Video Evaluation: The Titoni Heritage Chronograph

Unbiased Swiss watch mannequin Titoni has been run by the Schluep family since 1919. Initially registered beneath the title Felco in 1919 after which Felca AG, this Grenchen-based watch producer embraced abroad markets early throughout the recreation, surviving the vicissitudes of the 20 th century intact. Titoni’s Heritage assortment is impressed by among the many mannequin’s best-looking basic fashions, revisited with updated specs. One amongst its most worthwhile references is the Heritage Chronograph, a handsome bicompax chronograph that captures the distinctive aptitude of a Nineteen Fifties chronograph produced by Felca. Launched just a few years prior to now, we posted a video of the Heritage Chronograph closing week and wished to take a look at this golden oldie as soon as extra in extra component.

Titoni’s 100-year-plus lifespan speaks positively regarding the prime quality of its mechanical watches and its willingness to courtroom docket overseas buyers. In 1945, as an example, the mannequin obtained a contract to produce 30,000 watches for the US Army. Inside the late Nineteen Fifties, Felca produced the official timepiece – the Desert-Router – for the Nairn mail provide service with bus drivers masking 600 miles of desert between Damascus and Baghdad. Within the similar decade, the Titoni mannequin title was created for its Indian, Asian and Heart Japanese markets, full with its Chinese language language plum blossom (meihua) flower emblem. The next success of Titoni prompted administration to differ your full agency title to Titoni.

Wanting on the {{photograph}} of the distinctive Nineteen Fifties Felca chronograph, it’s hardly beautiful that the fourth-generation Schluep brothers felt a strong wave of nostalgia. With its creamy-coloured dial, blue tachymeter scale, purple telemeter scale and bicompax format, the Felca was begging for a remake. Although I haven’t been able to arrange the diameter of the distinctive Felca, the proportions of the stainless steel Heritage Chronograph are clearly updated, with a 41mm diameter and a thickness of 15.2mm. Just like the distinctive, the drum-shaped case choices straight, faceted lugs and conventional piston-style pushers. Significantly unusual for a sporty chronograph, the case is polished from head to toe. The large push-pull crown, embellished with Titoni’s plum blossom emblem, would not screw down, decreasing the water resistance to solely 50 meters.

The dial is the true protagonist with its devoted rendition of the Felca chronograph. The sunshine blue tachymeter scale and the purple telemeter scale give the dial its character, and although the telemeter scale is significantly archaic, it supplies a stupendous basic contact. A third observe, relaying the minutes/seconds is picked out in black adopted by the period-correct Arabic numerals representing the hours with blue outlines. Two sub-dials organized horizontally at 9 and three o’clock ship the working seconds and 30-minute elapsed chronograph situations and are indicated by blue fingers. The counters are barely recessed with snailed interiors and black markings and lob off the encircling numerals. Just like the distinctive, the darkish blue hour and minute fingers are sword-shaped, and the prolonged central chronograph seconds hand is purple, reaching all one of the best ways to the sting of the dial.

Not just like the Felca, the Heritage Chronograph has an rectangular date window at 6 o’clock, and the Felca branding has been modified with Titoni and its plum blossom emblem. To evoke the luminescence employed throughout the Nineteen Fifties, the fingers and Arabic numerals are dealt with with earlier radium Large-LumiNova. The dial is protected by a domed sapphire crystal extending previous the polished bezel.

Although the distinctive Felca was powered by the sturdy manual-winding Landeron calibre 148, the model new Heritage Chronograph has a Sellita SW510Bha (Valjoux 7750 base) automated cam-operated, bi-compax 4Hz chronograph with a date at 6 o’clock. Not the slimmest of actions, its 7.9mm high contributes to the case thickness. A sapphire crystal reveals the gold-plated Titoni rotor with Geneva stripes delivering vitality to the barrel for the 58-hour power reserve.

Whereas the width and thickness of the case could also be an issue for followers of additional basic proportions, the plain retro attract of its dial and its accessible worth will enchantment to many. The watch is fitted with a taupe leather-based strap with white excessive stitching and a steel push-button deployant clasp. It presently retails for EUR 2,200 / USD 2,775.

For further information, please search the recommendation of Titoni.ch.