50. Fortis claims world first with GMT chrono alarm

Fortis unveiled what it is claiming is the world’s first mechanical chronograph alarm chronometer C.O.S.C with GMT indication and two power reserve indications in Basel this week.

The watch, which is part of the brand’s F-43 Flieger family, is one of the anniversary launches for the German watch company, which is celebrating its centenary this year.

The Fortis F-43 Flieger Chronograph Alarm GMT Chronometer C.O.S.C. has been limited to 200 pieces worldwide and UK distributer Jaw Fine Products said that the watch will be made available to UK retailers.

Another first for the brand, although not a world first, is the launch of its debut world timer, which is also on show in Basel this week. Other centenary launches include Mysterious Planets, a jumping hour complication designed in by architect and designer Karsten Krebs, and the Marinemaster Vintage, a limited-edition reissue of a 1970s Fortis chronograph.

Also on display in Basel was the refreshed Flipper range from Fortis. This range of watches found mainstream popularity in the 1960s and was initially relaunched to the market last year but the range has been refined and will be fully launched this year.

Jaw Fine Products director Nick Wiseman said that he is already in discussions with football clubs in the UK with regards to making personalised Flipper watches for specific teams. Personalising the watches for the corporate market could prove to be key to Flipper’s strategy in the UK, Wiseman added.

He said: “At no other brand at Fortis’s level can you get a logo put onto the dial of a watch.”

Wiseman added that such personalisation is not restricted to Fortis’s Flipper brand but can also be available on other mainline Fortis watches.