When Lausanne-based CODE41 launched the NB24 Chronograph in 2021, the watch made significant waves with the exceptional level of technicality and expertise it represented for its price— a defining combination of traits that has characterized each of the brand’s timepieces. Led by the value proposition of its avant-garde design, the NB24 struck a serious chord with consumers, in turn generating a record 1,380 sales for a total of 5,300,000 CHF in the January 2021 pre-order campaign.
CODE41 is looking to build off this incredible success and once again meet consumers with incredible design and value in its high-quality mechanical watches. It’s doing so with the introduction of the NB24 Edition 2, a follow-up to the original launch for all those who might have missed it.
Value Proposition Meets Uncommon Design
As with the original launch, the Edition 2 will continue to feature unmatched craftsmanship and creative design for its price point, specially geared for those searching for a timepiece defined by its precision, performance and robustness. Like the initial launch, the Edition 2 will once again present various color and material options, importantly including the choice of either AeroCarbon or grade 5 titanium for the case. The former is notably made from a high-density carbon fiber used in the aerospace industry, whose blocks are made up of more than 300 layers, each placed at 90º to the previous and compacted under 10 bars of pressure in an autoclave oven. The result is a material 2.5 times more resistant to bending than steel, and 2 times lighter than titanium, earning its name AeroCarbon.
Dial Side Splendor
Like the case, the dial and movement of the watch are equally creative, the overall distinctive look visible through each of these elements and producing a chronograph with a strong identity on the wrist. Visible on the skeletonized dial, the movement’s most distinct element is its peripheral oscillating weight, the wonderfully attractive and challenging feature that is incredibly unusual at this price point. Since it so special, the distinctive rotor makes up one third of the watch’s total production cost.
An Exclusive Movement with Traditional Benefits
The rotor powers an exclusive and exceptional movement developed specially for this chronograph watch. Basing it upon the architecture of the well-known ETA Valjoux 7750, famed for its robustness and reliability, CODE41 has taken this base design, redesigning not only its power source via its dial-side oscillating weight, but also moved the counters, redesigned its bridges, and finished it up to par with the other avant-garde elements of the timepiece. While using an easily serviceable base design that has been time tested, CODE41 takes pride in pointing out that each of its components, except the mainspring and jewels, are produced in-house.
More Swiss than “Swiss Made”
As has been the trend since CODE41’s launch, the new Edition 2 carries on the radical transparency for which the young brand has gained renown: much of the watch’s details — on origin of materials, costs of production, and profit margins — are available for viewing. On this note, and importantly for this second edition of the NB24 Chronograph, the new watch vastly surpasses the legal threshold for the “Swiss Made” label, reaching as high as 85 percent for total Swiss materials and production. And yet, in a nod to the historic label’s misuse, CODE41 has opted not to display the “Swiss Made” label on its latest edition.
Pricing and Availability
The Edition 2 of the CODE41 NB24 Chronograph is available now for pre-order for a three-week period, with pricing starting at $5,205.
To learn more about the Edition 2 and sign-up for its pre-order campaign, visit CODE41 here.
Wouldn’t buy with participation with China, would have paid more is all Swiss… a lot more…