The Titoni Heritage Bicompax Chronograph Retro & Modern Retro (Live Pics & Price)

Beyond the beaten path, there is plenty of interesting choices to discover when it comes to watches. Some brands just fly under the radar and are perfectly happy with catering to a smaller but loyal crowd of people. One such brand, known for interesting watches at accessible prices is Titoni. This Swiss manufacturer, based in Grenchen, now presents a collection of retro-inspired chronograph watches. These are the Titoni Heritage Bicompax Chronograph Retro & Modern Retro.

Titoni’s history dates back to 1919, when the company was launched under the name Felca. It is still a family-owned company and can look back at over a century of history. Titoni has opted to design The Heritage Bicompax Chronograph models based on a Felca bicompax chronograph watch from the 1950s. The Titoni Heritage Bicompax Chronograph Retro and Modern Retro models come in a clean, 41mm stainless steel case. It is either polished, or brushed and polished (depending on the reference) and has a decorative ridge between the case and bezel. A typical vintage design cue is the subtle facet on the lugs. The sloped bezel holds a domed sapphire crystal in place. The knurled crown is adorned with the vintage Titoni logo, which has been used since the early days of the brand. On either side of the crown, we find the pump-style chronograph pushers.

Two basic dial designs are available, with one harking back to the 1950s and the other being a more modern interpretation of a bicompax chronograph display. The first is perhaps the most interesting, with a silvery-white base dial with a blue Tachymeter and red Telemeter scale. Cathedral styled hands are finished in blue with a Super-LumiNova insert. The recessed subdials feature blue hands as well, with black printed scales. The hour numerals are finished with a beige Super-LumiNova. The central chronograph seconds hand is lacquered red.

The second design is cleaner and is available as either a Panda or Reverse Panda dial. This means either a silver base with black subdials or vice versa. The polished hands for the hours, minutes and small seconds are a touch sharper, with the chronograph hands finished in red. The applied hour indices are polished to a high-gloss finish. In both dials, there is a rectangular, faceted date window with a white disc and black digits underneath.

Powering the Titoni Heritage Bicompax Chronograph collection is the Sellita SW 510BHa automatic chronograph movement. This outsourced movement is based on the architecture of the tried-and-tested Valjoux 7750. It is a cam-operated chronograph movement, which displays central hours and minutes, small seconds at 9 o’clock, central chronograph seconds, the 30-minute chronograph counter at 3 o’clock, and the date. It runs at a frequency of 28,800vph and provides 48 hours of autonomy. It is topped with a Titoni-signed gold-coloured rotor.

The Titoni Heritage Bicompax Chronograph collection comes on either a taupe leather strap with white stitching and a folding buckle or a stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp. A total of five different references are presented, priced at USD 2,400 on the leather strap, or USD 2,500 on the bracelet.

For more information, please visit Titoni.ch