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Chronoswiss Debuts Celestial-Themed Collection

Chronoswiss premiers its new Space Timer collection with two models, the Space Timer Moonwalk and the Space Timer Jupiter.

Both 44mm steel models echo the Lucerne-based watchmaker’s Open Gear regulator series, with its hour display hand at 12 o’clock, prominent central minutes hand, a visible gear train (with massive skeltonized  bridge) and the trademark Chronoswiss onion crown.

The new Chronoswiss Space Timer Moonwalk.

But these new Space Timer models differ from the Open Gear series with a celestial theme that replaces the retrograde seconds hand with a large moon phase and date sub-dial.  

For the Moonwalk model, Chronoswiss naturally emphasizes that moon-phase display, crafting it from titanium and placing tiny steel beads around the sundial as date markers, set between Arabic numerals.

The hour and date disks are both made of ITR2, a new-generation carbon nanotube-based material that Chronoswiss says is eight times lighter than steel and can be polished, sandblasted, painted or satin finished. 

Here, the watchmaker has partially skeletonized the hour display in part to “create the illusion that time – the day, the moon, the stars – seem to float in the interstellar void.”

Chronoswiss also developed a hand-crafted guilloche ‘Moonwalk’ pattern to decorate the dial. When the large SuperLuminova cylindrical markers (and even the luminous hands) throw light on that rolling, zigzag guilloché pattern, the resulting reflections recall the sun’s reflections on moon’s surface.

All the skeletonized hands, including the red date indicator, are powered by the ETA-based Chronoswiss C.308 automatic movement, visible via the sapphire back and displaying an oscillating weight finished with a Cote de Geneve.

Gassy Jupiter 

Instead of a patterned guilloche dial, the Chronoswiss Space Timer Jupiter shines with a laser-sculpted dial with a nano-print finish designed to mimic the sandy hues and drifting gases of the massive planet.

The new Chronoswiss Space Timer Jupiter.

And unlike the blue ITR2 date disk found on the Moonwalk, the Planet Jupiter offers a translucent ITR2 disk that, as on the Moonwalk, is set with tiny steel ‘micro-planets.’ A sand-colored titanium sphere illuminates the moon phase, matching the larger dial.

The Chronoswiss Space Timer Jupiter is also powered by the ETA-based Chronoswiss C.308 automatic caliber.  

Chronoswiss is inaugurating its Space Timer collection with both the Space Timer Jupiter and the Space Timer Moonwalk, each as a limited edition of fifty. Each new model is priced at $17,100.

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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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Chronoswiss Open Gear ReSec Goes Green

Chronoswiss deftly adds a guilloché spiraling leaf pattern to one of its best sellers, creating the eye-catching Open Gear ReSec Jungle.

The new Chronoswiss Open Gear ReSec Jungle.

The 44mm watch, with the familiar Chronoswiss multi-layer 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.

For this new limited edition of fifty pieces, Chronoswiss coats handcrafted wavy guilloche with a green chemical vapor deposition. The combination creates a color-changing effect that appears much deeper than it is.

“The wavy, moiré pattern on this timepiece is emotionally inspired by what you would see in that situation, its vivid colors changing seamlessly from racing green to silver blue and shadowy black,” says Chronoswiss owner and director Oliver Ebstein.

He explains that Chronoswiss artisans create the watch’s distinctive multi-layer effect by stacking the dial within black galvanized bridges, subdials and skeletonized gear train wheels ­– all framed by an internal (luminescent) marker track. 

“With many patterns you can create 4–5 waves by simply changing the diameter with a switch, explains Chronoswiss designer Maik Panziera. “But with the palm leaf-inspired moiré pattern it’s a different story.”

He adds that the brass wheels that guide the movement of the machine must be changed after each wave is cut.

“But it is worth it – in the end you have such a great pattern that you cannot compare with CNC-made products. To produce guilloché by hand really excites me, because it gives every watch an individual soul,” he adds.

Chronoswiss powers its 44mm Open Gear ReSec Jungle with the automatic Chronoswiss Caliber C. 301. Price: $9,700

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Chronoswiss Darkens an Open Gear ReSec

 

Chronoswiss offers multiple shades of black on a new model within its Open Gear ReSec regulator collection. The Lucerne-based independent watchmaker combines a range of technical finishing techniques to create interesting optical effects on the dark new Open Gear ReSec Black Ice.

The new Chronoswiss Open Gear ReSec Black Ice.

The 44mm watch, with a now familiar multi-layer regulator dial, onion crown and fluted bezel, operates on two levels. On one level is the plate for the bridges, screws and wheels. A second, upper level features screwed-on skeletonized train wheel bridges and a fascinating funnel-shaped hour display.

Named for its premier function (ReSec stands for Retrograde Seconds), the watch’s jumping seconds hand operates in a half-circle, leaping from the thirty seconds position back to start its arc to complete counting each minute. The fan-shaped bridge holding the 30-second retrograde function defines the lower half of the dial.

With its all-black canvas, the Open Gear ReSec Black Ice allows all the luminous hour and minute markers to shine especially clearly. Luminous hands rotate over what appears to be coarse, shiny black sand.  

Chronoswiss explains that this eye-catching dial effect requires “heavy metal industrial operations” involving structure-cutting laser beams and a heavy pressure stamping procedure before the solid metal is dunked into a galvanic bath.

“This watch is like fifty shades of black, and the different blacks really contrast each other thanks to the different structures, finishes and coatings,” says Chronoswiss designer Maik Panziera. “Some surfaces are much darker than others; despite the monochrome palette they almost appear like different colors.”

The primary technique Chronoswiss uses here is DLC coating, found on the black matte case and the polished screws securing the bridges. The bridge holding the 30-second retrograde function is sandblasted with a black galvanization. And the subtle contrasts between these two finishes nicely enhance the Black Ice’s multi-level effect.

Chronoswiss also took time to ensure that the back of the watch matched the front. Thus, the rotor of the automatic C.301 movement, visible through the clear caseback, is galvanized black, then skeletonized and finally finished with côtes de Genève.

The rotor of the automatic C.301 movement, visible through the clear caseback, is galvanized black and skeletonized.

As a bonus, Chronoswiss offers the new watch attached to a hand-stitched neoprene strap with a leather base. Chronoswiss will make fifty examples of the Open Gear ReSec Black Ice. Price: $10,600.

 

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Chronoswiss Blues its Manual-Wind SkelTec

Among its many 2021 debuts, Chronoswiss launches a royal blue version of its SkelTec model, a manual-wind watch with eye-catching contemporary openwork design and coloring that the Lucerne-based watchmaker initially debuted in 2020.

The latest Chronoswiss SkelTec features a blued case and inner minutes track.

From its skeletonized lugs to a star-shaped mainspring barrel, the Chronoswiss SkelTec exposes its components, including the balance wheel, barrel, winding gears and gear train, with a decidedly contemporary flair. Even the bezel on the 45mm case serves up an updated version of the classic Chronoswiss fluted case.

This latest version, called SkelTec Azur, lays out its inner self in a new deep blue framework.

Chronoswiss head of design Maik Panziera explains that the watchmaker created this intense blue case and interior minutes track through the use of chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a modern finishing technique that effectively replaces traditional mineral-based techniques.

The blued 51-part case frames a 166-part hand-wound Chronoswiss C. 304 movement built with an X-shaped monobloc construction that aligns the primary timekeeping components along a vertical axis.

Note that the minutes track, essentially what little exists of a dial, is held in place by four small triangular bridges at the 11, 1, 5 and 7 positions. Chronoswiss then attaches a black central X underneath the nicely contrasting white lacquered hour and minute hands, which are filled with green SuperLuminova.  

Chronoswiss contrasts the watch’s blue and black color scheme with a rhodium-plated star-shaped mainspring top, moving wheels and pivoting pins.

If its more traditional décor you seek, turn the watch over.  There, through the screwed-down case back with sapphire crystal, you will see a classic mainspring barrel back with a satin-brushed finish and chamfered, polished angles.

Chronoswiss is offering the SkelTec Azur as a limited edition of fifty, each equipped with a calfskin and textile strap specially made for the SkelTec collection. Price: $22,400.

 

Specifications: Chronoswiss SkelTec Azur (Ref. CH-3718-BKBLB)

Movement: Manufacture caliber C.304, hand-wound, skeletonized, 166 components, open balance wheel, skeletonized spring barrel, 28,800 vph frequency, 48-hour power reserve.

Case: 45mm by 7.5mm steel with 51 parts, middle part DLC-coated stainless steel, sand blasted matt finish; bezel, screws and back ring stainless steel with blue CVD-coating; bezel polished with double anti-reflective sapphire crystal, screw-down case back with satin finish and sapphire crystal; onion crown; water resistance up to 50 meters, screw-in lugs with patented Autobloc system.

Dial: Skeletonized, matt blue CVD coating, Skeletonized hands with lacquered, SuperLuminova inlays.

Strap: Custom-made calfskin and textile.  

Price: $22,400.

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