Fortis Stratoliner Mercedes-Benz Special Edition Chronograph, c. early 2000s

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

There is perhaps no more versatile complication than the chronograph. From race cars to rocket ships, boats to battlefields, you are likely to find a chronograph being employed to measure a plethora of tasks and times. From the Greek khrónos (“time) and gráphō (“to write”), a chronograph is a watch that has the ability to record time, generally via the addition of small sub-counters that register minutes and hours. Though many storied brands produced notable chronographs during the complication’s heyday from the 1930s through the 1970s, numerous other firms fell by the wayside during the Quartz Crisis, folding completely and disappearing or being rolled up into conglomerates that pillaged their stores of parts. Fortis, however, is still going strong. Founded in Grenchen, Switzerland, in 1912, it makes robust tool watches — especially chronographs — that can be depended upon to get tough jobs done. This particular chronograph, a Stratoliner, dates to circa the early 2000s and is a special edition made for Mercedes-Benz owners. Housed in a 39mm stainless steel case with ‘holey’ lugs and a sapphire crystal, dual pushers, and a silver aluminum tachymeter bezel, it features a luminous silver dial with an outer, printed black minute track, a matching handset with a ‘Mercedes’ logo-tipped seconds hand and a red ‘plane’ central minute chronograph hand, a triple-register chronograph layout, and a day-date display at 3 o’clock. Powered by the venerable Lemania 5500 automatic winding chronograph movement, this piece comes fitted to one of our Analog:Shift Ibis red vegan strap with a steel pin buckle, and includes its original strap and pin buckle. With an individually numbered caseback that reads “Fortis Special Edition, Mercedes-Benz, Owner’s Number 043” and great mix of colors, excellent proportions, an interesting movement, and a strong brand, this piece is both a wonderful bargain and flat-out rare. A tough watch to pass up!