Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Sunset Watch Review
Tuesday - 19 July 2022
Burnt orange tones against a rich blue Chronoswiss calibre define the new Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Sunset watch for 2022
Lucerne-based watchmaker Chronoswiss has been specialising in the regulator wristwatch since as early as the 1980s. Since then, many other novelties have been released, each one adopting the same unique dial layout albeit with slightly different use of tones, textures and shades. Back in 2000, Chronoswiss released a Tourbillon Regulator followed by a striking Open Gear Tourbillon twenty years later as a way to mark the anniversary of the brand’s innovation. It was characterised by a hand guilloche base inside a stunning electric blue case. Creating the illusion of a set of floating regulator elements upon a layered dial, the “flying regulator” was a popular collectable whose display felt incredibly three-dimensional thanks to a raised ring for the hours and the seconds.
This year, Chronoswiss has released three new brightly coloured Open Gear Flying Tourbillon watches designed on these foundations. The hour can be read from the 12 o’clock sub-dial, whilst the minutes track borders the dial around the edge. Towards the bottom of the dial? A beautiful skeletonised flying tourbillon, viewable from a perfectly round window. The three new colours of Chronoswiss’ new three-part release are a Paraiba blue, similar to the handmade guilloche display of the Open Gear ReSec watch released last year, a Meteorit iteration in vivid blue and stealthy grey tones, and a Sunset colour, which we’ll be looking at in more detail here.
The new Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Sunset watch
As with the other Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon watches, the new Sunset model features a layered dial comprising 42 parts arranged on a base, middle and outer level. Whilst the bottom layer boasts a Cotes de Geneve effect, the middle layer comprises a hand-engraved and hand guilloche technique with “Atelier Lucerne” applied to the reverse of the dial. The guilloche layer is made completely in-house, whilst the upper layer features screwed-on skeletonised train wheel bridges, along with an hour display that takes the form of a funnel-like construction. In addition to this, there are hour indexes shaped in a cylindrical form with lashings of Super-LumiNova to assist with keeping the time in the dark. At 12 o’clock, the off-centre hours are presented, surrounded by a minute track around the periphery of the dial. The minute hand takes centre stage on the dial, whereas the 6 o’clock sub-counter is where the window to the tourbillion can be found. The hands of the dial are “Trigono” shaped and thermally blued. Executed with a polished finish, they also feature Super-LumiNova on the inlays and tips. The sunset tones of the guilloche surface contrast beautifully against the deep blue tones seen throughout the rest of the layered dial – all whilst protected perfectly underneath a sapphire crystal glass lens with anti-reflective properties.
The new Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Sunset watch measures a 44mm diameter like its two siblings - the Paraiba and the Meteroit models. The stainless steel case comprises 17 individual pieces and sits at a height of 13.35mm on the wrist. Integrated with 100-meter water resistance, the steel case is executed in a mix of part polished and part vertically satin-finished elements that create a sense of depth and dimension in conjunction with the multi-level dial. The case also features a screw-down onion crown and a screw-down caseback with a sapphire crystal glass exhibition lens. A polished screw-down bezel with full thread and side knurling rounds the design of the case off perfectly.
To complete the look of the new Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Sunset watch, Chronoswiss fits the timepiece with a textile strap and a black alligator leather band that secures with a stainless steel deployment clasp. Put on display through the aforementioned glass caseback is the in-house made Chronoswiss Calibre C.303, complete with flying tourbillon and semi-skeletonised arrangement. It performs at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour and delivers a power reserve of 60 hours when fully wound. Comprising 23 jewels, this self-winding movement is also CVD coated in a deep mesmerizing blue hue that pierces through the surface of the dial, along with a Cotes de Geneve-decorated mainplate, circular satin finishes, skeletonised bridges, a skeletonised spring barrel, polished screws, and a galvanic anthracite balance wheel.
If you’d like more information on the new Chronoswiss Open Gear Flying Tourbillon Sunset watch, limited to just 15 pieces worldwide, you can take a look at the spec details on the watch here or call and speak to a member of our Jura Watches sales team on 01335 453453
