Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Sorna Jacky Ickx Easy-Rider Chronograph, early 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Sorna (maker)
- Date
- early 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- 40992931
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40992931)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Sorna Jacky Ickx Easy-Rider Chronograph (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40992931), this is a wristwatch by Sorna, dated early 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Analog/Shift
There is perhaps no more versatile complication than the chronograph. From race cars to rocket ships, boats to battlefields, you are likely to find a chronograph being employed to measure a plethora of tasks and times. From the Greek khrónos (“time) and gráphō (“to write”), a chronograph is a watch that has the ability to record time, generally via the addition of small sub-counters that register minutes and hours. Perhaps one of the quirkiest types of chronographs ever developed is the “bullhead,” a style in which the pushers are moved to the top of an oblong case such that it resembles, well, a bull’s head. What we have here isn't your typical bullhead chronograph. Made by Swiss atelier Sorna, this special edition was licensed with famed F1 driver Jacky Ickx's name. Produced in the early 1970s, this piece is similar to the Heuer licensed variant with features the same EB 8420 movement within. The plastic case is blackened, with a gold-tone bezel and bullhead pushers, creating a unique two tone effect. The dial is red, signed with Jacky Ickx's name. These pieces were not made in large numbers, and F1 lovers will appreciate just how special this watch is. Jacky Ickx won the 24 hours Le Mans race no less than 6 times, and wearing this watch, you'll feel like you won just alongside him! Snatch it now before someone else does!
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Chronographs and split-seconds watches
A chronograph is a watch with an additional seconds hand that can be started, stopped and returned to zero independently of the timekeeping. Louis Moinet built an early example in 1816 and Nicolas Rieussec a recording 'chronographe' in 1821; Adolphe Nicole's heart-shaped reset cam (patented 1862) made the modern return-to-zero possible. Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronographs add a second hand that can be stopped for intermediate times; flyback chronographs restart instantly.
Chronographs were essential tools for doctors (pulsometer scales), artillery (telemeter), engineers and sport. In wristwatches, Valjoux, Venus, Lemania and later the automatic chronographs of 1969 (Zenith El Primero, the Chronomatic Calibre 11 group and Seiko 6139) are milestones.
What to look for
- Push-pieces on the case band or a single button in the crown (monopusher).
- Subsidiary registers for minutes and hours; tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scales.
- Column wheel versus cam control visible in the movement.
- Calibre markings of specialist makers (Valjoux, Lemania, Venus, Landeron).
Dating clues
- Pocket chronographs with heart cam reset: after 1862.
- Wrist chronographs: from c. 1910; two-button designs from the 1930s.
- Automatic chronographs: from 1969.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
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