Tag Archives: ArtDecoWatch

Chronoswiss Delphis Art Deco: Limited Edition Jumping Hour Titanium Watch

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When the roaring Twenties meet Modern Mechanical

With the Delphis Art Deco, Chronoswiss presents a bold reinterpretation of one of its most iconic complications. Inspired by the design language of the Roaring Twenties, this new edition pays tribute to an era defined by artistic freedom, architectural clarity, and a fascination with modern progress.

The Art Deco movement that flourished during the 1920s reshaped the visual culture of its time. From architecture and graphic design to fashion and industrial objects, it introduced a new aesthetic built on geometry, symmetry, and refined contrasts. It was a period where craftsmanship met innovation, and where decorative arts embraced modernity without abandoning tradition.

These values resonate deeply with the philosophy of Chronoswiss today.

With the Delphis Art Deco, the brand translates this spirit into a contemporary mechanical sculpture for the wrist.

A Dial inspired by Art Deco Geometry

At the center of the Delphis Art Deco lies a dial that reflects the architectural elegance of the Art Deco era.

The main dial surface is nickel-coated and laser-structured, creating a subtle three- dimensional texture that plays with light and shadow. Its refined grey tone evokes the metallic elegance and restrained color palettes characteristic of Art Deco design.

Hovering above this surface is the distinctive Delphis display. At 12 o’clock, the jumping hour advances instantly at the top of each hour. At the center, the retrograde minute hand sweeps across the curved scale before snapping back to its starting position. At the lower part of the dial, the small seconds rotate continuously.

For the small seconds, Chronoswiss introduces a baby-blue azur tone, achieved through a unique lacquer on a hand-guilloché base. The intricate guilloché pattern is engraved in- house at the Atelier Lucerne using century-old machines, creating a dynamic texture beneath the Art Deco-inspired white typography.

The gold-plated minute ring adds a warm contrast to the cool grey dial and reinforces the geometric clarity that defines the entire composition.

Modern Presence – Crafted in Lucerne

The 42 mm case of the Delphis Art Deco is crafted from Grade 5 titanium and finished in a matte grey tone. Lightweight yet exceptionally durable, the material lends the watch a modern architectural presence while ensuring comfort on the wrist.

Paired with a black nubuck strap, the piece balances the bold mechanical architecture of the Delphis complication with a refined contemporary aesthetic.

Powering the Delphis Art Deco is the Chronoswiss Manufacture Caliber C.6004, developed together with La Joux-Perret. The automatic movement offers a 55-hour power reserve and is visible through the sapphire crystal caseback.

Inside, traditional finishing techniques meet modern engineering, reflecting the same philosophy that defines the watch itself: heritage craftsmanship expressed through contemporary watchmaking.

A new chapter for an Icon

The Delphis has long been one of the most recognizable complications within the Chronoswiss universe and has remained an icon since its introduction in 1996.

With the Delphis Art Deco, Chronoswiss revisits this emblematic complication through the lens of one of history’s most influential design movements.

A mechanical tribute to the Roaring Twenties – reimagined for the collectors of today.

Delphis Art Deco – Key Specs

• Case: 42mm, Titanium Grade 5 • Limited Edition: 150

• Complication: Jumping Hour, Retrograde Minute, Analogue Seconds • Dial: Small Seconds Hand Guilloché
• Movement: Manufacture Caliber C.6004, automatic
• Water Resistance: 10 ATM

Technical Data

Model: Delphis Art Deco, limited to 150 pieces

Reference: CH-1423TM.1-GRGO Titanium Grade 5

Displays: Digital hour at 12 o’clock, retrograde & central minute, analog second at 6 o’clock

Case: Solid 17-piece Titanium Grade 5 case with matte finish, cut and polished, polished bezel with side fluted decorative ring and cambered, double anti-reflective sapphire crystal; screwed and satin- finished case back with sapphire crystal, onion crown, water-resistant to 10 bar, screw-down straps with patented autobloc system

Measurements: Ø 42 mm, height 14.4 mm

Movement: Chronoswiss manufacture caliber C. 6004, automatic

Diameter: Ø33mm

Jewels: 37

Balance: Glucydur, three-legged

Balance spring: Nivarox 1

Fine Adjustment: Via Excenter

Shock protection: Incabloc

Frequency: 4 Hz., 28‘800 A/h (semi-oscillations)

Power reserve: Approx. 55 hours

Special features: Skeletonized rotor made of tungsten, ball bearing; armature, escape wheel and screws polished; bridge with Geneva cut, ruthenium plated

Dial: 3-dimensional construction, upper level lasered with nickel-coating/ digital hour display. Central retrograde minute, analog second at 6 o’clock with hand Guilloché lacquer blue, Minute Ring gold plated.

Hands: Pointer shape “Viking”, aluminium / satinated / blue PVD-coating

Strap: Black nubuck

Frédérique Constant Unveils New Classics Carrée Automatic Collection

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The Classics Carrée Automatic collection takes us back to its original era, the roaring 1920s, which unveiled a stylistic audacity whose influence is still perceptible today. Extremely refined, these rose gold-plated or stainless steel timepieces exhibit a minimalist style with baton indexes, dauphine hands, and date. The dial with its subtle guilloché motif lends the Classics Carrée Automatic a rare elegance for collectors with a discerning eye for aesthetics.

The Classics Carrée line, launched in 2003, thus seized the potential of its unique format, bringing the shape to life as the line evolved: with the introduction of an XL model and the celebrated ‘Heart Beat’ escapement aperture for which Frédérique Constant is renowned.

Today the Classics Carrée Automatic has been further refined, and significantly so. The first major change: the Heart Beat aperture has now been closed, once again concealing the well-kept secret of the timepiece’s Swiss Made mechanism. The face of a new sleeker dial is revealed. The large Roman numerals give way to applied indexes, with a double index at 12 o’clock. This timeless style is much closer to the aesthetic canons of the 1920s.

Yet at 6 o’clock, a discreet additional complication recalls the necessities of everyday life. This new date aperture echoes the rectangular line of the case. It is surrounded with a frame in the same finish as the case, which is also echoed by the indexes.

The centre of the dial concentrates the most refined finishes. This rectangle, mirroring the proportions of the 30.4 mm x 33.3 mm case, is surrounded by a ‘railroad’ type dial-train typical of the 1920s and the Art Deco movement that flourished during that period. It is decorated with very fine grooves, visible only to the eye of its owner.

This subtlety provides a better contrast to the interplay of the three hands. The hour and minute hands are fashioned in the dauphine style, a silhouette also characteristic of the last century. This simple, refined shape allows time to be read accurately in all situations due to two facets oriented at two different angles, such that one of them always catches the light. Everything is regulated at 3 o‘clock via an onion crown, as was found on almost all watches up to the middle of the last century.

About Frédérique Constant

Frédérique Constant is a Swiss watch manufacture based in Geneva. The company was founded in 1988 by an independent entrepreneur couple, Aletta and Peter Stas, in order to offer quality Swiss watches at affordable prices and make Swiss Made luxury watchmaking more accessible.

Frédérique Constant designs, develops, assembles, and tests a wide variety of timepieces — mechanical watches, quartz watches, and smartwatches — at its 6,200-m2 manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates (GE). To date, Frédérique Constant has designed 30 manufacture calibres, including haute complications such as the Tourbillon, Perpetual Calendar, Flyback Chronograph, and a revolutionary escapement that is unprecedented in watchmaking: the Monolithic. Made from a single piece of silicon — replacing the 26 components of a standard assortment — it oscillates at a frequency of 40 Hz, ten times faster than most mechanical movements.

In 2015, Frédérique Constant launched the Horological Smartwatch, the first Swiss Made smartwatch with a traditional look. The Classic Hybrid Manufacture followed in 2018, combining a mechanical manufacture movement with smart capabilities. The Vitality Smartwatch line was introduced in 2020, equipped with an advanced integrated heart rate sensor. That same year, Frédérique Constant revived its Highlife collection, with a redesigned case and an integrated interchangeable strap. This was followed in 2021 by the Slimline Monolithic Manufacture, with its very high-frequency monobloc escapement, and later the Highlife collection for women.

Frédérique Constant currently has nearly 3,000 sales outlets in 120 countries around the world. In 2016, the Frédérique Constant Group (Frédérique Constant, Alpina Watches, Ateliers deMonaco) joined the Japanese Citizen Group to pursue its international development and nurture new collaborations.