Well, maybe not everything, but everything you desire in a rally clock while remaining compliant with the rules. Its features include a large, easy-to-read dial, a dual-function rotating bezel, a convenient on/off switch, reduced weight, Seiko quartz accuracy, vintage rally compliance, and a competitive price.
Most importantly, this clock answers these three important rally navigation questions:
- What time is it?
- How much time has elapsed?
- How much time remains?
Let’s take a closer look at each of this rally clock’s features:
The Dial. The dial is 6-inches in diameter with each second and minute numbered and clearly identified. It employs a Flieger design style, introduced on pilot watches in World War II. The recessed hour dial allows the minute and second hands to be closer to the face, which helps mitigate parallax reading errors.
Rotating Bezel. Rotating bezels are nothing new, as they were originally patented in 1911. They are popular on diving and sports watches but seldom found on clocks. Some rally clocks of the 1980s, such as the Heuer Master Time, included a rotating bezel, although its bezel had only a single hash mark.
The dual-function rotating bezel of this timepiece is the first to mark every second/minute in a unique count-up/countdown combination. The red portion of the bezel provides an easy-to-use countdown of the remaining minutes or seconds to the “zero” time. The green portion identifies the elapsed time (minutes or seconds). There are numerous ways of using this bezel to your advantage during competitive events. The article, Rally Clock With Rotating Bezel: Application Notes, describes many of these applications.
On/Off Switch. Most vintage rally participants will tell you their biggest complaint with traditional rally clocks is setting the time. This is because most clocks do not have an on/off switch. Synchronizing the second hand for other clocks requires removing and reinstalling the battery (or shorting it out) while hoping your actions don’t make things worse.
The on/off switch is located on the back of this rally clock. The sliding rear cover protects the switch and time adjustment wheel from inadvertent changes. The case also provides a recessed chamber for the Seiko movement to hold it in perfect alignment with the front dial.
Light Weight. The manufacturing process utilizes the latest 3D printing technology for the major components of this clock using lightweight plastic. It weighs in at just 16 ounces (0.45kg), providing easy dash attachment using Velcro or the fasteners of your choice.
Seiko Quartz Accuracy. The Seiko SKP quartz movement is the most accurate battery-operated, manually-synchronized, quartz clock movement available. It’s not perfect, although its drift is typically less than ½ second every 24 hours, and often much better. I have found that over a few days, any error tends to be to the upside (slightly faster), which makes it easy to bring back into sync with a quick off/on of the switch.
Vintage Rally Compliance. This clock does not have any automatic time synchronization capability. It does not use WWV, time.gov, the atomic clock, or any other means of automatically synchronizing time. Time adjustments are performed manually via the time adjustment wheel and the on/off switch. The clock’s overall diameter is 7 inches (6” face plus rotating bezel), uses analog hands (hour, minute, and second), and is battery-operated (does not use vehicle power).
Competitive Price. You might think that all these great features would make purchasing this clock an expensive proposition. However, you may be surprised to learn it is priced less than other popular rally clocks. See for yourself the RallyClocks Shop.