Explore Fortis

Fortis comes from Switzerland’s practical side of watchmaking: broad hands, readable dials, and cases that look ready for work. Founded in 1912, the brand has built much of its identity around aviation and spaceflight. Its watches have flown aboard Mir, giving the cosmonaut connection a substance that a spacecraft engraved on a caseback cannot supply.

The Flieger collection is the clearest expression of that functional streak. Strong hour markers and orange accents make the dial easy to parse, while modern versions bring brushed cases and substantial proportions to the pilot-watch format. The B-42 Official Cosmonauts family takes a different route: purposeful chronographs with prominent pushers, busy but orderly displays, and a distinctly equipment-like presence on the wrist.

More recently, the Stratoliner and Novonaut have pushed that story forward. Both use the WERK 17 automatic chronograph movement, developed with La Joux-Perret. The Stratoliner favors an unusual, spacious dial layout; the Novonaut carries the cosmonaut line into a larger ceramic-bezel chronograph, retaining the bold orange cues that make Fortis recognizable across a room.