Blast from the Past Chronoswiss Timemaster

— The founder of Chronoswiss, Gerd-Rüdiger Lang (1943-2023), was a man with a strong belief in mechanical watchmaking.

- text and images by Martin Green

Betting against the market, he launched his brand in 1983, when the Quartz Crisis was still wreaking havoc across the global watch industry. His timing couldn’t have been more perfect, but it was not only timing that made Chronoswiss such a success. The combination of mechanical movements and a distinct style that captivated vintage flair in a modern way equally contributed to this. It also led to unconventional creations, such as the Timemaster, which was a sports watch in pure Chronoswiss style.

Lang himself called it “a watch from professionals for professionals,” and this approach had a significant impact on the design of the watch. As Lang wanted to create “an ideal timepiece for extreme situations in athletic and scientific contexts,” he set out quite a challenge for himself and his team, tackling it in the typical Chronoswiss way. Legibility and reliability were the first two points of order, and as both benefited from a larger size, Chronoswiss settled on a 44 mm diameter for the Timemaster. This provided enough room to opt for a large, classic manual-wound movement, which met Lang’s specifications for robustness and reliability.

In those days, Chronoswiss often opted for tried-and-tested calibres from well-known movement manufacturers and modified them to its own standards. The Timemaster is therefore fitted with Caliber C.672, in which some might still recognise the Unitas/ETA Caliber 6497-1 on which it is based.