With Model 158, Sinn has revived a little-known facet of its history: the Bundeswehr Chronograph. Presented in a refreshed, limited edition, how well does this retro chronograph perform"

Sinn Model 158

Sinn is known for making watches for police and military forces. The EZM 1, for example, was the first mission timer Sinn designed in 1997 for special units of Germany?s customs authority. Sinn had the German special police unit GSG 9 in mind when it developed the UX divers? watch, which is also worn by members of the German Navy?s Special Forces Command. And the 212 KSK meets the requirements of the German Army?s Special Forces Command.

But fewer watch fans may know about the points of contact between Sinn and the Bundeswehr, Germany?s armed forces, in the past. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the company?s founder, Helmut Sinn, purchased the German Army?s stock of decommissioned Bundeswehr chronographs, which were made by Heuer (Ref. 1550 SG). Helmut Sinn reworked these watches and afterward sold them as Sinn Model 155 Bw, with Sinn lettering on their dials designating ?Heuer/Sinn Bunderswehr-Chronograph für Piloten? (German for Heuer/Sinn German Armed Forces Chronograph for Pilots).
Now Sinn pays tribute to this watch with its Model 158, our test watch, which is released in a limited edition of 500 timepieces. The lion?s share of this watch?s design has been adopted unchanged from its ancestor. Anyone familiar with the original model will immediately notice...