Recently, I went looking for a new watch that would be stylish yet rugged and found an eye catching and attractive design in the racing-inspired Luminox Tony Kanaan watch(above). It boasts all the signature features of the Luminox brand, including perfect visibility and continuous illumination provided by the proprietary Luminox Light Technology, superior water-resistance and bold construction.
This watch was designed by famed Indy Race driver - Tony Kanaan.Instead of just being a watch with a famous racer's name on it, Kanaan (being a major watch lover), and Luminox worked really closely together on the design and production process, and approved every feature of the new watch, from the whole design to every minor detail so this really makes for an authentic race car driver's watch.
While Tony could have easily worked with a number of higher-end brands, he really wanted to make sure that his friends could afford the watch with his name on it. His friends were working with brands like Audemars Piguet - and while they created some beautiful timepieces, they didn't make a lot of sense for the fans with prices around $70,000.
The first Luminox Tony Kanaan watch featured the driver’s signature colors - bright blue and orange. The black dial features orange numbers, while the chronograph sub-dials are surrounded by bright blue. At 4 o’clock, you will notice the Tony Kanaan logo. The updated version I bought features the new Green and Yellow racing colours of Tony Kanaan's new race season.
The new sandwich-construction case, 44mm in diameter, is of asymmetrical design. The chronograph watch incorporates a black PVD steel top fitted with six satin-finished screws, a black steel bottom and a middle part crafted in black carbon fiber.
The new Luminox Tony Kanaan watch is available with either a racing tire-pattern rubber strap or a padded black leather strap featuring yellow contrast stitching and green backing.
Luminox uses a sophisticated movement setup in the watch that isn't your standard 12 hour chronograph. They use a precision Swiss made Ronda movement, and it is a 1/10 of a second chronograph. The subdial on the left of the watch has two hands - for the hours and minutes. The subsidal at 6 o'clock is the 1/10 of a second indicator, while the subdial on the right of the dial is for the main time seconds. As a racing watch, of course it is going to have a tachymeter scale on the flange ring. On the dial is also Tony's "TK" logo. Glowing tritium gas tubes are placed in the hands, and around the periphery of the dial next to the hour indicators. The watch crystal is sapphire with AR coating, and the case is water resistant to 100 meters.
As a second release of the Luminox Tony Kanaan watch, Luminox changes the colors on the dial because Tony changed the colors of his helmet. The watch now has a yellow and green tint to the dial. Luminox fans realize that this pieces is totally unique in the entire Luminox collection - as it is not based on a standard model. Inside the watch is a Swiss quartz chronograph movement with a big date complication at 6 o'clock. The dial is large and bold, and quite sporty. Not just in the "active" sense of the world, but actually feels like a watch that fits into the world of professional competitive sports.The new version of the Luminox Tony Kanaan watch is offered in a larger limited edition of about 999 pieces and each watch will be inscribed with the limited edition number on the back - mine being No 161 of 999.I read that half have already been pre-sold at launch time.
(Above) Back design of the watch backing with Tony's signature, race car and serial number inscribed.
(Above) Solid construction and carbon fibre design shows off the watch's sporting and rugged design.
The TK series watch comes in a raching inspired collector's box with information on Tony Kanaan as seen below:
The Luminox TK watch is retailing at $1694 w GST at major watch retailers and I believe some outlets like Tangs have a credit card promotion of 30% discount off the retail price for UOB card holders. For myself, I managed to order the watch at the lowest price of $1145 w GST through Yuen Long watch located at 03-L1 at Parkway Parade(above).
Little bit about the watch designer:
Tony Kanaan (born December 31, 1974 in Salvador, Brazil) is a Brazilian race car driver of Lebanese heritage. He won the 2004 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series championship driving Andretti Green Racing's 7-Eleven sponsored car, winning three times in his Honda-powered Dallara. That season he completed 3,305 laps, making him the first IndyCar Series driver to complete every possible lap in a season. He also led 889 laps in 13 separate races to establish an IndyCar Series record. Kanaan is also the only driver to lead the Indianapolis 500 in each of his first seven starts, though he has yet to win this flagship event. He has a total of 13 IRL race victories.
Kanaan was invited by Luminox to design a watch that would become Essential Gear for his active lifestyle. Kanaan is very pleased with the second timepiece collaboration in the partnership. "It was a wonderful experience for me to work on the design and so many details of my watch," Kanaan said. "Design, performance and precision - I almost feel like my watch is a part of me when I wear it."
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