Founded by brothers Adolf and Albert Gilomen in 1924, the property of Delma passed to Ulrich Wüthrich and Fritz Fankhauser in 1966. It was at this time that the company was renamed Delma, using one of the previously registered trademarks. In 1996, the reins of the company passed to Ulrich Wüthrich's son-in-law, Fred Leibundgut, the current president and managing director. Delma remains a family business to this day, with Fred at the helm and his son Andreas working alongside him.
Although the company has witnessed the gradual change in the watch market over the years, it has always enjoyed a great deal of creative freedom, thanks to its family-run business. Moreover, its headquarters have always been in Lengnau, where the brand was born 100 years ago.
In this 2024, therefore, Delma is celebrating its first 100 years of uninterrupted activity, and is doing so with the Tourbillon 1924, a watch powered by an entirely Swiss Made movement.
It is the DT100.01 calibre developed with Olivier Mory, co-founder of BCP Tourbillons, a company based in La Chaux-de-Fonds that works for several brands (Louis Erard and Code41, to name but a few). It is a hand-wound mechanical movement with a tourbillon device and balance oscillating at 21,600 vibrations per hour.
Other Swiss companies also contributed to the creation of this movement, with its 105-hour power reserve and resistance to magnetic fields of up to 2,000 gauss. These include Atokalpa, a leading name in the production of escapements and regulating organs and a company trusted by some of the world's most prestigious watch brands.
Limited to just 100 pieces, the watch offers a view of the tourbillon cage, escapement and regulating organ from the dial side. All around is a 41 mm steel case, with matching bracelet (an additional black leather strap made in Italy is included). On pre-order since 16 January, the 1924 Tourbillon will be available for sale at authorised Delma dealers from April.
Price9,900 euro.
