Depancel Autosport: history, models and owner reviews

Depancel Autosport was launched as an automatic calendar watch inspired by the racing circuits of the 1960s and 1970s and by the automotive imagination that structures Depancel’s identity. Unlike the Autosport Racing Chronograph, this Autosport is not a chronograph: it instead stages day, month, and date indications within a highly graphic dial built like a dashboard. Its 316L steel case measures 39mm, with 46mm lug-to-lug, 12.6mm thickness including the crystal, 20mm lug width, a double-domed sapphire crystal, stated 50-metre water resistance, and a Miyota 9122 automatic movement offering a 40-hour power reserve.

Autosport design: circuit-born dial and dashboard spirit

The Depancel Autosport draws inspiration from the 1960s and 1970s, a period when circuits, drivers, and racing cars created a highly recognizable aesthetic: readable gauges, strong contrasts, brushed metal, functional colors, and a performance spirit. The dial translates this energy with two brushed sectors, guilloché subdials, and a date window, all surrounded by a railway minute track that structures the read. In use, the two brushed dial sectors bring considerable depth without turning the watch into an overly complicated instrument.

The beveled hands and indexes receive Super-LumiNova, with an Old Radium tone on the Silver, Blue, and Blue Silver versions, and Super-LumiNova C1 on the Green version. This choice strengthens the neo-vintage spirit of the first variants, while the green model adopts a more contemporary reading. The watch is visually rich, yet keeps a clear hierarchy: time at the center, calendar information in the subdials, date through a window. For an everyday automotive watch, readability remains the real criterion, because style must never prevent fast access to useful information.

The presence of subdials could suggest a chronograph, but the Autosport is truly an automatic calendar watch. This is essential to understanding it properly: it takes up certain visual codes of motorsport without offering chronograph functionality. It is closer to a compact dashboard, where several time-related indications coexist in a mechanical and accessible format. In this logic, the calendar becomes the central functional element, not a secondary detail added to the dial.

39mm case: 316L steel, double-domed sapphire, and numbered plate

The 316L steel case measures 39mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, and 12.6mm thick, or 11.2mm without the crystal. These dimensions are especially well chosen for a watch with an animated dial: diameter stays controlled, while visual opening lets the indications breathe. The polished bezel contrasts with circular brushing on the lugs, the case flanks use horizontal brushing, and polished upper edges add a more elegant tension. On the wrist, 39mm and 46mm lug-to-lug offer a strong balance between presence and comfort.

The double-domed sapphire crystal gives the watch real personality. It protects the dial against everyday scratches while creating a depth effect, almost vintage, that fits the automotive inspiration very well. On a sector dial, this type of crystal can enhance reflections and add relief to textures. You simply need to accept that the domed sapphire is part of the piece’s visual character. In daily experience, the double-domed sapphire is a very coherent choice: practical, durable, and warmer than a flat crystal.

The numbered plate screwed onto the case flank is one of Depancel’s most endearing brand signatures. It evokes license plates and gives each watch its own identity, almost as though the object carried its chassis number. This detail adds no watchmaking function, but it adds ownership emotion, especially for car enthusiasts and lovers of individualized pieces. On the Autosport, the side numbered plate clearly strengthens the automotive connection and separates the watch from a simple automatic calendar model.

Miyota 9122: automatic, day, month, date, and 40 hours

The Autosport is powered by the Miyota 9122 automatic, a Japanese movement offering hours, minutes, seconds, day, month, and date. This architecture suits the concept well: a dashboard-inspired watch should give several pieces of information without moving into an expensive or fragile complication. The Miyota 9122 remains a known industrial base, easy to live with and suited to a regularly worn watch. In this configuration, the Miyota 9122 automatic gives the Autosport a genuine mechanical personality, richer than a simple three-hander.

The stated power reserve is 40 hours. That is easily sufficient for a watch worn often, but it may require full time and calendar setting if the watch rests over an entire weekend. This is the natural compromise of an automatic calendar watch: more dial information, but a small resetting ritual if it stops. For many enthusiasts, that ritual is also part of mechanical pleasure. In use, the 40-hour power reserve suits a weekday watch or regular rotation piece very well.

Depancel customizes the oscillating weight with a radiator-grille motif, the shield logo, and three tricolor stars. This matters because it extends the automotive universe to the caseback: the theme is not only applied to the dial, it is also present in the visible mechanics. Of course, the movement remains a robust Miyota calibre rather than a high-watchmaking movement, but the aesthetic coherence is real. For the owner, the decorated oscillating weight adds discreet pleasure whenever the watch is turned over.

Main references

Depancel Autosport Silver

The Silver version is the brightest and most classic in the family. Its silver dial, surrounded by a black railway minute track, highlights the two brushed sectors, guilloché subdials, and date window. It more strongly evokes old instruments, light-colored gauges, and vintage automotive interiors. Shared characteristics remain: 39mm 316L steel case, 46mm lug-to-lug, 12.6mm thickness, 20mm lug width, double-domed sapphire crystal, Old Radium Super-LumiNova, Miyota 9122 automatic, 40-hour reserve, and 50-metre water resistance. Within the collection, Silver is the most elegant and retro version, especially on Racing Marron or Racing Noir straps. The full reference to retain is Depancel Autosport Silver.

Depancel Autosport Blue

The Blue version brings a sportier and more contemporary read, without losing the model’s neo-vintage spirit. Blue adds depth to the dial and works very well with Racing Bleu Orange, Racing Noir, or Racing Marron straps. This variant keeps the same technical fundamentals as Silver: 316L steel, 39mm, 46mm lug-to-lug, 12.6mm thickness, double-domed sapphire crystal, Old Radium Super-LumiNova, Miyota 9122 automatic, day, month, date, 40-hour reserve, and 50-metre water resistance. It will suit those who want a colorful automotive watch that remains easy to wear. In the range, Blue is the best daily compromise, because it combines personality and versatility. The full reference to retain is Depancel Autosport Blue.

Depancel Autosport Green

The Green version adopts a stronger personality. Its green dial modernizes the Autosport spirit and makes it more distinctive within an automotive-inspired watch collection. Super-LumiNova C1, different from the Old Radium used on the other variants, reinforces this fresher and more current reading. It is offered with Racing Noir Jaune, Racing Noir, or Racing Marron straps, allowing it to move toward very sporty, more understated, or more vintage registers. Specifications remain identical: 316L steel, 39mm, 46mm lug-to-lug, 12.6mm, double-domed sapphire, Miyota 9122, 40 hours, and 50 metres. Within this family, Green is the most expressive and contemporary choice. The full reference to retain is Depancel Autosport Green.

Depancel Autosport Blue Silver Limited Edition

The Blue Silver version is the most particular edition, because it is limited to 200 examples and stated as not to be reproduced later. It combines a light dial, a silver railway track, and a blue touch that makes it more distinctive than the classic Silver while remaining brighter than Blue. This configuration keeps the same technical base: 39mm 316L steel case, 46mm lug-to-lug, 12.6mm thickness, double-domed sapphire, Old Radium Super-LumiNova, Miyota 9122 movement, day, month, date, 40-hour reserve, and 50-metre water resistance. Within the collection, Blue Silver is the most collectible version, especially thanks to its 200-piece limitation. The full reference to retain is Depancel Autosport Blue Silver Limited Edition.

Conclusion

The Depancel Autosport is a highly engaging automatic watch because it translates the automotive universe without limiting itself to a simple chronograph aesthetic. Its 39mm case, double-domed sapphire crystal, sector dial, guilloché subdials, Miyota 9122 with day, month, and date, numbered plate, and Racing straps create a coherent, easy-wearing, immediately identifiable piece. Silver, Blue, Green, or Blue Silver: each version tells the same passion with a different nuance.

To compare this overview with real-life feedback and owner experience, consult Dialicious customer reviews.

(Updated July 2026)