Havana-based watchmaker Cuervo y Sobrinos often looks to the past for inspiration when creating new releases, and their popular Vuelo collection is no different. “Vuelo” meaning “flight” in Spanish denotes the company’s passion for aviation with each of the contemporary, Latin-imbued timepieces bringing to life the aesthetics of pilot watches from the early 20th century. For the collection’s latest instalment, Cuervo y Sobrinos chooses to celebrate famous aviator Emilio Carranza and his significant contributions to Mexican aviation. The designs are suitably named the Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza watches and include a simple time-and-date model, a bi-compax calendar timepiece and a GMT chronograph.
Emilio Carranza is a revered Mexican aviator who undertook numerous successful missions throughout his career. One of his most remarkable feats was a record-breaking flight from Mexico to New York City in 1928. Before that, he also took part in the prestigious “National Air Race” held in Mexico City, where he emerged victorious in the “Cabin Planes” category. This significant triumph brought him widespread recognition in the country and subsequently led to his appointment as the chief pilot of the Mexican military’s aviation division. The new Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza collection gives tribute to the courageous aviator and his talents in the air, paying homage with legible black dials adorned with a plane illustration at 6 o’clock and a screw down case back engraved with a portrait of the legendary Mexican pilot.
The Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza watch collection begins with a simple three-hand and date watch. It’s an undeniably timeless design with a 44mm stainless steel case, executed in the typical “Historiador” style with bent, screwed down lugs and double curved sapphire crystal glass. It sits fairly slender on the wrist at 11.6mm, secured by a brown vintage-inspired leather strap. When off your wrist, you can admire the 30 metre water resistant screw down case back engraved with a portrait of Emilio Carranza. The Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza Time & Date watch also has the smooth black dial with the plane motif on the southern end, paralleling nicely with the date window beneath it and the applied Cuervo y Sobrinos emblem at 12 o’clock. The large Arabic numerals and hour and minute hands glow with Superluminova, fuelled by the automatic winding Calibre CYS5103. The movement delivers a power reserve of 42 hours and a frequency of 28,800vph.
For a little more functionality, the Havana watchmaker has also launched the Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza Bicompax watch. This design offers a lot of the same specification as its time-and-date counterpart; there’s a 44mm wide case with the unique wing-shaped lugs, a 30 metre water resistant rating, domed sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective treatment and the portrait-engraved case back. It’s the layout of the dial that see’s the most difference; it no longer opts for a central seconds hand or date window but two bi-compax subsidary dials for the date at 3 o’clock and the running seconds at 9 o’clock. The dial is still black with Superluminova hands and numerals but there is now added lume on the minutes track. Powering the Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza Bicompax watch is the Calibre CYS5160 movement with a shorter 38-hour power reserve and a 28,800vph frequency.
The final model in the Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza collection is a GMT chronograph. The Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza Cronógrafo reestablishes itself as part of the collection with a decorated case back and dial but with a slightly thicker case and additional functionality. The 44mm wide and 13.8mm tall stainless steel case offers the same sapphire crystal glass, 30 metre water resistance and distinctive lugs alongside two flat oblong chronograph pushers. The pushers control the central chronograph seconds hand and 30 minutes counter at 9 o’clock which work harmoniously alongside the hours, minutes and GMT at the centre and the small seconds at 3 o’clock. There’s also a date window at 6 o’clock cleverly integrated into the 24-hour ring for the GMT indication. We’re also warranted plenty of glow-in-the-dark lume across the hardware, a tachymeter scale engraved onto the fixed polished steel bezel and a vintage brown leather strap. The movement used to power the Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza Cronógrafo watch is easily the most advanced out of all three models mentioned. The Calibre CYS8120 is built with a total of 51 jewels and offers a frequency of 28,800vph, a 40-hour power reserve and a hidden skeletonised rotor.
If you’d like to learn more about the new Cuervo y Sobrinos Vuelo Emilio Carranza watch collection and secure one of the designs for yourself, head over to the Jura Watches website here. Alternatively, get in touch with the team by calling 01335 453453 or send us a message at help@jurawatches.co.uk.
