Hands-On With The Titoni Heritage Bicompax Chronograph
Today, we’re taking a look at the latest entry from Titoni. The Heritage Bicompax Chronograph is, as you’d expect, a vintage-inspired piece that takes its cues from historic ’50s and ’60s models. It’s clean, uses a reliable automatic caliber, and is relatively affordable. Let’s take a closer look.
As a fan of vintage watches, I must admit that Titoni wasn’t a brand that immediately registered on my radar. A quick look at the brand’s official history page, though, explained why. Historically, Titoni was known first as Felco, then as Felca, and I had indeed heard of its second name. The company supplied watches to the US military during World War II, which Tomas featured here. As he mentions in that article, in the early ’50s, Felca launched the separate Titoni brand in Asia. Due to success there, the two brands eventually merged, and the company has operated under the Titoni name ever since.
Like many brands, Titoni is popular in the Far East, but it has started to make more of a dent in the West. Good-looking watches that often come with chronometer certifications seem to be Titoni’s modus operandi. Today’s Heritage Bicompax Chronograph is the latest release that seeks to blend heritage, quality, and decent pricing. Let’s see how it fares.
The Titoni Heritage Bicompax Chronograph
The Titoni Heritage Bicompax Chronograph is a 41mm stainless steel watch. We got to see the version with a silver dial, but an equally attractive black dial is also available. It has a lug-to-lug of 48mm and a thickness of 15.2mm. The watches are water resistant to 5 ATM and include a screw-in display back and domed sapphire crystal. Titoni offers the watch on a leather strap with a push-button folding clasp, a nylon strap with a pin buckle, and a beads of rice-style bracelet.
The Heritage Bicompax Chronograph uses the Sellita SW510 BH a (or SW510BHa), which is an automatic chronograph movement similar to the well-known Valjoux 7750. It’s a reliable movement but also explains the relatively stout thickness. Titoni adds a touch of flair to the movement with Geneva stripes and 18K gold plating on the rotor. The movements have been adjusted to five positions and claim a power reserve of 58 hours.
A dial and form straight out of the ’60s
Next, let’s move along to the dial. Titoni credits the ’50s as inspiration for this watch, but I see more styling elements from the following decade. The panda look is very on point for this era along with the applied, polished baton indices at each hour. Similarly, large circular lume pips along the minute track remind me of watches from Heuer, Breitling, and others. The Heritage Bicompax Chronograph contains large, lume-filled syringe hands, which is a slight departure from simpler designs used on vintage models such as the Carrera or Top Time.
As far as functionality, the Heritage Bicompax Chronograph contains a sub-dial for running seconds at 9 o’clock and a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock. Note that the left subdial has an “S” for seconds and the right dial has an “M” for minutes. There’s a date window at 6 o’clock, and it features black font on a white background. All in all, I like the deeply beveled sides of the window. My only gripes with the dial relate to the font. The Titoni branding seems excessively large and ditto for the “Automatic” text. If the former were scaled down and the latter were removed altogether, I think the watch would look even better.
Other details
The Heritage Bicompax Chronograph lights up well in the dark with its Super-LumiNova details. I also like its strong bezel and highly chamfered lug design. The case helps differentiate it from other similarly-styled watches, such as the Hamilton Intra-Matic Auto Chrono. As mentioned, there are plenty of options as far as straps and bracelets. Of course, a 20mm lug spacing opens up all kinds of aftermarket opportunities as well. On the wrist, the Titoni wears nicely. Yes, it’s thick but not in an exaggerated way. It feels substantial and well built. While thin seems to be in, we have plenty of readers who enjoy a sturdily constructed watch. I think that Titoni answers the call well on that front.
Final thoughts and availability
The Titoni Heritage Bicompax Chronograph is priced at €2,200 or £2,090 on a leather or nylon strap. It is also available on a stainless steel nine-row bracelet for €2,315 / £2,175. Titoni has retail points of sale in many countries, but the brand’s watches are also available to order online. A watch at this price isn’t throwaway money, but it undercuts some of its rivals like the Hamilton by roughly 10%. I think that makes it worth considering if a nicely finished vintage-inspired chronograph is on your wish list.
For additional information on the Heritage Bicompax Chronograph, visit the official Titoni site.
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