Chronoswiss Thinks Outside the Dial!

Watchmaking is periodically shaken by seismic tremors that fracture its otherwise peaceful course. For no apparent reason, there comes a time when collectors fall for salmon-colored dials. Or textured ones. Or 39mm cases. Or mineral dials. Or jumping-hour displays. And brands have to adapt within a few months to ride the latest trend… before it gives way to another fashion.

For the past two years, watches with jumping-hour displays have once again been taking center stage. We have seen them at Cartier, as well as at Audemars Piguet—two industry heavyweights with enough influence to create a trend all by themselves. Other players have therefore gradually expanded their collections with watches featuring jumping-hour displays, as Czapek has done. The idea is always the same: to offer their own interpretation of this display, in keeping with their DNA. And this is where Chronoswiss’s proposition stands out.

Made in Lucerne

Chronoswiss is a 100% independent brand. Free-spirited and creative. Based in Lucerne, far from the Geneva microcosm or La Chaux-de-Fonds—operating with small teams, and is therefore highly responsive. A brand with a rich watchmaking heritage, much like Corum. And one with distinctive visual codes, notably its bold use of color.

That is the cocktail at the heart of the new Neo Digiteur Pastel Code: aesthetic boldness, irreverent finishing and playful tones. The capsule consists of three examples, each limited to 99 pieces. The message is clear: a watch off the beaten track, for collectors who are, too.

A Matter of Case

The case is the first proof of this. Chronoswiss moves away from the easy choice of a round shape in favor of the originality of a rectangle (48mm x 30mm, 9.7mm thick). It is not straight, but gently curved along its sides. To design it, the Chronoswiss teams drew inspiration from the first generation of the Digiteur. It was created by the brand’s founder, Gerd-Rüdiger Lang, in 2005. Its original design has been reworked to remain contemporary, with sandblasted sides emphasizing its flowing lines, while the crown retains its onion shape, slightly flattened on its underside.

A Splash of Color

It is, however, on the dial that the stylistic exercise is most apparent. The collection comes in three new pastel colors: pink, blue and green. Such an approach is not without risk. Pastel can quickly look dull, pale and lacking in character. Chronoswiss therefore worked on three distinct tones that remain vibrant and fresh, without ever becoming ostentatious. A narrow but convincing path, because the result is original, coherent and tasteful. True to form, Chronoswiss started with the fundamental colors traditionally used for dials (excluding black and white) and subverted them. Salmon became pink, green was transformed into mint, and blue falling somewhere between sky blue and denim.

Within these sandblasted tones, Chronoswiss offers an intuitive reading of time: hours, minutes and seconds, arranged from top to bottom. The first jump, while the other two glide. The choice of this layout is consistent with the case format: the vertical display naturally blends into a rectangular case. The hand-wound movement is based on an external platform, with a proprietary Chronoswiss jumping-hour module. Visible through the case back and decorated with Geneva stripes, it provides 48 hours of power reserve.