One of my hobbies (as a collector) is searching for unusual models and brands of watches. After all, it is not at all necessary to spend hundreds of thousands of rubles (or even not rubles) to get some interesting piece of watchmaking art on your wrist. To be honest, I’m a snob and I’m not very attracted to popular watch brands. It was all the more interesting to study the Delbana Retro Moonphase model, which I had for a test drive.
At the foot of the Jura Mountains
Almost a hundred years ago, in 1931, the Delbana brand was founded in the small (16 thousand people still live there today) Swiss town of Grenchen. The founding father was an immigrant from the sunny republic of San Marino (also tiny, with a total population of 33 thousand people) Goliardo Della Balda. As you understand, the name of the Delbana brand comes from his name. Well, as for the brand logo, the silhouette of the tower on it refers to the three famous fortress towers (Guaita, Cheste and Montale), which have been protecting the Republic of San Marino from external enemies for more than 800 years and are even depicted on its coat of arms.
Of course, before founding his own manufactory, Goliardo managed to work in several Swiss watch companies and gain experience. From a business point of view, he did absolutely the right thing, from the very beginning positioning his watches as very high quality (made in Switzerland), but at the same time they could be bought at a very affordable price.
In the first half of the last century, Western Europe and South America became the main market for the brand, and after the end of World War II, the brand was actively sold in Eastern European countries. Goliardo Della Balda was a modest man and did not strive for fame, preferring to devote his energy to working on watches rather than investing money in marketing. And this policy justified itself. For example, in the mid-40s of the last century, he released an inexpensive bicompax chronograph, which, without any advertising, sold out like hot cakes (Goliardo had to hire additional craftsmen to increase the production of this model).
It is interesting that in each historical period the brand released a model that reflected its characteristics. Thus, in the era of rock and roll and the boom of long-playing vinyl records (LP), Goliardo created a bright Recordmaster model, which became a bestseller. Its dial was made in the form of a stylized vinyl record.
The peak of popularity of the manufactory's mechanical watches occurred in the 60s. At that time, the brand produced more than 100 thousand copies a year, outselling more well-known brands. Few people remember this, but Delbana watches were very popular in the Soviet Union: they could be bought for “checks” in the Berezka chain of branded stores. Keep in mind that rare vintage Delbana models can be found on Avito for a reasonable price.
The “Quartz crisis” of the early 1970s hit the brand hard, as did all other Swiss manufacturers, and in order to save the company, it had to merge with WEGA. The beginning of the XNUMXs became a new stage in the history of the brand - it was bought by the Delma company and the manufactory was relocated to the Swiss city of Lengnau. However, unlike many other brands, Delbana has still managed to maintain the continuity and continuity of history - the grandson of the founder, Daniel Kessler, works in the company's management.
The far surface of the Moon
But let's return to the Delbana Retro Moonphase model. The influence of the Earth's satellite on humans has not been well studied, but we can observe it both physically (sea ebbs and flows) and emotionally (mood swings, etc.). As it turned out, not only winemakers and agronomists, but also investment bankers, who have identified certain relationships between lunar cycles and stock price fluctuations, compare their activities with the lunar calendar.
Thus, information about the position of the Moon now allows businessmen to derive a lot of benefits for their activities. The easiest way to do this is to use the “lunar calendar” in your watch. And let's not forget that such models with complications not only add status to their owner, but they are simply very beautiful and at the same time do not cost much more than the basic versions.
The topic of the influence of the Moon, as I already said, has been of concern to humanity for a long time, so the first watch models with a “lunar calendar” appeared about 500 years ago. The design of the mechanism is quite original and consists of a wheel with 59 teeth. Why exactly so much? The fact is that this number is equal to the sum of two lunar months (29 and 30 days). Attached to the wheel is a disk covered with blue enamel, on which images of the Moon and stars are painted. In 59 days, the disk makes one full revolution, and in the aperture (cutout) of the dial you can see the image of the waxing or waning Moon corresponding to the day. During the full moon it is round, but during the new moon you will only find images of stars. Of course, such a watch cannot act as an astronomical instrument, but it provides information about the phase of the moon quite accurately.
The Delbana Retro Moonphase watch with a “full” calendar is made according to the scheme of the bestsellers of great brands (Breguet, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, etc.) - a moon phase indicator, disc indicators of the month and day of the week, and a dial date indicator. An indicator of the month and day of the week was placed along the bezel of the clock. Please note that instead of the usual apertures with the date and day of the week, this data is indicated by arrows on the small counters, and the current month is indicated by a central hand with a bright red arched tip. A very interesting (and beautiful) design solution.
This watch seamlessly combines 1950s design elements with a classic case shape and large Arabic numerals. At the top of the dial is the historic Delbana tower logo. The dark blue surface of the dial has stripes that radiate from the central axis to the edges. Arabic numerals and applied indices combined with a logo located under the 12 o'clock position are responsible for the retro style of the model.
The classic-shaped case (42 mm in diameter) is made of polished stainless steel. It is equipped with the proven and trouble-free quartz caliber Ronda R-706.B. I would like to say a few words about the mechanism. It's very shock-resistant because the assembly has few fragile parts and no brittle plastics, unlike most competitors' models. The mechanism is resistant to heat, and thanks to the high standardization of parts, such a mechanism can be repaired without problems in almost any country in the world.
The watch looks natural with a blue leather strap with blue stitching. Thanks to the resulting bright image, such a watch can be worn both with a business suit (believe me, it will attract the attention of your business partners) and in a casual format, becoming your constant travel companion throughout this summer and beyond.
To summarize. Unlike more popular Swiss brands, the Delbana brand was not created by a master in the 18th century, was not promoted as a secret service agent, did not dive into the Mariana Trench and did not fly into space. Its advantages include many years of experience, history and authority in the market. It is family run and produces quality, reliable, affordable and beautiful watches. What else do you need? I made my choice. All you have to do is choose a model to your liking.
