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Some brands are known for pilot watches, others for dive or dress watches. Chronoswiss, without a doubt, is best known for creating exquisite regulator watches. Today, Lucerne-based Chronoswiss announces two limited editions to its family of regulator watches in the Strike Two Series, available in luscious gold and gray or a sumptuous sky blue.
Chronoswiss has been leading the way in bringing the regulator into the modern era since introducing the first serially produced regulator dial wristwatch in 1988, the Régulateur. However, the origin of the regulator movement itself can be traced back to clocks of the early 1700s. With this movement, the hours, minutes, and seconds are non-coaxial; in other words, rather than rotating from the same point (typically at the center of the dial), each hand rotates independently, typically with the hours and seconds in small subdials and a large minute hand sweeping from the center of the dial.
As the name would suggest, the regulator movement was not developed just for timekeeping but but for regulating other clocks and instruments. Look back a couple hundred years and you’ll find regulator clocks in clock and watch factories, astronomical observatories, and train stations — its bold, unmistakable minutes hand was prominently displayed to aid in setting the time on other devices. The regulator dial layout was so useful for quickly reading the time that it would soon become adopted by pocket watch manufacturers, yet it would take until 1988 before Chronoswiss introduced serial production of regulator-dial wristwatches.
In the decades since the launch of the Régulateur, Chronoswiss has had plenty of additional horological firsts, including producing the first automatic chronograph with a regulator complication and the first serially produced automatic skeletonized chronograph. With the Strike Two Series, Chronoswiss looks back to its pioneering watch from the 90s, the Tora, and adopts its horizontal regulator layout with a contemporary and expertly finished design.
At 40mm in diameter and only 12.7mm thick, the stainless steel case of the Strike Two Series is slim and elegant. Even a quick glance at the case, with its fluted bezel and finely executed crown, makes the artisanship of the Series Two readily apparent. Yet, the case is only the backdrop for the stunning and artisan-crafted dials. Atop the textured dials on both the Golden Gear and H2O sit a hand-guillochéd seconds subdial at 9 o’clock and the hours subdial at 3’clock, supported by twin bridges and open-worked to reveal the Chronoswiss C.6000 beating beneath.
The Chronoswiss Manufacture Caliber C.6000 was developed in collaboration with La Joux-Perret and features a 55-hour power reserve, a ruthenium-coated finish, tungsten rotor, radial Côtes de Genève, and a skeletonized geartrain. Thankfully, the movement is on full display behind a sapphire caseback.
Chronoswiss is producing only 100 pieces of the Golden Gear and H2O. Though the design and architecture of each model are identical, the textures and colors used on the dial result in a completely different personality for each. With a vertically textured anthracite gray dial complemented by gold hands and accents, the Golden Gear (aptly named with a golden gear visible beneath the hours subdial), is the picture of sophistication. Meanwhile, the light blue dial evokes images of a tropical sea beneath an azure sky.
With the Strike Two Golden Gear and H2O, Chronoswiss has produced a timeless classic that marries a centuries-old design with exquisite hand-finishing and modern execution. Only 100 pieces of each model will be produced, priced at $10,800 USD (€10,800, 9,800 CHF) . To learn more about the Chronoswiss and the Strike Two, please visit the brand’s website.
