Dornblueth & Sohn Calibre 99.REG Engraved Silver Dial

Take a good look at the picture of this watch. Notice anything different about the regulator function?

The majority of regulator watches on the market today feature the hour indicator at the top (noon position) of the dial. This placement has been used for a variety of reasons, the most important being that it is easier to modify the movement to place the hour indicator in this position.

But therein lies the problem - regulator watches are patterned after the "original regulators" - all of which are clocks. And true regulator clocks always indicate the hour below the central post on the dial.

---

When Dirk began work on this watch, he wanted it to be authentic to the original regulator clocks - no compromises. His design called for the placement of the hour indicator at 6, and an offsetting power reserve at 12 and a central sweep seconds hand.

The result is the Dornblueth & Sohn Regulator.

---

To create this watch, Dirk created two bridges to house the additional gears necessary for the central seconds function, one of which is actually elevated over the other. This watch also features a hack function which completely stops the seconds hand when the crown is engaged.

As is typical in a Dornblueth watch, Dirk includes all the "good stuff" - 3/4 plate, beveled edges, screw balance wheel, swan neck regulation, engraved balance cock, screwed gold chatons, and blued screws (by flame of course, including the slots).

And now the extras. The name "D. Dornblueth & Sohn, Kalbe i./S.A." is hand engraved and not machine engraved, a virtually rarity on any watch. And all of the decoration (Côtes de Genève and the sunray finish on the crown wheel and ratchet) are all done in-house, by hand. You'll notice that the movement is rose gold in appearance - this process itself is elaborate.

After cutting and polishing the plate, Dirk treats the surface to turn the metal a copper color. After all of the drilling and milling operations are complete, the movement itself is treated with rose gold to enhance the deep color.

---

The dial is made in house, including the engraving process. We can count on one hand the number of watches we've actually seen with dials produced using this technique.

This watch features a brushed and polished nickel-free steel case and the crown is signed D. Dornblueth, as is the tang buckle.

Power reserve is 50 hours.

This watch ships on a black calf leather Dornblueth strap (and not brown as shown in the picture) with Dornblueth tang buckle.