INTRODUCING: The Depancel Serie-A Stradale

Fergus Nash

The young French microbrand Depancel are back with their fourth instalment in their Serie-A collection, this time honing in on a much more retro look. Their previous release, the Serie-A Allure, blended the worlds of vintage and modern well, with some of their other watches leaning even more heavily into the futuristic. The Depancel Serie-A Stradale looks exclusively to the past for inspiration, full of racing spirit and spectacular finishing.

The case

Taking after the classic racing watches of the 1960s, the Depancel Serie-A Stradale features a smooth-sweeping lug design with a polished chamfer that follows the entire case from lug tip to lug tip. The radial brushing on the front surface provides some rugged contrast to the slender polished bezel too, with the classy elements embodying the gentleman racer archetype. The 39mm size is a perfect adjustment to the smaller watches of the time period while remaining wearable with a lug-to-lug length around 45mm. The sides of the case are fairly flat and make the watch look substantial on-wrist, despite only being 11.5mm thick.

The dial

Despite it being Depancel’s first attempt at making a watch like this, the execution of the Depancel Serie-A Stradale’s dial is phenomenal. There are so many elements coming into play, such as the various printed scales around the perimeter, the colour gradients, the intense sunburst brushing, and the applied markers. Each of these are done extremely well, and they certainly wouldn’t look out of place on a much more expensive watch.

The model we received in the metal is the most versatile of the three possible colour options, that being the ‘Nero’ with a vivid silver burst. The use of red on the seconds hand and telemeter scale emphasises the adrenaline-fulled edge and makes it almost feel like a dashboard instrument. The other two colours are much more of a statement, with the bright blue and orange ‘Azzuro’ or the pale green and yellow ‘Verde’.

The movement

In order to get that old-school vintage feeling while retaining a low, accessible cost, Depancel have chosen to use the Seiko VK64 meca-quartz movement. It’s quite at home in the Depancel Serie-A Stradale, offering the bi-compax look with quartz reliability and yet none of the telltale 1Hz ticking. When activated, the chronograph hand sweeps at around 3Hz to give the impression of a mechanical calibre, and there is no running seconds hand. Instead, at 9 there is a counter for the chronograph minutes and at 3 there is a 24-hour indicator linked to the main time setting.

The strap

The strap of the Depancel Serie-A Stradale is about as classic as you can get for a racing chronograph, with an angular stamped section generously perforated that enhances the sporty character as well as preventing too much sweatiness. The top strap has a subtle nod to the brand’s French ownership, with the blue, white and red stitching notched into the side. It comes in either black or brown with a pin buckle, however there is a deployant clasp option available for an extra €25.

The Depancel Serie-A Stradale pricing and availability:

The Depancel Serie-A Stradale is open for Pre-Orders from September 13th, registering your interest can be done via the Depancel’s website here. Price: €395