Chronoswiss Goes Lightweight & Sporty With The New Pulse One Collection

It seems that the integrated sports watch trend shows no signs of slowing down, and for the most part, we’re not complaining about that. It’s always good to see brands adapt and evolve, and to offer diversity and originality in a sense. Of course, following trends can be risky and time-sensitive, but in today’s industry, brands seem to be broadening their portfolio rather than shifting it from one narrow spectrum to another. One entry to the luxury sports watch segment that does just that and provides what we know and love from the brand, and then some, is the new Pulse One by Chronoswiss. It combines the band’s long-running devotion to the regulator display and throws in an integrated titanium exterior for good measure! 

Shortly after being founded in 1983, Chronoswiss introduced the first Regulator wristwatch in serial production. It relied on the concept of master clocks and timekeeping needs in factories during the Industrial Revolution and the boom of large-scale manufacturing. It divides the time between individual indications for the hours, minutes and seconds, instead of relying on a central axis for all three. In most regulator watches, the minutes take centre stage, and the hours and seconds play second fiddle, although they can be paired together to create a sort of semi-regulator watch, for lack of a better word.

Simply put, the Pulse One is the sportiest Chronoswiss in the collection today, and it relies on a lightweight grade 5 titanium case with an integrated bracelet. This keeps the weight down to the point you almost forget you are wearing the watch at all. Size-wise, we’re dealing with a watch that’s 41mm in diameter and 12.75mm in height, with a lug-to-lug of 46.27mm. That means that despite the initial impression of the Pulse One to be a rather large watch, the overall wearing experience is surprisingly good. The case has a rather utilitarian finish, with predominantly brushed surfaces offset with polished bevels here and there. The signature knurling on the bezel is redesigned into a more modern and edgy profile, which is repeated on the caseback. On the right, the time is set through the all-too-familiar oversized Onion-shaped crown.

Moving from the exterior to the interior reveals a vibrant CVD-coated Blue dial. There is a 4N galvanic plated Sand alternative, which gets blue hands and markers for contrast, but this one relies on blue and silver tones for legibility. The centre dial is sandblasted to give it a finely grained texture, and finished with a dedicated track for the retrograde seconds in the lower half. Making a jump every thirty seconds, this adds a nifty bit of life to the dial!

The upper half gives way to the raised hour ring, with a concave slope and raised markers. The only digit is the 12 at noon, and the Pyramid hand extends to just over the printed track on the inner edge of the hour ring. As is customary for regulator watches, the heart of the dial is reserved for the minute hand. This is similarly shaped to the hour hand, and extends to the sloped minute flange with polished and faceted markers at every five-minute increment. All in all, it’s a nice mix of textures and colours.

The sapphire crystal caseback reveals the Chronoswiss Manufacture Calibre C.6001. The base for this is an automatic movement by La Joux-Perret with an in-house developed retrograde seconds and regulator module on top. It’s driven by an openworked central rotor, which provides the energy for the generous running time of 55 hours. The movement runs at a rate of 28,800vph and is neatly finished to match the look of the overall watch. Although the rhuthenium plating of the bridges and plates might make it look a bit muted, it matches the titanium case and bracelet perfectly. Decorations include radiant Côtes de Genève, openworked gears, brushing and polishing, bevelled angles and so on.

What works wonders for the Pulse One’s comfort are the short lugs and the integrated grade 5 titanium bracelet. Due to the very short overhang and articulating links, it fits snugly on the wrist and never feels out of balance. The design is quite interesting, with raised ridges on either side and small polished bevels on the horizontal edges of the links. The concealed folding clasp is a nice finishing touch. Both colours are limited to 100 pieces each and retail for EUR 12,900. Rounding things off, I am quite pleased with the mix of styles Chronoswiss has landed on for the Pulse One. It adds a sporty touch to an otherwise rather classical display, and all things considered, it’s very well executed!

For more information, please visit Chronoswiss.com.