Racing Chronograph — Lava Dial, Black DLC
Racing Chronograph — Lava Dial, Black DLC
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Racing Chronograph — Lava Dial, Black DLC
40MM 904L STEEL · BLACK DLC · CHRONOGRAPH
Black That Is Grown, Not Sprayed
Diamond-like carbon is bonded into the steel in a vacuum. It ends up harder than the case it covers.
Most black watches are a steel case with a black coat sprayed over the top. The coat sits on the surface, so the first knock takes it off a corner and the silver underneath shows through. That is why blacked-out watches so often look tired inside a year.
Diamond-like carbon works the other way round. The case is stripped back to bare metal and put in a vacuum chamber, and carbon is deposited onto it a few microns thick — bonded into the surface rather than laid on it, and harder than the 904L steel underneath.
It is thin enough that you still read the shape of the case through it: the brushed top of the lug, the polished bevel running down its side. Black, but not flattened.
THE LAVA DIAL
Poured, Not Printed
Yellow burning through orange into red, laid in streaks across the face.
The colour is built up in lacquer, layer over layer, each one going down while the last is still open so the yellow bleeds into the orange and the orange into the red. There is no line anywhere on the dial where one colour stops and the next begins.
Held still it reads as deep red with a bright seam across the top. Turn it and the seam moves, because the streaks sit at different depths in the lacquer and each catches the light at its own angle.
The counters are ringed in white and the markers are white. Everything else on that face is colour.
How A Blacked-Out Chronograph Is Made
The finish goes on last, and it cannot cover a mistake.
Cut From 904L
The case is machined from 904L steel, the harder alloy. It is slower to cut than ordinary watch steel and holds a finish better once cut.
Brushed And Bevelled
Every surface gets its final finish now. The coating is only microns thick, so anything left rough underneath stays rough afterwards.
Into The Chamber
The bare case goes into a vacuum and carbon is deposited onto it atom by atom until the whole surface is diamond-like carbon, bonded in.
The Dial Laid In
Lacquer is worked on wet, colour into colour, so the yellow, orange and red run together. Once it cures the counters and markers go on.
Numbered And Checked
Chronograph action, pusher feel, bezel alignment and clasp are checked by hand. The case back is numbered before the watch is boxed.
2-Year Warranty. 30-Day Refund.
Wear it for a month. If it is not what you expected, send it back for a full refund — no conditions, no restocking fee.
Why People Stop You To Look
Sending a chronograph away to be coated and re-dialled costs four figures on its own, and the case is gone for months. This one arrives finished, numbered and boxed, and asks $1,099.
THE BLACKED-OUT SPEC
40mm 904L steel under a black DLC finish, molten orange-to-red lava dial, three chronograph counters, engraved tachymeter bezel, DLC bracelet on a folding clasp. Hand-inspected, boxed for presentation, backed for two years.
What Sets Us Apart
| Prestige | Others | |
|---|---|---|
| ✓ | 904L steel case, bezel and bracelet under a black DLC finish | ✕ |
| ✓ | Diamond-like carbon — bonded in, harder than the steel it covers | ✕ |
| ✓ | Molten orange-to-red lava dial, streaked rather than flat | ✕ |
| ✓ | Three working chronograph counters, each ringed in white | ✕ |
| ✓ | Engraved tachymeter bezel, UNITS PER HOUR, 400 down to 60 | ✕ |
| ✓ | Slim white baton markers against the colour | ✕ |
| ✓ | Screw-down crown between two screw-down pushers | ✕ |
| ✓ | Three-link DLC bracelet on a folding clasp | ✕ |
| ✓ | Automatic self-winding movement — no battery | ✕ |
| ✓ | Case back numbered by hand, twenty-five made | ✕ |
OWN IT WITHOUT RISK
Thirty Days. Full Refund. No Conditions.
Wear it for a month. If it is not what you expected, send it back.
Every watch carries a two-year Prestige guarantee and a 30-day money-back promise, for every customer, in every country. Free express shipping worldwide, tracked and insured. If anything is wrong when it lands, message us and a person picks it up.
- 30-day money-back guarantee — no conditions, no restocking fee
- Two-year Prestige guarantee on every watch
- Free tracked express shipping, worldwide
- 10–18 days international · 15–25 days inside Iraq
Before You Buy
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the black wear off the edges?
Will the black wear off the edges?
It is not a layer sitting on top. Diamond-like carbon is deposited into the surface of the steel in a vacuum and ends up harder than the steel itself, so corners and clasp edges do not rub back to silver the way sprayed black does.
Does it need a battery?
Does it need a battery?
No. It is an automatic chronograph on the 7750 architecture — it winds itself from the movement of your wrist. Left in a drawer for a couple of days it stops, and a minute back on the wrist starts it again.
Is the dial printed?
Is the dial printed?
No. The colour is worked in lacquer, layer on layer, while each coat is still open, which is why the yellow, orange and red bleed together instead of meeting at a line. The counters and markers go on afterwards.
Does the chronograph work?
Does the chronograph work?
Yes. The two pushers start, stop and reset it. Twelve hours at nine, thirty minutes at three, running seconds at six — working counters, not decoration.
Is it really limited?
Is it really limited?
Twenty-five were made and each case back is numbered by hand. When they are gone we do not reorder them.
Can I swim with it?
Can I swim with it?
No. It is rated to 30m, which covers rain and hand-washing. Keep it out of pools and the sea.
How long does delivery take?
How long does delivery take?
Ten to eighteen days to most countries, fifteen to twenty-five inside Iraq. Shipping is free, tracked and insured, and you get the tracking number as soon as it leaves us.
Can I ask questions before I order?
Can I ask questions before I order?
Yes, and we would rather you did. Message the page on Facebook or Instagram — a real person answers, usually within the hour.