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Polished ridges between the lugs complement the bezels own high polish while the brushed-and-polished plunger-style pushers convey a sportier edge.

WHO wERE DuBEY & SCHALdENBRANd?

Dubey & Schaldenbrand was founded in 1946 by Georges Dubey and Ren Schaldenbrand. Dubey was a well-known master watchmaker and a prominent professor at the famous watchmaking school in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Technicum. Together with watch veteran Schaldenbrand, they invented the ndex mobile, which assisted the snap-back for the modern day split-seconds flyback chronograph, and registered several international patents in the 1940s. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the companys previous owner Cinette Robert was one of the few visionaries who purchased existing and vintage watch movements and components, making them an integral part of the brands offerings. In fact, in 2004 Dubey & Schaldenbrand was awarded the Merit for Development of Watchmaking Tradition, a prize awarded by the International Institute of Promotion and Prestige. Jonatan Gil, the brands owner since 2009, has spent the past few years realigning its distribution and deploying the new philosophy and strategy that continues much of the brands heritage appeal with decidedly contemporary designs in three collections: Grand Shar, Grand Dome and Artisans Extreme.

UNIQuE CASE

As its own primary case maker, Dubey & Schaldenbrand has taken full advantage of its manufacturing abilities by creating an attractive case with unusual architecture. Its sides feature an alternating polished and brushed steel colonnade whose design appears again on the case back surrounding the sapphire crystal that opens your view of the movement. Polished ridges between the lugs complement the bezels own high polish, while the brushed-and-polished plunger-style pushers convey a sportier edge to this generally dressy piece. The pushers here depress with a satisfying click, and with a Valjoux movement inside I never doubted the accuracy or ability of the chronograph functions to tell me what I needed to know. While I typically prefer more contrast on my watch dials and hands, I had no problems viewing either the ongoing time or the chronograph time. As you might (and should) expect from a high-end timepiece such as this Grand Shar DB, the black alligator strap and folding buckle are comfortable and top notch. I was quickly able to resize the butterfly clasp to better fit my small wrist. Overall, the Grand Shar DB with the silver dial, like the model Im reviewing here, presents itself as a classic piece on the wrist, though the titanium/carbon fiber edition ($13,700) or any of the black dialed models appear sportier. The unique qualities that have made Dubey & Schaldenbrand designs so attractive for decades, notably the unique case designs and the brands deep-set, multi-level dials, have been maintained in this model. And, fortunately, so has the comfort level. PRICE: $10,250 WITH A STEEL CASE; $30,950 WITH A GOLD CASE.

DECEMBER 2013 | iWMAGA ZINE .COM

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