FeatureAll You Need To Know About The Carl F. Bucherer Manero Flyback

The Manero collection from Carl F. Bucherer has earned quite a reputation for its flyback chronograph models since their launch in 2016. The Manero Flyback is available at Ethos in a series of five versions – three in rose gold and two in steel, offering choices in leather straps like grey, black and brown. What sets the new Manero Flyback apart is a sophisticated chronograph movement, coupled with a flyback function nestled in elegant cases. The grey version, in particular, is like nothing in the market today.

Made In Lucerne

Most watch companies from Switzerland are based in the southwest part, or the French-speaking part of the country. Carl F. Bucherer is probably the only brand that was founded in the beautiful city of Lucerne, and the brand proudly continues to operate from the same location till date. Even their current tagline is ‘Made of Lucerne’. Driven particularly by the passion of the third-generation founding family member, Jörg G. Bucherer, the brand stands for legacy, quality and innovation. Carl F. Bucherer is among the last few remaining family-owned Swiss watch manufacturers, and they carry this distinction with pride. They are even proud of their family of watches, a part of which is the Manero collection. The word ‘manero’ is derived from the Latin term manuaria, meaning ‘that which is led by the hand’, aptly signifying the brand’s fine watchmaking roots.

The Bucherer Roots

Established in 1888 by Carl Friedrich Bucherer, the first boutique of the company still serves as the major landmark of the gorgeous city of Lucerne in Switzerland. Way back in 1919, Bucherer launched his first ladies’ watch collection in the Art Deco style. By the late 1940s, the company’s focus shifted to sporty chronographs with date displays, which weren’t that common those days. By 1968, Carl F. Bucherer was manufacturing certified chronometers, making them market leaders in this highly specialised category. The very next year, in the midst of the quartz revolution in the watch industry, the company, along with a few other Swiss manufacturers, was involved in developing and producing one of the first quartz movements for wristwatches, the Beta 21.

Their illustrious past has had many milestones, including the 2001 launch of one of its most important collections – the Patravi – which would later get a monopusher mechanism, after the brand filed for its patent in 2005. In 2007, the company acquired Téchniques Horlogères Appliquées (THA) of Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, and made great strides in research, development, and production of proprietary movements. By the next year, they even launched a manufacture movement with a peripheral rotor, which is still very rare in watchmaking. The brand has achieved many firsts over the year, among which was the use of external rotors to drive movements in an industrial series production.

Manero Flyback – The Chronograph With A Flyback Function

If chronographs are complications, flyback chronographs are ‘super-complications’. Unlike conventional chronographs, where it is necessary to press the buttons three times – to stop, reset, and restart – in order to measure successive time intervals, the flyback function allows the user to operate the chronograph without resetting it to zero every time. The chronograph hands fly back to zero, while the wheels continue to run in the background – allowing the hands to resume as soon as the reset button is released.

Dating back to the 1930s, flyback chronographs are complications only a handful of watchmakers have mastered, and are mainly used by professionals such as pilots, for whom every split-second is precious. The quick reset of the flyback function in this particular watch is controlled by a column wheel and actuated by the pump pusher at four o’clock. This enables the user to measure multiple time intervals in quick succession. The Manero Flyback chronograph is powered by the in-house automatic calibre, CFB 1970, with a power reserve of 42 hours. Aside from hours and minutes, the watch also features a date window at six o’clock, a small seconds sub-dial at nine o’clock, and is water resistant to 30m.

Shades Of Perfection

The rose gold watches in this high-end collection includes statement dial colours like black, white and champagne. The polished rose gold hand markers beautifully accentuate the vintage look exuded by these timepieces. The stainless steel cases, namely, the black and grey versions, feature Manero’s typical classic and modern round dial, measuring 43mm in diameter. Interestingly, in the grey version, the dial appears to have tints of soft green or blue at times, depending on the reflections of the light. The pushers in polished steel add to the character of the watch, as well to the functionality, due to their large size. This makes chronograph adjustment by fingertips very easy. The contrast of the sharp contours around the edges, with the soft curves of the bezel, adds aesthetic appeal.

The construction of the watch is solid. The flat bezel, the tapered lugs, with a nice polished look, and the general combination of satin-finished and polished surfaces makes for a refined appearance. Overall, the dial of the Manero Flyback is neat and elegant, even with its chronograph function. The Manero Flyback combines technology with refinement wonderfully, presenting a stylish look with its rose gold and stainless steel cases and shades of perfection. The hands and raised indices in rose gold and stainless steel, as well as with a Louisiana alligator leather strap in flattering colours, with a folding clasp, round off the stylish look.

A Simply Great Timepiece

First launched in 2016, the newer models of Manero Flyback continue the tradition of fine watchmaking by the watchmakers from Lucerne as refined and technically advanced chronographs. The rounded lines, classic feel, well-balanced and finished dial, and a nice automatic chronograph with the flyback function make the Carl F. Bucherer Manero Flyback a simply great timepiece.

Did the Manero Flyback impress you? Do let us know in the comments section below.