For its most recent release of 2024, Chronoswiss has embraced all of the colors to create a vibrant limited-edition version of its signature tourbillon-equipped regulator watch. Featuring a color-changing guilloché dial and a bright purple CVD-coated case, the new Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho will be produced as a limited edition of just 15 examples, and it represents a striking and lighthearted expression of one of the Swiss brand’s most famous models.
Chronoswiss has been producing regulator-style tourbillon watches since 2000, and this rather distinct style of timepiece has become somewhat of a calling card for the brand. From a design and functionality standpoint, the new Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho (ref. CH-3128-COL) is essentially a multi-colored version of its current-generation Open Gear Tourbillon model from 2020, and it features the same 17-component stainless steel case that measures 44mm in diameter by 13.1mm thick. Similarly, sapphire crystals are fitted to both the dial side of the watch and its screw-down caseback, while an onion-shaped crown sits at the 3 o’clock location, and water resistance for the new “Psycho” edition comes in at 100 meters, just like the brand’s other Open Gear Flying Tourbillon models. However, unlike its siblings, the new Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho showcases a bright purple finish across the entirety of its case components, which is achieved using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process.
Just like other versions of the Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon, the new “Psycho” limited edition is powered by the brand’s manufacture Caliber C.303 manual-wind flying tourbillon movement, which was developed in collaboration with La Joux-Perret. Running at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 60 hours, the Chronoswiss Caliber C.303 features skeletonized bridges and an architectural design that places the bridge for its hour hand on the upper surface of its dial. Visible through the sapphire window in the caseback, the mainplate of the movement features Geneva stripes, while the skeletonized bridges are adorned with a circular satin finish, and all of the plates and bridges are given a bright blue CVD coating to further contribute to the Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho’s multi-colored appearance.
Consisting of 42 separate parts, the multi-layered dial of the Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho features the same fundamental design as other models from the series, with a centrally-mounted minute hand, an elevated sub-dial for the hours on the upper half of the display, and the flying tourbillon prominently appearing on the lower half of the dial. However, the various dial and movement components are colored in an assortment of vibrant hues to further lean into the “Psycho” colorway of this limited-edition model. The lowermost layer with Geneva stripes appears in a bright shade of blue, while the elevated ring for the hours is finished in a punchy hue of orange, and the middle section of the dial is adorned with a hand-guilloché pattern and a color-changing Paraiba-hued finish that appears in different shades of green and turquoise, depending on the angle and intensity of the lighting.
To help aid with low-light visibility, the hands and hour markers on the Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho are luminous, and while Chronoswiss doesn’t provide a lume-shot of the watch, one of the embedded images on the brand’s website reveals that multiple different hues of Super-LumiNova are used throughout the dial and hands to create a rainbow-colored display in the dark. Additionally, the strap for the Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho echoes the vibrant hues that appear throughout the various dial components, and attached to the lugs with solid screwed-in bars using the brand’s patented Autobloc system is an electric blue alligator hornback leather strap with a bright orange Alcantara lining that is hand-sewn with green contrast stitching.
Just as you might imagine, this colorful high-horology offering was never destined to be a core-collection offering, and rather than joining the catalog as a standard-production model, the new Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho (ref. CH-3128-COL) will be produced as a limited edition of just 15 examples with an official retail price of 48,600 EUR (or approximately $53,500 USD, at the time of writing). A vibrant multi-colored regulator watch fitted with a flying tourbillon is the definition of a fundamentally divisive timepiece. While the Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho is hardly going to be a watch for traditionalists, other enthusiasts will undoubtedly appreciate this model for its colorful and unconventional take on one of horology’s most celebrated complications. For more information on the Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Psycho, please visit the brand’s website.