History of Chronoswiss Watches

Gerd-Rüdiger Lang, the founder of Chronoswiss, began creating his intricate watches for nonconformists and visionaries in Munchen, Germany. The company opened its doors in 1983 during a time when quartz watches were at their peak of popularity. One of the facts that makes Chronoswiss such a unique watchmaker, is its development of a wristwatch design to house a miniaturized regulator. As a result, the company went on to create an entire watch collection around this concept.

Chronoswiss developed the first mechanical watch with a moonphase indicator and a transparent caseback in one compact design between the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The regulator format was regularly used in marine chronometers and radio broadcasting clocks. The Chronoswiss Regulateur separated the minutes, seconds and hours in a regulator style display. Chronoswiss also designed its distinct case. It featured a fluted bezel and a patented screw in mechanism for its onion shaped crown at 3 o’clock. The Chronoswiss Régulateur Automatique was born with an exclusive automatic movement inside.

Between the years of 1991 and 1994, Chronoswiss developed four memorable wristwatches; the patented Grand Régulateur, the Kairos Chronograph (with an off centre hour and minute display), the split-seconds chronograph Rattrapante, and the iconic rectangular shaped revisable Chronoswiss Cabrio watch. Despite reviving the art of its enamelled dials, Chronoswiss developed a line of skeletonized watches named the Opus during the years of 1995 and 2000. It featured an automatic movement, however, the patented Chronoswiss Pathos, which soon followed, shared the same skeletonized dial aesthetic but was powered by a split seconds chronograph movement. Chronoswiss’ Minute Repeater Tourbillon, complete with a tourbillon cage for enhanced performance featured a regulator dial that was both distinguished and easy to read.

In the years 2001 up to 2004, the Chronoscope launched, complete with a regulator complication, as did the Chronoswiss Régulateur à Tourbillon Squelette watch, featuring a beautiful tourbillon regulator with a skeletonised design and hand engraved decoration. Subject to just 200 pieces worldwide, it marked the evolution of Chronoswiss as a brand, along with its pioneering work in the field of exquisite, high end complication watches.

The Chronoscope won Chronoswiss the “Golden Balance/International Watch Award” during the years 2005 and 2012 with the innovative Grand Régulateur, Imperia and Répétition à Quarts models. Ladies Chronoswiss watches like the Kairos Lady watch also represented the brand’s dedication towards creating technically sophisticated watches for its female audiences.

Oliver Ebstein is now the CEO of Chronoswiss. During the last decade, the company has celebrated its 30th anniversary with the launch of the Régulateur 30 watch collection. The distinct look of these watches is characterized by a captivating guilloche dial. The brand’s headquarters in Lucerne is now open to the public. Watch enthusiasts can visit the facilities and view first hand how the atelier’s highly skilled artisans apply the guilloche technique and enamelling to the dial of one of Chronoswiss’ meticulously crafted timekeeping instruments. As a result, Chronoswiss remains one of the world’s most skilled modern mechanical watchmakers in the world.