The 2001 Corum Admiral’s Cup Legend 42 (ref. 395.101.55/0001 AK12) brings you the joy of owning a beautifully designed timekeeper, which is now available in a more compact, elegant body that is more suitable for what is essentially a dress watch.
The rose gold case that shed some weight and is now only 42 mm in diameter, has preserved the signature dodecagonal shape with a pair of rugged-looking crown guards.
The sporty case that features the intelligent interplay of polished and brushed surfaces hides inside the CO 395 automatic movement with an exclusive Corum finish.
Using the good old ETA 2895-A2 blank caliber as a base, the Legend 42 ensures years (and probably decades) of hassle-free operation if you don’t forget to service it at recommended intervals and not abuse on a daily basis (although something tells me that a watch that costs more than $20k will not see much abuse anyway.)
Still, the choice of a caliber somehow diminishes the value of the watch in my eyes (and probably in the eyes of a person whom you may want to resell it when the time comes for it to go.) At this price, I expect it to be equipped with something of a higher pedigree than this fairly inexpensive, mass-produced movement. After all, there is a number of established Manufactures that make superb calibers with classic design and unrivaled reliability, although the profit margin wouldn’t be as thick as in this particular case. Well, maybe that was the idea, who knows.
The Legend 42’s dial may look like it is made of carbon fiber, but it is a blackened metal with a gorgeous barleycorn guilloche motif that not only makes the dial more readable but also gives it an extra sense of depth.
The rose gold open-worked hour and minute hands are generously covered with Superluminova as is the compass-hand shaped subsidiary seconds indicator at 6 o’clock. Perhaps, small dots of lume in front of the applied hour markers would make the dial even more readable at night, but I understand why Corum’s designers decided to pass on the idea: there was a risk that extra readability would have robbed the classic-styled timekeeper of its elegance and refined beauty.
As you can see below, the calendar ring, which is partly visible through the aperture at 3 o’clock, has the small Arabic numerals printed in gold on a black background. To my taste, this is a nice touch that shows respect for the customer and attention to even the slightest details.
See also: Bell & Ross BR 123 Vintage Original Carbon
WWR Verdict
Originality 5/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Usability: 4.5/5
Overall Legibility: 5/5
Nighttime Legibility: 4.5/5
Value for Money: 4.5/5
Overall Rating: 5/5
Photos: Corum
Corum Admiral’s Cup Legend 42 specification
Price: $21,000 (MSRP)
Movement: Automatic, Caliber CO395 (base ETA 2895-A2,) 28,800 vph, 27 jewels, Swiss Made
Movement decoration: Decorated in-house
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date
Power reserve: 42 hours
Case: Rose gold
Shape: Dodecagonal
Size: 42.00 mm
Case height: 9.50 mm
Dial: Black (officially called ‘Charcoal Grey’,) guilloche pattern
Numerals: Arabic (applied “60” at 12 o’clock)
Hands: Rose gold, luminous
Hour markers: Rose gold, applied
Water resistance: 50 meters
Strap: Black alligator leather strap with 18-karat rose gold buckle
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective, dodecagonal
Back: Sapphire