This chronograph version of the 12-sided Admiral’s Cup was already part of the Corum collection, introduced in 2012, but this year it has seen the reintroduction of the nautical pennant hour markers that the brand are now reaffirming as an important part of their identity.
Case and dial
The watch is a midsize piece, with a case 42 mm in diameter, 11.6 mm thick. The case has a streamlined arrangement of pushers and crown protector. The blue dial (made of brass) has vertical guilloché finish, rhodium-coated hour indices, and a minute circle and the nautical pennants on the flange. There are three subdials, continuous seconds on the right, chronograph minutes on the left, chronograph hours below. There is a date window between the 4 and 5 o’clock hour markers. All the hands – hour, minute, and the three subdial hands – are treated with SuperLuminova, while the chronograph second hand is rhodium-coated. This dial has many positive features, such as the beautiful chronograph seconds hand with its Corum key counterweight, the blue colour that corresponds to current market trends and the original Admiral’s Cup finish, the discreet touches of colour in the nautical pennants, and the evident quest for simple, elemental design.
Personally I have just two issues: the first is the date window, diagonally at 4.30: I think that the watch would look far better without it. The second thing is the chronograph function: the minimalist subdials make actually reading off an elapsed time very difficult, at best an approximation. Of course, nowadays people don’t buy a chronograph to actuallly time anything, but just because it’s an attractive watch, but even so…
Movement
The watch is powered by the calibre CO984 movement, running at 28,800 vph (4 Hertz), with a 42-hour power reserve. It can be viewed through the transparent caseback. It is the same movement that was used in the 2012 Admiral’s Cup Legend 42 Chrono, except that it no longer has COSC certification. Of course, the movement hasn’t changed: I would guess that this minor detail is connected to the latest policy of streamlining pricing where possible. The movement is based on an ETA 2894-2 calibre.
Reference
The Corum Admiral’s Cup Legend 42 Chrono is reference A98 4/02629 – 98 4.101.20/0F01 AB20.
