BY MICHAEL THOMPSON
THE PROMINENT MINUTE HAND AND SEPARATE HOUR AND SECONDS
SUBDIALS ON MANY REGULATOR watches can resemble automotive
dashboards, particularly when placed on sporty watches, according to
Chronoswiss. But while this modern marketing comparison does correctly
reference the regulator’s historical role as a highly visible set of precision
dials, not unlike a racecar dashboard, it suffers a bit in historical context.
There were of course no cars when regulator dials were used as
time-setting and adjustment references for the watchmakers in horological
ateliers two centuries ago. But I understand the comparison, especially
given this Lucerne-based watchmaker’s decades-long effort to pitch the
regulator dial’s legibility.
Last year’s Regulator Classic Carbon Racer is possibly the clearest
example of how well Chronoswiss has been remaking regulator dials for the
modern era. On that watch, the dial’s carbon mesh and its speedometer font
successfully deliver a sporty regulator layout, complete with a racecar wheel
rim seconds subdial.
The newest Chronoswiss Regulator bathes the brand’s Classic design in
blue, specifically a steely galvanized blue, which emanates from the dial,
hands, case and even the onion crown of the 41mm steel watch. Even the
luminosity is blue as the hour and minute hands and the index dots are
painted with an ‘intense blue’ SuperLuminova hue.
Dubbed the Regulator Classic Blue Steel, the watch retains all the
regulator necessities, with a prominent central minutes hand and smaller hours
and seconds subdials above and below the center. Dial finishing includes guil-
loché on the hour subdial and a brighter shade of lacquer for the hands.
Also note the skeletonized small second display (at 6 o’clock) that offers
the wearer a glimpse of the Chronoswiss caliber C. 295 automatic movement
from the dial. Of course, the movement is also visible through the sapphire
caseback, a wristwatch feature Chronoswiss pioneered in the 1980s.
Beyond the case and dial, the Regulator Classic Blue Steel also
demonstrates its blue demeanor with a hand-stitched alligator strap colored
with layers of dark blue and black. Price: $4,950.
SPRING 2020 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 89