Ophion OPH 786 Vélos – Early Special Order with a Rare Brushed Radial Silver Dial

The Ophion OPH 786 Vélos is an early example from the Vélos series by Spanish independent watchmaker Ophion, produced within the first fifty watches of the collection.

What immediately distinguishes this watch is its stunning brushed radial silver dial, fitted with applied thermally blued Breguet numerals and matching thermally blued hands. According to Ophion’s original presentation, the Vélos was offered with two brushed radial dial options: Anthracite and Blue. This silver brushed radial dial does not appear in the original catalogue.

To learn more about this unusual configuration, I contacted Ophion directly. While they were unable to confirm the exact production date, they indicated that this dial was most likely produced as a special orderfor a customer rather than as part of the regular production. This makes this example exceptionally rare and quite possibly unique.

The elegant 39 mm stainless steel case was produced in collaboration with Voutilainen-Cattin S.A., the Swiss case manufacture of renowned independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. Its beautifully hand-finished case features individually made and welded teardrop lugs, giving the watch a distinctive profile and a level of craftsmanship rarely found in this segment.

The attention to detail extends throughout the watch. The applied numerals were manufactured by CADOR GmbH in Germany, while the movement was developed to Ophion’s own specifications and features redesigned bridges, a symmetrical independent balance bridge, machine chamfering, Grenaille finishing and a dark grey sandblasted main plate. Final movement production was carried out in collaboration with MHVJ and Soprod in Switzerland.

An exceptional early Ophion Vélos, combining classical aesthetics with true independent watchmaking and an extraordinarily rare dial configuration that is unlikely to be encountered again.