Chronoswiss The Three Apes Only Watch 2013

Chronoswiss Pays Tribute To Craftsmanship For Only Watch 2013

The Swiss brand celebrates its 30 years of existence this year. It proudly announces its first participation to Only Watch like a thank-you message.

By David Richard

Chronoswiss is certainly not the most recognized brand of the auction bid in Monaco! Besides, how come you name yourself Chronoswiss when you are a brand created in… Munich in 1983? Yet, as all the manufactured watches since that then are branded “Swiss Made”, it managed to build a respected reputation for the well-informed of the Haute Horlogerie, as much as by the talent of its founder Gerd-Rüdiger Lang as by its passion for the beautiful mechanic.

Chronoswiss The Three Apes Only Watch 2013 Chronoswiss The Three Apes and its luminous Grand-feu enameled dial

A plethora of world premieres for Chronoswiss

On hearing Gerd-Rüdiger Lang state that “it is not entertaining to Chronoswiss to manufacture ordinary watches”, one can visualise the outrageousness of the man.

Master watchmaker in 1980 while he was a ‘quartz unemployed’, this ex- Heuer employee believes instinctively in the future of the mechanical watch. Two years later, in a world premiere, he introduces the first mechanical chronograph displaying moon phases in the workshop he created in Munich. This time marks the creation of the Chronoswiss brand, subscribing since the beginning and till today to the criteria of the Swiss Made.

Chronoswiss The Three Apes Only Watch 2013 Chronoswiss The Three Apes with the Calibre ETA 6498

In 1987, the brand hit another premiere with the first manual winding wristwatch with a regulating dial and manufactured in a serie. At this particular point in time, the brand’s style establishes itself through a bezel screwed with fluted edges, guilloché dial, onion-shaped crown and the famous straps screwed to the lugs of the case. As from this moment, world premieres and place of honor in different prestigious rankings often occurred. Lang further explains that his motto is to do the best as long as it is humanly possible in the field of precise know-how, aesthetic clarity and minutiae. He cleverly acquired exclusive historic stocks and beneficiated from enough ETA movements, such as the famous Valjoux 7750 calibre, to magnify them.

Chronoswiss The Three Apes Only Watch 2013 The 44 mm 18 carats red gold case with the famous onion crown 

Magnify: the brand’s new CEO, bought by the Ebstein family from Luzern in 2012, agrees with the founder. In 2013, Oliver Ebstein inaugurated a workshop in his town regrouping engine-turning, Grand Feu enamel and openwork skills. A good omen for the future of the brand and the Chronoswiss collectors.

The Three Apes: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

One year after the buying, 2013 is the year of the 30th anniversary and the year of the first participation to the exclusive Only Watch; all in all it turned an essential corner. Under the spotlights of this prestigious sale, Chronoswiss fully cooperates by introducing this great watch named “The Three Apes” which pays a true tribute to horology arts craft and the know-how of its brand new workshop. The subtle decoration on the dial is valuable as much through the message in direct relation to the event’s subject as through the extraordinary work, thus multiplying the technical feats in one and unique watch.

Chronoswiss The Three Apes Only Watch 2013 Dial focus Focus on the the Grand Feu enameled dial of the Chronoswiss The Tree Apes unique timepiece

To begin with, the Grand Feu enameling features a quite captivating three-dimensional effect creating a depth contrasting with the dial’s gold guilloché back. It is to be noted that the engine-turning uses old tools including a 1924 lathe created at la Chaux-de-Fonds.

Chronoswiss The Three Apes Only Watch 2013 on the wrist Chronoswiss The Three Apes Only Watch 2013 on the wrist

A single glance at the visible openworked movement is enough to be amazed with the work done on the bridges and the plates. It is a true success that the cutting of the curves of the manual winding Calibre ETA 6498 highlights deliberately. The 44 mm 18 carats red gold case takes up again the brand’s codes with the famous onion crown and illustrates the extreme attention of this sum of manual work which gives it a one-of-a-kind masterpiece status. We will most likely hear about it on September 28 because it cannot go unnoticed!

Chronoswiss The Three Apes Only Watch 2013 The Chronoswiss The Three Apes will not go unnoticed at Only Watch 2013

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