Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. A Quartet of New Dial Colours for the Delbana Rotonda
The Rotonda returns with solid dial colours and more contemporary numerals.
Goliardo Della Balda’s dream of producing high-quality Swiss timepieces at affordable prices materialised with the founding of Delbana watches in 1931. Like many Swiss brands, the quartz crisis took its toll in the 1970s, but the brand was rescued in the mid-1990s and, in 2002, merged with Delma Watch Ltd. to focus on accessible, mid-century-inspired Swiss watches. Launched in 2021, the Delbana Rotonda dress watch collection is a straightforward time-and-date model with a strong 1950s spirit. Coming up for its 95th anniversary – give or take a few bumps along the way – Delbana proposes four new dial colours for the Rotonda and some design tweaks that slightly mitigate its retro personality.
The name of the collection, Rotonda, which is derived from the Latin rotunda (meaning buildings with a circular ground plan), refers to the distinctive black, patterned area at the centre of the dial featured on the first model. Unlike the earlier Delbana Rotonda, with its patterned centre and contrasting silver chapter ring, the four new models replace the two-tone look with a monochromatic aesthetic.
Available in four solid colours – mocha (salmon), purple, black and blue – the dials still play with the central “rotunda”, which is now vertically brushed in contrast to the matte chapter ring. In another departure from the dials of earlier Rotondas, with their peripheral track of green dots, arrow-shaped markers for odd numbers, and polished Arabic numerals for even numbers, the new models feature larger, more contemporary, luminescent Arabic numerals and baton-shaped markers. Given the more pronounced dimensions of the framed hour markers on the chapter ring, the peripheral minutes/seconds track has been simplified. It now displays short markers and Arabic numerals at 5-minute intervals.
Regardless of dial colour, the date window at 3 o’clock has a white background. The hands retain their retro syringe-shaped silhouette and are filled with luminescent material, while the seconds hand features the distinctive red arrow tip shared by all members of the Rotonda family. Another retro-inspired element is the brand logo, which replicates the original font used on early Delbana watches.
The 50m water-resistant stainless steel case has a 40mm diameter, a reasonable height of 11.5mm and is polished throughout for a more elegant look. A scratch-resistant domed sapphire crystal protects the dial, and a window on the caseback reveals parts of the SW 200-1 automatic, a workhorse with a modest 38-41 hour power reserve.
Available with an interchangeable polished stainless steel bracelet with a butterfly clasp with pushers, the Delbana Rotonda retails for CHF 870 / EUR 990 / USD 990. Models paired with an Italian leather strap in a variety of colours retail for CHF 770 / EUR 850 / USD 890. More information at delbana.ch.
