing but a large REC shield filling the dead space. It’s not an unattractive solution, but I would have liked to see more of the decorated movement.
Dial
For all the flair and finishing of the case, it’s obvious that the dial is the heart of the P-51’s design. The dial is where this watch goes from aspirational to the real deal, the moment where all those Mustang cues and callbacks take real concrete significance. It’s all down to that scratched and rusted steel top dial- the physical legacy of the 1966 Ford Mustang, identified by the dial-mounted VIN plate as 6F87CT85151. Each piece of sheet metal is unique, with its own markings and imperfections, so no two P-51s will ever be exactly alike. The way that light plays across that raw steel, going from harsh reflection to mottled grays, dappled with spots of rust and streaked with reflective scratches, is incredible, and something that I catch myself staring at constantly.
The contrast between that surface and the rhodium edges to the sub-dials, with their soft, even reflectiveness much like bead-blasted steel, adds even more dynamism. The sub-dials themselves continue to follow REC’s design philosophy of evocation rather than exact replication. There’s almost zero direct copying here, but everything immediately reads “Mustang”. That’s an impressive achievement in its own right. The dashboard inspiration is obvious, with the main dial, date indicator, and power reserve sub-dial clearly riffing on a speedometer, odometer, and fuel gauge, respectively. Both are recessed, giving the watch a ton of visual depth and deepening the gauge connection, but are not so deep that they can’t be read easily from an angle.
The 40-hour power reserve is the less stylized of the two, with Mustang elements from the orange indicator-needle hand to the spacing of the markings, but with a few changes to suit its shift in purpose. The sweep has been turned upside down to accommodate the Miyota 9130’s layout, the “F/E” markings have been changed to “F/L” for full and low, and the sub-dial is labeled with a bold, and rather wordy, “POWER RESERVE”. This text takes up a lot of real estate on the dial, and in the interest of cleanliness it would have been nice to see simply “POWER” or even “FUEL” instead.
The post REC P-51 Review appeared first on worn&wound.
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Let us know your thoughts and impressions.
Ford Mustang VIN number 6F87CT85151 lived a rather average life. Born in early 1966, it toured the roads in style and power for years before it fell by the wayside after a minor accident. Left to sit in a field for far too long, what started as an easily repairable issue became unsalvageable as rust and decay set in. With a production run of over 600,000 in 1966 alone, it’s by no means a unique story. Still, when talking about such an icon, it’s always sad to see one fall through the cracks and become lost forever. Luckily for 6F87CT85151 and for the rest of us, the story didn’t end there. Dead as it was, the Mustang still had more to give, and thanks to its owner’s generous donation, VIN number 6F87CT85151 sacrificed its body to bring us this- the REC P-51.
The P-51, named for the Ford Mustang’s famous warbird namesake, is the fourth effort for Danish brand REC and the fullest extension of their unique mission- to create evocative, attractive timepieces out of reclaimed automotive materials. Mustang DNA is plentiful here, and as a design exercise there’s no denying it’s a striking achievement, full of clever elements and callbacks to the ’66 in three separate colorways. The P-51 is also REC’s first mechanical offering, and offers a hi-beat Miyota movement with a sapphire crystal, stainless steel and PVD case, and a rare-for-a-microbrand power reserve indicator at a reasonable $896.00 for early Kickstarter supporters ($1495 retail). But what is the P-51 like to live with?
REC P-51 Review (P-51-01)
CASE: Stainless Steel (Polished/PVD)MOVEMENT: Miyota 9130 Automatic
DIAL: Recycled 1966 Ford Mustang Sheet Metal/Rhodium/Gloss Black
LUME: None
LENS: Sapphire
STRAP: Leather
WATER RES.: 30M
DIMENSIONS: 44 X 48mm
THICKNESS: 14mm
LUG WIDTH: 24mm
CROWN: 7 X 5mm
PRICE: $1495 ($896 for early supporters)
Case
The five-piece case design of the P-51 is all about the details. Chock full of referential Mustang cues and evocative shapes, most of which don’t reveal themselves at a glance, this is a case that demands careful inspection. From the front view, it’s a late 60’s rounded square case on steroids, evocative (intentionally I’m sure) of the Heuer Camaro, named for the Mustang’s Chevrolet rival. The size, however, is decidedly un-60’s, at 44X48mm with a 24mm lug width. Moving around to the side view, however, the idiosyncrasies of the P-51 really come into view.
The multi-layer case, with its mixture of polished stainless and PVD surfaces jutting out from the matte PVD center case, seems almost reminiscent of modernist architecture for a moment, until six little impressions on the crown side bring it all into focus- this is the rear end of a ’66 Mustang, complete with fins, chrome bumper, and the iconic Mustang triple taillights.
It’s a feature that could so easily come off as cartoonish or hokey, but the finish is so fine and the execution is just abstract enough that it all works. The large 7mm screw-down crown sits off-center, signed with REC’s shield-and-gears emblem. It’s completely smooth, which certainly makes for a polished, minimal look, but in practice makes the crown difficult to get a good grip especially while unscrewing. I’d be more than happy to sacrifice a bit of style for functionality and some teeth here. Around the other side, the REC logo is engraved in the “corral” of a stylized ’66 Mustang grille, once again just stylized enough to keep the design flowing. The side view also gives a much better view of the short, sharply downturned polished lugs, sticking just a few millimeters past the tall case sides.
Around back, the multi-part construction comes into even clearer view, with six allen screws securing the caseback to the polished outer chassis and lug assembly. Engraved vertical lines and info text frame the narrow slice of sapphire display back, with a surprisingly unorthodox format. The 26-jewel Miyota 9130 movement sits well off center in the watch, filling only a portion of the display window, but what is visible is impressively decorated with côtes de Genève, and a custom decorated rotor reminiscent of the optional hubcaps on the ’66 Mustang. The rest of the window is sparse, with nothing but a large REC shield filling the dead space. It’s not an unattractive solution, but I would have liked to see more of the decorated movement.
Dial
For all the flair and finishing of the case, it’s obvious that the dial is the heart of the P-51’s design. The dial is where this watch goes from aspirational to the real deal, the moment where all those Mustang cues and callbacks take real concrete significance. It’s all down to that scratched and rusted steel top dial- the physical legacy of the 1966 Ford Mustang, identified by the dial-mounted VIN plate as 6F87CT85151. Each piece of sheet metal is unique, with its own markings and imperfections, so no two P-51s will ever be exactly alike. The way that light plays across that raw steel, going from harsh reflection to mottled grays, dappled with spots of rust and streaked with reflective scratches, is incredible, and something that I catch myself staring at constantly.
The contrast between that surface and the rhodium edges to the sub-dials, with their soft, even reflectiveness much like bead-blasted steel, adds even more dynamism. The sub-dials themselves continue to follow REC’s design philosophy of evocation rather than exact replication. There’s almost zero direct copying here, but everything immediately reads “Mustang”. That’s an impressive achievement in its own right. The dashboard inspiration is obvious, with the main dial, date indicator, and power reserve sub-dial clearly riffing on a speedometer, odometer, and fuel gauge, respectively. Both are recessed, giving the watch a ton of visual depth and deepening the gauge connection, but are not so deep that they can’t be read easily from an angle.
The 40-hour power reserve is the less stylized of the two, with Mustang elements from the orange indicator-needle hand to the spacing of the markings, but with a few changes to suit its shift in purpose. The sweep has been turned upside down to accommodate the Miyota 9130’s layout, the “F/E” markings have been changed to “F/L” for full and low, and the sub-dial is labeled with a bold, and rather wordy, “POWER RESERVE”. This text takes up a lot of real estate on the dial, and in the interest of cleanliness it would have been nice to see simply “POWER” or even “FUEL” instead.
The post REC P-51 Review appeared first on worn&wound.
Continue reading...
Let us know your thoughts and impressions.