Tiffany Timer Marks 160 Years With a 100-Piece Titanium and Platinum Chronograph
Tiffany & Co. has issued a 100-piece Timer chronograph in 40mm Grade 5 titanium with a 950 platinum bezel, marking 160 years since the 1866 Timing Watch. The movement is a customized Zenith El Primero 400 with a 50-hour power reserve. Water resistance is 100 metres. The rotor is an 18K gold Bird on a Rock sculpture 1.4cm across. Price is on request in Swiss francs.
Tiffany’s watch revival has been jewellery-adjacent. A titanium-and-platinum Timer with an El Primero inside is a sports-chronograph claim. According to the anniversary brief, 1866 is the date being celebrated; 100 pieces is the allocation; the bird is the house signature moved onto a winding mass. Builders who chase chronograph looks without a high-beat column wheel still need a realistic movement choice; the NH35 vs NH36 vs NH34 movement guide is the honest Seiko-family menu.
Case, calibre and bird
Grade 5 titanium keeps the 40mm case light. A 950 platinum bezel adds mass at the edge and a different colour temperature—white metal on grey metal. El Primero 400 is a high-beat integrated chronograph; “customized” here includes the Bird on a Rock rotor at 1.4cm, which is a finishing and balance decision as much as a logo. Fifty hours of reserve is typical for the family. One hundred metres is a sports claim.
| Spec | Tiffany Timer (100 pieces) |
|---|---|
| Case | 40mm Grade 5 titanium |
| Bezel | 950 platinum |
| Movement | Customized El Primero 400 |
| Power reserve | 50 hours |
| Water resistance | 100 metres |
| Rotor | 18K gold Bird on a Rock, 1.4cm |
| Anniversary | 160 years since 1866 Timing Watch |
| Price | On request (CHF) |
Why 1866 is on the press note
Tiffany’s Timing Watch of 1866 is the historical hook: the jeweller as a time specialist, not only a ring house. A 160-year marker in 2026 is calendar math that marketing departments love. One hundred pieces at a price on request is how you keep the object in salon territory while using a movement the industry already respects.
Platinum bezels scratch differently from ceramic. Owners who live with mixed metals already know the polishing problem. Aftermarket bezel inserts on dive watches are a different craft; material and fit are in the bezel insert material and fit guide. Crystal quality still decides whether a busy chrono dial is readable; see the sapphire crystal upgrade guide.
What enthusiasts can actually use
A 1.4cm gold bird on a rotor is not a weekend CNC project. A 40mm sports chrono with a mixed-metal bezel is a proportion lesson: keep the case light, put the expensive metal where the eye lands. If you are building a first watch, ignore the bird and follow a parts order: the first Seiko mod build order of operations. For GMT rather than chrono, use the Seiko GMT mod build guide.
Water resistance after any caseback opening is a test, including on watches that left the factory at 100 metres. The home-build version of that warning is in the water resistance testing guide.
FAQ
How many Tiffany Timer titanium-platinum watches are there?
100 pieces.
What is inside?
A customized El Primero 400 with a 50-hour reserve and an 18K gold Bird on a Rock rotor 1.4cm across.
What is being commemorated?
160 years since Tiffany’s 1866 Timing Watch. Price is on request in Swiss francs.
Tiffany’s 100-piece Timer is a 40mm titanium chronograph with a platinum bezel and a gold bird on the rotor, sold as a 160-year marker. The movement is an El Primero; the allocation is salon-sized; the price is not on the tag.