With Porsche Design watches now fully under the control of the carmaker of the same name, it is looking to bring a whole new mindset to its watchmaking. We spoke to chief technical officer Rolf Bergmann to find out more. 
By Chris Hall

Porsche Design watches have had a bumpy ride in the last few years. From 1998 until 2014 they were manufactured by Eterna, who had the rights to produce watches under the Porsche Design name. Confusingly enough Eterna was actually owned by the Porsche family, who sold it to China Haidian (now CityChamp) in 2011, letting the Porsche Design license go with it.
Under China Haidian it felt like little attention was paid to the brand, and while the products were not by any means terrible – they continued to adhere to a look we would all associate with the Porsche Design name, housing modified ETA movements – the message wasn’t really getting across. In hindsight, it was standing still while others pushed ahead.  A selection from the main Porsche Design collection
Eterna divested itself of the Porsche Design rights in 2014, and after a few more years of the wider world generally wondering what’s going on, we now have arrived at a situation that is, at least, simple. Porsche Design is wholly owned by Porsche SE (as it has been since 2007), and Porsche Design watches are being produced “in-house” (not in the manufacture sense) at a factory in Solothurn. 
What this means...