iW INTERVIEW:
OLIVER EBSTEIN,
CEO OF CHRONOSWISS
How is Chronoswiss celebrating its 35th anniversary this year?
This year is a very special year for us at Chronoswiss. In addition to the 35th
anniversary of the brand´s founding, the 30th birthday of the flagship
Regulator model is also coming up.
The Regulator made its debut in 1988 as the ‘Régulateur’ and has since
been identified with the brand, leaving its mark in the watch industry. No
surprise our design team pulled out all their stops on this particular occasion:
With the limited Flying Regulator Open Gear Anniversary Edition, we are
celebrating our 35-year history with it– hence the red 35 on the minute scale
– and simultaneously honoring its bestselling model.
The anniversary watch’s unusual design is a play on the Regulator theme
itself, placing it front and center with our “Open Gear” design. The dial is
simultaneously its module board, onto which the train wheel bridges of the
skeletonized gears are mounted.
How has the move to Lucerne changed Chronoswiss?
Not such a big change there - as we have always carried the Swissness in
our name. When the brand was founded, it was Mr. Lang´s mission to only
manufacture watches according to the Swiss standards of watchmaking, and
to use only components from Swiss suppliers. (Chronoswiss already had a
branch in Switzerland before then).
When we took over the helm back in 2012, we felt it was a natural conse-
quence to move the headquarters to Lucerne and unite the manufacturing
under one roof there.
Are all Chronoswiss watches designed and assembled in Lucerne,
or at other locations?
Everything is designed and manufactured in Lucerne, in our House of Chro-
noswiss. It is designed to be very open and transparent, from the architecture
but also from our approach. Our customers are always welcome to come in –
even without any pre-registration – and discover the studios and our
dial manufacture.
There they will see, for example, some real highlights, including an ancient
rose-engine engraving (guilloché) machine from 1926 or high-fire enamel.
Our visitors love it!
Can you briefly describe how Chronoswiss sets out creating a new watch
design, spe