A Swiss luxury manufacturer first announced its partnership with Shelby in 2015 by launching a special edition timepiece to commemorate the history and the achievements of one of the most celebrated American racing drivers of the 1950s Carroll Hall Shelby.
These siwss luxury replica two newcomers are just like their last year’s ancestors inspired by the golden age of motorsports, but instead of the historic blue of the Shelby AC Cobras, they are colored in a black and yellow livery inspired by a Shelby Sebring, which sported two rather unusual horizontal yellow lines on the hood. They are inspired by one of the most successful Cobras in history -CSX2128, the 289 Roadster that won the 1963 Sebring 12 hour race. That explains the “1963” in the name of these models.
Baume & Mercier Mens Replica Capeland Shelby Cobra 1963 and Capeland Shelby Cobra 1963 Competition are housed in stainless steel cases. Each case measures 44mm in diameter and 15mm in thickness and features an AR-coated sapphire crystal, as well as a sapphire display back.
The crystal also protects the movement from minor ingress of water, and it is rated as water resistant to 50 meters (approximately 165 feet). From the rear, both models come with engravings “Shelby Cobra Edition”, “One out of 1963″ and the CSX2128′s N° 15 race number.
The main difference between these two novelties concerns the finishing of their cases. While the Capeland Shelby Cobra 1963 leaves its case nude with satined and polished parts, the Capeland Shelby Cobra 1963 Competition features a black ADLC coating. This is a quite strong and resistant type of coating. As you can see on the image below, the manufacturer decided to leave the bezel non-coated, as well as the crown and chronograph pushers.
Underneath the sapphire glass lies a sleek, black dial with rather discreet horizontal stripes, some silvery-white counters and several tips of yellow, for the chronograph hands (central second, 30-minute sub-dial at the 3 o’clock position and 12-hour counter at the 6 o’clock position).
The beating heart of each new model is the Swiss made ETA caliber Valjoux 7753 with a black PVD rotor adorned with Côtes de Genève decoration, and the brand’s Phi logo. The impeccable mechanism has circular-grained finished bridges and plate and it can store enough energy to keep the replica ticking for minimum 25 hours. The 25 jewels movement has a beating pace of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz).
There is one more difference between these two new Cobra models. Baume & Mercier Capeland Shelby Cobra 1963 timepiece is mounted on a black alligator leather strap with yellow edges, while the Competition edition is delivered with a black rubber strap with a yellow loop. Both new replicaes are issued in the limited series of 1,963 pieces each.