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Chronoswiss Plugs in an Electric Blue ReSec

With the latest iteration of its best-selling Open Gear ReSec, Chronoswiss displays a new type of shockingly blue guilloché on its multi-level regulator dial.

The new Chronoswiss Open Gear ReSec Electric Blue

Like electric rays, a ridged set of peaks seem to radiate from the center of the new Open Gear ReSec Electric Blue, throwing light to and fro, depending on the viewing angle.

The 44mm watch, with the familiar Chronoswiss regulator dial, knurled bezel and onion crown, features a separate hour hand and a prominent central minute hand. Named for its premier function (ReSec stands for Retrograde Seconds), the watch’s jumping seconds hand along the lower half of the dial operates in a half-circle, leaping from the thirty seconds position back to start its arc to complete counting each minute.

And, once you’ve eyed the buzzing blue dial pattern, you’ll likely note the distinctive Open Gear architecture that clearly displays several of the gears controlling the hands. Chronoswiss powers this Open Gear ReSec Electric Blue with the automatic Chronoswiss Caliber C. 301 (see specifications below).

Chronoswiss will make its Open Gear ReSec Electric Blue in a limited edition of fifty pieces, each with an all-blue case, bracelet and dial.

Price: $11,200

 

Specifications: Chronoswiss Open Gear ReSec Electric Blue

(Limited edition of 50 (Ref. CH-6926-BLSI)

Case: Seventeen-piece 44mm by 13.35mm stainless steel with blue CVD coating, satin finish and polished, bezel with partial knurling and curved, double coated anti-reflective sapphire crystal, screw-down case back with satin finish and sapphire crystal, onion crown, water resistance to 100 meters, strap holders screwed down with patented Autobloc system.

Movement: Chronoswiss caliber C. 301, automatic, with stop seconds, skeletonized blue rotor with Cote de Genève and ball bearing; polished pallet lever, escape wheel and screws, bridges and plates with perlage. Frequency is 4 Hz., (28,800 vph).

Dial: Elaborate 42-part construction on two levels: bottom level hand-guilloché, upper level featuring screwed-on skeletonized train wheel bridges and funnel-like construction for hour display, as well as a retrograde seconds display and cylinder shape Super-LumiNova indexes. Hands: “Trigono” shape; with Super-LumiNova inlays and tips.

Strap: Hornback crocodile leather, hand-sewn.

Price: $11,200 (Limited Edition of 50)

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The Watches

Under the Radar: The Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date

 

All week we’re reviewing 2022 debuts presented during Watches and Wonders 2022 that, perhaps, you didn’t read too much about in the first wave of online reporting.

As Montblanc’s first diving watch, the 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date catches your eye with its ‘frozen’ dial. Not actually ice (though that would be impressive) the dials on all three versions of this 41mm steel dive watch artfully mimic a glacier.

Up close on the dial of the new Montblanc Iced Sea Automatic Date.

More specifically, the dial makers report that they climbed up to the glacial lakes of Mont Blanc to find their muse. Ascending via the Chamonix Valley to the Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice), Montblanc designers say they “were captivated by the texture of the glacial ice with its interlocking network of crystals that have been frozen in time for millennia.”

The dial work, made possible with an age-old technique called gratté-boisé, is stunning. The dial’s depth and intricate crags and crevices are all better when viewed live than they appear in pictures.

The new Montblanc Iced Sea Automatic Date.

And turning the watch over reveals a case back with a three-dimensional relief engraving of an iceberg and a scuba diver exploring the waters below.

As a certified diving timing instrument, conforming to the ISO 6425 norm, the 1858 Iced Sea has undergone the Montblanc Laboratory 500 Hour Test to ensure that it is shock resistant, anti-magnetic, extreme temperature resistant and water-resistant (to 300 meters). The 12.9mm-thick steel case protects an automatic Sellita movement.

This watch also includes a wet-suit adjustable v-shaped stainless-steel tapered bracelet that the wearer can easily swap for a rubber strap without the need to return to the boutique or use of any tools.

Montblanc offers the 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date with three different dial colors, blue, green and black, each with a matching unidirectional bezel.

Prices: $2,975 to $3,190.

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Oris

Under the Radar: The Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Caliber 403

All week we’re reviewing 2022 debuts presented during Watches and Wonders 2022 that, perhaps, you didn’t read too much about in the first wave of online reporting.

While Oris focused on its Oris ProPilotX Caliber 400 during the recent debut event at Watches and Wonders 2022, this watch also benefits from the long-power reserves found in the Oris Caliber 400 series of movements.

The new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Caliber 403

For the first time in a Big Crown Pointer Date production piece, Oris also launches this Big Crown Pointer Date Caliber 403, which is updated with that new movement. This 38mm steel-cased model, with small seconds and pointer date complications, is now fit with namesake Caliber 403, which we first saw in the 250-piece Hölstein limited edition in 2021.

Echoing the entire Caliber 400 series, Caliber 403 has elevated levels of anti-magnetism, a five-day power reserve and a ten-year warranty. It’s also accurate to -3/+5 seconds a day – which would pass chronometer testing – and has ten-year recommended service intervals. As production allows, we expect Oris to phase in additional models in this collection fit with calibers from the excellent Oris long-power-reserve movement series.

Price: $3,400.

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The Watches

Under the Radar: The Angelus Chronodate

All week we’re reviewing 2022 debuts presented during Watches and Wonders 2022 that, perhaps, you didn’t read too much about in the first wave of online reporting.

 

One of the more impressive new chronographs debuted earlier this month in Geneva, the Angelus Chronodate is this watchmaker’s tribute to a chronograph it made eighty years ago in 1942.

The Angelus Chronodate Red Gold

True to the common bi-compax layout of many chronographs of that era, the retro update at 42.5mm is larger than the original Angelus Chronodate. It remains highly legible with similar big sub-dials and red-tinted chronograph hands. That very cool bi-compax layout is encircled by a peripheral date, which Angelus notes is also a direct reference to the original model.

The Angelus Chronodate Titanium.

Most effectively, Angelus has placed the watch’s counters and applied Arabic numerals on matte dials, like frosted glass, which provides a winning sporty effect and sets this series apart from so many other retro chronographs.

Angelus powers the watch with its own Caliber A-500, which is a 4 Hz chronograph with a column wheel and horizontal coupling. An historical Angelus logo graces the rotor.

And while the dial and layout are historically inspired, the Chronodate case is decidedly modern. Its modular frame protects the movement within a container made of carbon composite. Indeed, the chronograph’s push-pieces, the ring inserted between the case middle and the 12-notch bezel are also cut from this matte black material.

Angelus is making its Chronodate is available in three limited series’ of twenty-five pieces each. The red gold Chronodate features a blue PVD dial while the titanium versions are available in two color schemes, opaline white or blue PVD.

Prices: $23,100 (titanium) and $43,300 (red gold).

 

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The Watches

Under the Radar: Chopard’s L.U.C XPS 1860 Officer

All week we’re reviewing 2022 debuts presented during Watches and Wonders 2022 that, perhaps, you didn’t read too much about in the first wave of online reporting.

With a trio of glorious chiming watches and a terrific flying tourbillon model highlighting Chopard’s 2022 Watches and Wonders debuts, it’s no wonder this handsome limited edition might have garnered less attention than it deserves.

Chopard’s L.U.C XPS 1860 Officer.

With a gold 40mm case, a forest green guilloché gold dial and a hinged officer-type back cover, the new L.U.C XPS 1860 Officer, which bears the Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark, is both distinctive and elegant.

Much of its distinction lies within its gold case. Inside Chopard has placed its celebrated ultra-thin (3.30mm) L.U.C 96.01-L movement, which is the first Chopard Manufacture caliber from 1997.

Built with Chopard Twin technology and a 22-karat gold micro-rotor, the movement supplies two stacked barrels that guarantee a 65-hour power reserve and confer chronometer-certified precision. All L.U.C models with a small seconds display are certified by the Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).

As noted, the watch’s forest green dial is built on a solid gold base. In the center you’ll find a hand-guilloché honeycomb motif that also adorns the back cover. Until the 1920s, Chopard engraved all its watch movements and covers with this beehive and bees to symbolize industry.

The bees appear in random manner, which means each watch engraving is slightly different from another. Chopard reprised the bee symbol at the advent of the L.U.C collection in 1996.

L.U.C Caliber 96.01-L

 

Price: ($33,500, limited to 50 pieces)

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