Being the the metallurgical flavour of the day, there are more bronze watches than you can shake a stick at. The latest entry is from Corum, which takes a slightly different tack.

The Admiral AC-One 45 Chronograph Bronze arrives ready aged with a patina in variegated shades of brown. The colour is unlike the typical green-tinted oxidisation on most bronze watch cases, and is achieved via a chemical treatment. Varying the chemical formula results in different shades of patina, with chlorides tending to create a green finish and sulphurous mixtures leaving a brown patina.

Because the patina has already developed to a significant degree, the appearance of the bronze case will remain largely the same over time, unlike other bronze watches that start shiny and new but age over time.

To match the case the dial is brown teak wood with nautical pennants as hour markers, the signature feature of the Admiral series. The woodgrain is aligned vertically, in a nod to the wood decking of classic sailboats.

The case is a large 45mm in diameter and 14.3mm high. It’s rated to 300m, and features a display back that reveals the CO116 movement, which is an automatic ETA 2892 with a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module on top.

Price and availability  

Already available at Corum authorised retailers, the Admiral AC-One 45 Chronograph Bronze (ref. A116/03210) is priced at €9900 or S$16,585.