lot 30

Dornblüth & Sohn

Power Reserve Moonphase 'ChronotempVus 8' in Stainless Steel

This lot has a reserve price
Estimate CHF 6 000 / CHF 12 000
Starting bid CHF 6 000
Location
Office, Zurich

Buyer’s premium will not be charged

Specification

CaseRound case in stainless steel with winding crown at 3 o'clock, moonphase pusher at 4 o'clock, display caseback, engraved 'ChronotempVs, rights reserved by "CLUB WATCH" owner'
StrapGreen suede strap with stainless steel pin buckle
DialSilver dial with black numerals, luminous spade hands, small seconds at 9 o'clock, power reserve at 3 o'clock, moonphase at 6 o'clock, the number 12 turns red / black around 8 o'clock to indicate day and night, signed 'D. Dornblüth & Sohn' at 12 o'clock
MovementHand-wound mechanical movement Cal. 99.8, functions: hours, minutes, seconds, patented day/night indicator, power reserve, patented moonphase indicator with moonphase countdown
Cal.99.8
Movement No.29
Diameter:42mm
Lug-to-lug52mm
Year2015

Condition report

Case:Very good, minor signs of wear
Strap:Good, signs of wear
Dial:Mint condition
Movement:Good, all functions working properly
Amplitude (Dial on top/Lift angle 52):Approximately 300°
Accuracy (Dial on top):Appromately -3 sec/day
Box:Yes
Papers:Yes

Reasons to Bid

The CronotempVs 8 grew out of a 2013 concept video by the Spanish collectors' club CronotempVs that imagined a 42mm Dornblüth with complications the German manufacture had never built. Dirk Dornblüth agreed to make it real, and members took personal delivery in Hamburg in November 2015. 

Built on the manual-wind 99.8 calibre (a 99.2 derivative beating at 18,000 vph, in a 42 × 11.5mm case), it keeps the brand's marine-chronometer look with oversized off-center seconds, a power-reserve indicator driven by Dornblüth's beveled-gear differential, heat-treated hands and screws, and a stunning movement. 

The club identity shows in subtle touches: an applied numeral 8, color shading in the railroad minute track, and a day/night indicator that flips the 12 o'clock index from red to black at 8 o’clock as a nod to the Spanish culture where the evening begins at 8. 

The most significant engineering effort, and the part covered by Dornblüth's patent filing, was the moon-phase system. Rather than a conventional rotating moon disc, the Dornblüth  x CronotempVs 8 pairs the moon-phase display with a dedicated countdown that counts the days to the next full or new moon. This separate countdown readout was the genuine novelty, since standard moon-phase complications only show the moon's current shape, not how many days remain until the next phase or which direction it's heading. 

The mechanism also makes precise setting far easier, because the countdown gives an exact reference point instead of forcing the owner to eyeball the disc. That patented architecture proved important beyond this limited run. Only a small number of the bespoke calibre were ever made, with the rights held collectively by the CronotempVs 8 owners, but Dornblüth went on to develop the idea into a series production piece with the 99.6-M Mondphase, launched in 2020 in a more wearable 40mm case, carrying a similar countdown-style moon indicator.