CARACTÉRISTIQUES TECHNIQUES
NOS Titoni “Race King” chronograph, with a steel case, manual-winding Valjoux 7734 movement, from the early 1970s.
Steel case measuring 39mm
Cristal en plastique original
Couronne originale avec logo
Original logoed bracelet
Manual-winding Valjoux 7734 movement inside
ANALYSE
Fritz Schluep founded the small company Felco in Grenchen in 1919. After expanding and improving its production processes, Felco (formerly Felco) expanded its reach by investing first in the European markets, and later in America and Japan. Fritz’s son, Bruno Schluep, joined his brother Walter in catalyzing a more targeted expansion into the Middle East and Australia. However, he died on October 12, 1950, at the age of 61, and was unable to complete his plan to conquer China. In 1952, Felca registered the name of the Titoni sub-brand (along with Chila, Texa, Felina, Aston-Villa, and other sub-brands) to further establish itself in the Far Eastern markets. The founder’s grandson, Daniel Schluep, now took over the reins of the company, establishing a connection with the wealthy Koh family, who would distribute the brand throughout China. It was Mr. Koh himself, Daniel recounts, who proposed the plum blossom logo (“Meihua”) to accompany the Titoni name. The flower design was registered on March 5, 1957, under the number 164964. Mr. Koh declared: “If the Chinese don’t recognize the name, they can at least recognize the flower.” And it is also thanks to this localized marketing strategy that Titoni enjoyed enormous success in China, with over 600 stores on the eve of the company’s centennial in 2019.
This rare Titoni “Race King” chronograph tells the story of that epic conquest of the Far East, exporting there during the 1970s that typically European-American taste steeped in extreme sportiness, particularly that associated with car racing.
The dial of this rare watch is a distillation of the aesthetic canons of those years, the same ones that saw the birth of watches like the Yema Rallye or the Bulova aka “surfboard.” Against a matte black background, a white element emerges, forming a sort of “T,” covering the entire sections of the subdials and the date window at 6 o’clock. At the center of this highly “racing” decorative element is the additional detail of a black and white grid/checkerboard. The Adore 12 features a plum blossom logo above the Titoni lettering. The red elements of the graphic and the blue numerals of the tachometric scale on the flange are very attractive, bringing a vibrant hue to the entire composition. The hands are thick pencil-shaped and filled with tritium, as are the baton hour markers applied to the dial.
The case has a bizarre ovoid shape and is characterized by a complex transition between satin finishes and mirror-polished parts. These details make this semi-UFO case very slim on the wrist. At 3 o’clock is the beautiful original logo crown and the bump buttons for chronograph operation. The screw-down case back has six notches and features a raised medallion in its center with the plum blossom design and the model name, “Race King.”
Beneath the caseback is the manually wound Valjoux 7734 cam-operated movement. This caliber was produced from 1969 until 1974, has a diameter of 31mm, a thickness of 6.6mm and runs at 18000 A/h.
