ReviewFusion Of Old And New: Presenting The Chronoswiss Delphis Collection

Of all the Chronoswiss collections, the most meaningful is perhaps the Delphis. A jumping hour display and retrograde minutes dominate the top half of the dial, while a small seconds sub-dial offsets this in the lower half. Modelled on a watch that debuted in 1996, the Delphis displays the brand’s journey from the ‘mechanical renaissance’ of watchmaking to modern times. With their latest release, the Delphis Sapphire, Chronoswiss once again affirm their dedication to both fine watchmaking savoir faire and to modernising the mechanics within. The three-dimensional dial of the Delphis Sapphire showcases hand guilloche textures in a rich blue and black that balance each other beautifully. All these colours and textures are complemented by the unique time-telling style that the Delphis line is now known for.

Youth Steeped In Tradition

Chronoswiss are a relatively young brand in the world of luxury watchmaking. Established by Gerd Rüdiger Lang in Munich, Germany, in 1983, at a time when most mechanical watchmaking brands were reeling from the effects of the quartz crisis. But Lang firmly believed that mechanical watches would never go out of style. At Baselworld in 1987, Chronoswiss debuted the first hand-wound Régulateur timepiece with a non-coaxial time telling style that became a signature for the brand. In 2012, a Swiss entrepreneurial family, the Ebsteins, acquired the brand. Under the leadership of CEO Oliver Ebstein, Chronoswiss moved to Lucerne, and into the future while retaining everything that put it on the horological map. Today, Chronoswiss are known as much for their regulator-style wristwatches as they are for upholding and reviving traditional watchmaking crafts.

The Delphis Journey

In 2023, to mark their 40th anniversary, Chronoswiss released the Delphis Oracle, a red gold timepiece. While the inspiration for this watch came from a 1996 timepiece, the execution was very contemporary. Models from the 90s and early 2000s featured a guilloche texture along the entirety of the dial. However, with the 2023 upgrade, the brand added depth and dimension by juxtaposing contrasting textures and hues onto the new Delphis timepieces. CVD coating enhances the guilloche in a way little else can. The Delphis Paraiba, with a mesmerising blue-green coating on a hand-guilloche dial, captured the imagination and firmly established the Delphis line once again.

Named for the Brazilian gemstone, the Paraiba tourmaline, the kaleidoscopic effect of the blue overlapping with green on the Delphis Paraiba is captivating

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Gorgeous hand guilloche combined with CVD coating gives the galvanic half-moon retrograde minutes display a whole new life on the dial of the Delphis Paraiba

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The small seconds sub-dial at six also features hand guilloche, but in black, which pops against the grained textures of the base, and the smooth matt finished bridges

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Hues Of The Delphis

Named for the Brazilian gemstone, the Paraiba tourmaline, the kaleidoscopic effect of the blue overlapping with green on the Delphis Paraiba is captivating. A window on this blue-green texture displays the jumping hours. Around this, in a semi-circular opening, black numerals on white, and contrasting minute markers on a black semi-circle display the retrograde minutes. Stunning colours on the upper half of the dial are beautifully offset by contrasting textures in black on the lower half. The small seconds sub-dial at six also features hand guilloche, but in black, which ensures that the sub-dial pops against the grained textures of the base, and the smooth matt finished bridges.

The Delphis Venture, released along with the Paraiba, was comparatively stealthier, though just as animated. Its black guilloche pattern on the upper half, with a contrasting blue small seconds sub-dial presented a distinct three-dimensional effect. The bright blue CVD coating stands out against the black. Pointer shaped, skeletonised, ‘viking’ hands tell the minutes and seconds, while double-digit Arabic numerals on the minutes and seconds displays offer a visual symmetry to the watch.

The Delphis Venture, released alongside the Paraiba, was comparatively stealthier, though just as animated

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The bright blue CVD coating stands out on the lower half of the dial against the grained black texture beneath

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Skeletonised, ‘viking’ hands tell the minutes and seconds. Double-digit Arabic numerals on the minutes and seconds displays offer a visual symmetry to the Delphis Venture

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Chronoswiss’s latest release the Delphis Sapphire features a sapphire CVD coating on the guilloche pattern in the semi-circular minutes display. This complements the contrasting texture on the bright blue sub-dial at six. On this timepiece, the minutes are displayed in white numerals against a black background, allowing the blue of the dial to really shine.

Delphis On The Wrist

The 42mm case may be larger than most formal watches, but to accommodate the detailed decoration on the dial, the canvas had to be larger. Although, the watch wears smaller courtesy of the coin edging on the bezel and around the lower profile of the case. The case is water resistant to 100m, which improves the wearability of the watch. An exaggerated onion crown and screws on the curved lugs for the straps are some of the other signatures of Chronoswiss showcased beautifully in steel against the shades of the Delphis dials. The watches are paired with black rubber straps that highlight the shades on the dials.

Prior to 2023, Delphis timepieces featured manufacture movements, but with the new timepieces, Chronoswiss have introduced in-house calibres into the collection. Delphis watches are now powered by the automatic C. 6004 calibre, with enhanced anti-magnetism, shock resistance and a 55-hour power reserve.

Chronoswiss Delphis watches wear smaller than their 42mm because of the curved lugs and the coin-edge fluting on the upper and lower ends of the case profile

Chronoswiss Delphis watches are powered by the automatic in-house C. 6004 calibre, with enhanced anti-magnetism, shock resistance and a 55-hour power reserve

The brand attach equal importance to both form and function in upholding the ethos of the brand while also making the watches contemporary. The Chronoswiss Delphis collection, with its beautiful guilloche textures in pops of cool colour, is as trendy in its appearance as it is vintage in inspiration.