Regulator-style watches are something of a Chronoswiss specialty. For those new to the hobby, these are watches where the hours, minutes, and seconds are read off separate dials. The minutes are often given priority and are displayed prominently on the main dial, while the hours and seconds are shown on subsidiary dials at 12 and 6 o’clock respectively. In any case, Chronoswiss has released a couple of interesting regulator watches over the past few years. In 2016, they did the Sirius Flying Regulator watch. And last year, they followed up with a skeletonized version called the Sirius Flying Grand Regulator Skeleton watch. For 2018, they have an all-new design called the Chronoswiss Flying Regulator Open Gear.
The Chronoswiss Flying Regulator Open Gear will be available in four variants. There’s an 18k red gold version that comes with a silver dial and three stainless steel models that come with black, blue, and silver dials. The case is made up of 16 components and measures 41mm in diameter and 13.85mm in height. It features prominent straight lugs and has various finishings. What’s interesting about the case is the knurled bezel and large onion crown. Water resistance is 100m, which is nice to have since that means you can even take it swimming.
Like most other regulator watches, the minutes take center stage while the hours and seconds are displayed using subsidiary dials at 12 and 6 o’clock. As its name suggests, the hours and seconds sub-dials are floated above the main dial, which is where the “Flying” part of the name comes from. This also gives the dial a remarkable sense of depth.
The “Open Gear” part of the name is in reference to the exposed gears and train wheel bridges. Look closely at the seconds subsidiary dial and you can see the second wheel in action just behind. Likewise, you can see the train wheels that drive the hours at 12 o’clock. The Flying Regulator Open Gear watch also has leaf-shaped hands that are heat-treated or rhodium-plated, depending on your choice of dial. The hour and minute hands are filled with Super-LumiNova to ensure legibility in the dark.
The Flying Regulator Open Gear is powered by the self-winding Chronoswiss Caliber C.299, which is likely based on an ETA 2892 or its equivalent. It is visible through a sapphire display caseback. It beats at 4Hz and has a power reserve of about 42 hours when fully wound. According to Chronoswiss, the movement has been extensively modified and features a specially designed dial module consisting of 37 components. The movement also features a skeletonized rotor and perlage on the bridges and plates.
Once again, Chronoswiss has given us a rather quirky and interesting regulator watch. It is definitely not something I would recommend to everyone, but anyone looking for a well-made regulator-style watch, or something a little more unusual and unconventional should definitely check out the Flying Regulator Open Gear. Additionally, Chronoswiss also said that a special edition of this watch will be launched later this year to celebrate the brand’s 35th anniversary, so keep a look out for that. The Chronoswiss Flying Regulator Open Gear will be priced starting at 6,490 CHF. chronoswiss.com