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DaveB
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New Version of the Habring COS

Last year I had the opportunity to wear and test out the prototype Habring² Chrono COS (Crown Operating System) for a week. Maria and Richard were sending the COS prototype from their Atelier in Volkermarkt, Austria to Japan and were kind enough to provide a slight detour to California.

There are complications that pop out at you by what is added. Others, like the COS, are stealth by what is missing. The idea behind the new chronograph is to eliminate the pushbuttons for start/stop/reset and replace this by twisting the crown. Twist the crown clockwise and the chronograph starts, twist it clockwise again to stop. Twist the crown counterclockwise to reset to zero.

In November I received an email from the Habring’s asking me if I wanted to change an order I placed with a new variant of the COS.  After replying with a solid yes, a few weeks later I received the COS. The baseline COS is a manual wind. The new options include an automatic movement with date. I liked the manual wind prototype but I prefer this automatic. The date is a little bit larger than the one used in their ChronoSport. The Ti case is 42mm, similar to the other Habring²  watches. The COS is delivered with a non-tapered 22mm grey carbon fiber strap.  I replaced it with a Ti bracelet for daily wear as a sports watch.

Rather than providing a lot of words describing what the COS does and how it works, I put together some pictures and descriptions. I used the ChronoSport as a comparison for the COS.    

I wanted to wear the watch for a while before providing any feedback. Overall it has been a very good daily watch. Simple things for me like the date switching at midnight and keeping time within a few seconds a day have all worked to what I expect from the Habrings. Ti is always confortable for me to wear. The color combination of the grey strap and dial with silver subdials with the Ti case is one of the best combinations from the Habrings (IMO) to date. The movement is not intended to be a high finish, but has some perlage and satine parts for the base watch. You can always get a custom movement finish, it just costs more. I don't know what the 2009 pricing will be for the COS. This will be limited to 12 pieces a year. For me, it's a keeper.

Dave B

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