Carl F. Bucherer Teams Up with Ice Hockey Player Nico Hischier, Launches Two New Manero Central Counter Watches

Carl F. Bucherer's Manero Central Counter collection is known for its elegance or sophistication. Each of these watches has a central counter complication, wherein the chronograph minute counter is positioned centrally on the dial instead of being placed on a subdial. The independent family-owned Swiss watchmaker has now come up with a 13-piece limited edition of the Manero Central Counter for Swiss professional ice hockey player Nico Hischier (Ref. 00.10923.08.33.98). This watch combines classic design elements with innovative features, showcasing Carl F. Bucherer's commitment to exquisite craftsmanship and precision. A 99-piece limited-edition model (Ref. 00.10923.08.33.02) is also part of the launch.

In 2020, Hischier made it to the NHL All-Star Team and the following year, he was named captain of the New Jersey Devils. To this day, he remains one of the league's youngest captains while leading his team to its first playoff appearance in five years in the spring of 2023. At the age of 24 and already five seasons into his NHL career, Hischier has successfully mastered the transition from being a talented prospect to becoming a franchise player and team captain for the New Jersey Devils. Carl F. Bucherer announced appointing him as a brand ambassador in 2021.

The new Manero Central Counter Limited Edition Nico Hischier watch is limited to only 13 pieces. The round stainless steel case of this Manero Central Counter watch measures 42.5 mm in diameter, similar to other models. The timepiece gets broader lugs with a polished chamfer, lending it a touch of rugged elegance. The pushers at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock are designed like low-profile shiny buttons and the glossy pull-out crown adds a subtle hint of sophistication. There is a tachymeter bezel coated with polished black diamond-like carbon (also known as DLC).

The timepiece makes reading time as easy as possible. The new Manero Central Counter watch employs centrally mounted hands for displaying the chronograph timing of seconds and minutes, eliminating the need to navigate a usually crowded chronograph layout. The black dial gets a clean mien, featuring two recessed snailed subdials in silver, one for the 24-hour day-and-night indicator display at 9 o’clock and the other for the running seconds at 3 o’clock, staying true to the essence of a typical chronograph design. 

Positioned at 6 o’clock, a practical date window complements the watch’s functionality with a black background and white numeral. Enhanced with Super-LumiNova, the applied hour markers and hour and minute hands ensure excellent legibility even in low-light conditions. Notably, the chronograph minute hand with a white tip is painted to match the minute track. The dial also gets a special feature: an emblematic number 13 in red at 1 o’clock, along with the red stop second hand. The rhodium-plated hour and minute hands are wedge-shaped — a popular 1950s style and a signature element of the collection.

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Another watch in the collection is a 99-piece limited-edition model (Ref. 00.10923.08.33.02) that resembles the Nico Hischier variant sans the red ‘13’ on the dial and the special engraving on the caseback. Powering both these watches is CFB 1967 calibre with 40-44 hours of power reserve. The Nico Hischier version gets a special black-and-grey print no. 13 on its sapphire crystal caseback while the other model gets a sapphire crystal caseback with a stainless steel oscillating weight.  Both watches are finished on hybrid rubber straps with brushed texture and stainless steel pin-lock folding clasps.