Damas adds Chronoswiss watches to its list of consummate beauties

Gerd-Rüdiger Lang's untamable passion for faithfulness to detail is evident in the design of the dial's expansive plane, above which the blued steel hands majestically sweep their rounds. Gerd-Rüdiger Lang, founder of Chronoswiss in Munich, Germany, chose his company's name in 1983 to specifically bind the product to the highest Swiss standards.

At the time, established companies in the watch industry were undergoing major downsizing in reaction to the advent of the inexpensive quartz watch. However, for Lang it did not mean the end of the mechanical watch, but only the beginning of the mechanical watch for the discerning, serious, and knowledgeable watch aficionados. Since its inception Chronoswiss has regularly unveiled mechanical masterpieces that garner international acclaim, and Lang's passion has propelled his brand on to the list of the most revered. His belief in exclusivity means that Chronoswiss produces only about 7,000 timepieces per year for worldwide distribution.

Mohammed Tawheed Abdullah, Managing Director of Damas, the leading international jewellery retailer in the Middle East, said:

"Lang is a staunch lover of the fine art of mechanical watchmaking and has thereby propelled his brand in the world with such an enthusiasm that is, perhaps, unrivalled. Chronoswiss believes in exclusivity and only a few watches per year are produced for global distribution. Every component of Chronoswiss watch is produced in Switzerland and the watches are hand finished to Lang's exacting specifications. We are pleased to have them because these watches are immediately recognized for their classical elegance and technical prowess and Damas is famous for only keeping the best at its stores."

For Sovereigns, Present and Future: The 'Imperator' from Chronoswiss

There's really no other way to say it: this new wristwatch from Chronoswiss is simultaneously a manifesto and an ode to precious time. And more: it also embodies a provocation, because the mighty "Imperator" is impossible to overlook on its wearer's wrist. In several respects, the name symbolizes sovereignty over time.

The distinctive numerals, executed in "Belle Epoque" typeface, make each glance at the dial of this watch into a veritable aesthetic pleasure. The numerals are augmented by a circular minutes and seconds scale to which the tips of the hands are perfectly tangent.

While we're on the subject: the "Imperator" for the wrist is deliberately large. In fact, it's downright gigantic. The consummately shaped case is 36.5 millimeters wide, 56 millimeters long and approximately one centimeter tall. These imperial dimensions make it nearly impossible to conceal this sovereign over the hours, minutes, seconds and dates. Anyone who wraps this timekeeping instrument around his wrist simultaneously shows just how much importance he ascribes to irretrievable time, humankind's most valuable commodity.

Because the "Imperator" winds itself, the massive crown of this wristwatch seldom needs manual winding and is free to function as a crown in the truest sense. The crown's location underscores this: it's situated between the horns, above the '12',' where it literally 'crowns' the 17-piece, meticulously ground and polished case.

Homage to Self-confident Women: the 'Imperia' from Chronoswiss

Anyone who ascribes a decidedly feminine attitude to this wristwatch surely wouldn't be in error. Its distinctively ladylike aura was entirely intentional in our day and age. Madame need only consider this watch's namesake, a statue of whom has stood prominently in the harbor of Constance, Germany since 1993.

In the history of watchmaking scarcely has any other watchmaker paid such careful attention to assuring perfectly balanced proportions, to the proper lengths and consummate shapes of the hands, and to the overall impression made by a watch. For this reason alone, Chronoswiss timepieces are not intended for moments of fleeting infatuation, but for lifelong and licit love of the sort that today's women - unlike Imperia of Constance - so dearly appreciate.

In accordance with the inviolable dictates of Chronoswiss' philosophy, the interior of the watch cases house mechanisms which are as traditional as they are modern - visible through the pane of transparent sapphire crystal in the back.

The ultra-slim (just 3.6 mm tall) self-winding 'Caliber ETA 2000-1' can be regarded as an expression of modernity. Wholly in accord with the style of our contemporary era, it supplies itself with energy which it derives from the motions of the forearm of the woman who wears it. Environmental degradations of all sorts are thus categorically excluded.

Cosmopolitan women, who may be frequent flyers but who nonetheless keep both feet firmly planted on the ground, will appreciate the impossible-to-overlook date display in the dial's centre. The design of this indicator was inspired by the style of the legendary 'Roaring Twenties', when yesterday was still as important as today and tomorrow. This is why the broad aperture always shows three numbers: entirely in accord with the opinion of the French statesman Talleyrand, who averred that one should always keep the past in one's files and one's eyes on the future.

Although the feminine 'Imperia' is manufactured today, this timepiece has a comprehensible past and a truly grand future. It's a conspicuously elegant wristwatch to which self-confident embodiments of the female gender will instantly grant their unlimited approval.

Chronoswiss 'Imperator' and 'Imperia' collection will be available in November 2007 at Damas Les Exclusive Boutiques in Saks Fifth Avenue, Burjuman; Emirates Towers; Burj Al Arab; and Mall of the Emirates.