CHRONOSWISS Delphis Art Deco
Key Highlights
- Limited to 150 pieces — reference CH-1423TM.1-GRGO
- 42 mm Grade 5 titanium case with matte grey finish
- Jumping hour, retrograde minute, and small seconds complications
- Baby-blue hand-guilloché small seconds dial, engraved in-house at Atelier Lucerne
- Manufacture Caliber C.6004 (automatic, developed with La Joux-Perret) — 55-hour power reserve
A Dial Rooted in Geometric Discipline
The Art Deco movement of the 1920s did not simply decorate surfaces — it reorganised them. Architecture, typography, and industrial objects were all subjected to a new grammar of geometry, symmetry, and refined contrast. With the Delphis Art Deco, Chronoswiss translates that grammar directly onto a watch dial. The result is a three-dimensional construction where every layer carries visual purpose, and nothing is arbitrary.
The main dial surface is nickel-coated and laser-structured, producing a subtle texture that shifts under changing light. Its restrained grey tone references the metallic palettes that defined Art Deco interiors and facades. Floating above this surface, the Delphis display is arranged across three distinct zones: the jumping hour window at 12 o’clock, the central retrograde minute hand sweeping its curved arc, and the small seconds rotating continuously at 6 o’clock.
The small seconds sub-dial is the dial’s most expressive detail. Chronoswiss applies a baby-blue azur lacquer over a hand-guilloché base — a pattern engraved in-house at the Atelier Lucerne using century-old machines. The intricate surface beneath the lacquer gives the disc a living depth, animated by the Art Deco-inspired white typography above it. A gold-plated minute ring completes the composition, introducing a warm contrast that reinforces the geometric discipline of the whole.
Case and Movement
Titanium Architecture
The 42 mm case is machined from Grade 5 titanium — the same alloy used in aerospace and surgical applications — and finished in matte grey. At 14.4 mm in height, it carries presence without weight, and the material’s natural resilience makes it exceptionally practical for daily wear. A polished bezel with a fluted decorative ring and a cambered double anti-reflective sapphire crystal complete the case architecture, while a screw-down caseback with its own sapphire crystal window exposes the movement beneath. Water resistance is rated to 10 bar. The watch is paired with a black nubuck strap, secured by Chronoswiss’s patented autobloc screw-down system.
Manufacture Caliber C.6004
Powering the Delphis Art Deco is the Chronoswiss Manufacture Caliber C.6004, developed in collaboration with La Joux-Perret. The automatic movement beats at 4 Hz (28,800 A/h) with a Glucydur three-legged balance and a Nivarox 1 balance spring, and it delivers approximately 55 hours of power reserve. Finishing details include a skeletonized tungsten rotor running on a ball bearing, polished armature and escape wheel, and bridges with Geneva cut and ruthenium plating — a level of decoration that reflects the same pairing of heritage craft and contemporary engineering visible on the dial.
The Delphis Legacy
The Delphis complication has been part of the Chronoswiss universe since 1996, and it has remained among the brand’s most recognisable signatures. The jumping hour and retrograde minute pairing is mechanically demanding and visually arresting — two qualities that have sustained collector interest across three decades. The Art Deco edition is not a cosmetic update; it is a considered recontextualisation of the complication through one of the twentieth century’s most influential design movements, produced in an edition of just 150 pieces. For collectors in the GCC who appreciate mechanical watchmaking with genuine visual identity, the Delphis Art Deco arrives as a rare combination: a complex complication, Lucerne craftsmanship, and a design language that remains as relevant today as it was a century ago. Presentations at Watches and Wonders have helped bring Chronoswiss’s latest releases to international collector audiences, underscoring the brand’s growing global profile.
Why It Matters
The Delphis Art Deco makes a compelling case that mechanical complexity and design integrity are not competing values — they are, as the 1920s understood, natural partners. Limited to 150 pieces and grounded in in-house guilloché craft, it offers Gulf-based collectors a timepiece that is both mechanically serious and visually distinctive, with a design vocabulary that transcends seasonal trends.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What complications does the Chronoswiss Delphis Art Deco feature?
The Delphis Art Deco combines three displays: a jumping hour at 12 o'clock that advances instantly at the top of each hour, a central retrograde minute hand that sweeps across a curved scale before snapping back, and a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o'clock.
How many pieces of the Delphis Art Deco are being produced?
The Delphis Art Deco is a limited edition of 150 pieces, each bearing the reference CH-1423TM.1-GRGO.
What movement powers the Chronoswiss Delphis Art Deco?
The watch is powered by the Chronoswiss Manufacture Caliber C.6004, an automatic movement developed together with La Joux-Perret, offering approximately 55 hours of power reserve and visible through a sapphire crystal caseback.
What case material and size is used for the Delphis Art Deco?
The Delphis Art Deco is housed in a 42 mm case crafted from Grade 5 titanium with a matte grey finish, measuring 14.4 mm in height, and is water-resistant to 10 bar.
How long has the Delphis been part of the Chronoswiss collection?
The Delphis complication has been an iconic part of the Chronoswiss universe since its introduction in 1996, making the Art Deco edition a contemporary reinterpretation of a nearly three-decade-old icon.
