A little less than a year after the re-launch of Wyler Vetta, its presence at the recent BaselWorld fair was especially anticipated. Everyone wanted to see if the watch brand's previously announced goals had indeed been reached. We can say it right now… the answer is in the affirmative, not only on a financial level (the official sales figures will be released a bit later), but also in terms of the collection.

The re-launch of Wyler Vetta involved a complete renewal of the collections based on a very precise strategic choice to improve the quality and image of the brand. Then it would increase average prices in order to move towards the circles of the haut de gamme.

A long history
Wyler Vetta watches, produced and distributed by the Binda group (an Italian enterprise that also owns Breil, D & G Time, Nike signature models, and the Italian distribution for Seiko), has a very interesting history. In the past, these timepieces enjoyed quite a widespread reputation following the famous patent for the Incaflex, a system that substituted small bars converging towards the centre of a pinion gear by an ultra flexible convergent double spiral that helped protect the watch against various types of shocks. This patent, dating to 1932, is perfectly adaptable to wristwatches that are already consumer favourites.

It was precisely at this epoch that the name Vetta was added to Wyler and the new Wyler Vetta rapidly met with great success. The owner and distributor of the brand in Italy, the Binda group, was itself created in 1906 by Innocente Binda, with its headquarters in Milan. Starting in 1908, the world champion Italian national soccer team sponsored the brand. The famous soccer player Giuseppe Meazza declared in a speech, in one of the earliest examples of sponsoring, “My watch and I are inseparable. I wear it during all my matches because it is resistant to shocks.”

Spectacular demonstrations
Over the following years, the brand organized many uncommon and spectacular demonstrations of the robustness of the Incaflex system, which became its symbol. One example involved Innocente Binda who drove around the streets of Milan dragging watches attached with cords behind the car. Other examples showed Wyler Vetta timepieces being thrown from the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1956 and from Seattle's Space Needle in 1962. In all cases, the abused movements kept right on ticking with no damage.

Oh the chronos!
Today, while remaining faithful to its roots and traditions, Wyler Vetta is undergoing a complete transformation. Its logo has been redesigned and the collections, overseen by Stefania Maragno, are basically masculine and emphasize their technical, design and fashion aspects.

Among the most significant models of the 'new' Wyler Vetta is the Espacité model, a chronograph equipped with an ETA 7750 automatic movement, available in many versions. The case is in steel, with screw-in crown and case back that ensures water-resistance to 100 metres.

Also very interesting is the gold Beaux Arts collection with calendar and moon phases. The special Dedicated to Moby Dick series is noticeable by the regulator type dial that extends to the alligator bracelet and the large 44mm dial that is in tune with the current trend toward larger watches.