Fortis
Fortis Novonaut 40 mm Blue 18k
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Fortis · Novonaut
Fortis Novonaut 40 mm Blue 18k
Reference 28156OR.19
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Fortis
- Collection
- Novonaut
- Model
- Fortis Novonaut 40 mm Blue 18k
- Reference number
- 28156OR.19
- Year / era
- 1997 · 1990s — mechanical revival
- Complication
- Moon phase
- Movement
- Automatic Powermatic 80
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Strap / bracelet
- Milanese mesh
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Printed minute track with applied batons
- Bracelet / strap
- Milanese mesh
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 56B — Automatic Powermatic 80
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Moon phase
- Functions
- Flying tourbillon, power reserve
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1997 – 2011
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Fortis Novonaut 40 mm Blue 18k sits within Fortis's Novonaut line, introduced in 1997. It carries the house codes established since 1912 — 18k white gold case, blue "grande tapisserie" dial and automatic powermatic 80 — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
The House
Fortis
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1912
- Founder
- Walter Vogt
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Affordable & Tool Watches
- Major collections
- Flieger, Marinemaster, Stratoliner, Novonaut
- Signature technologies
- Shock-absorbing movement mounting · Certified chronometer regulation · Hand-applied guilloché dials
- Famous movements
- Automatic COSC chronometer · Automatic, 38-hour reserve · Automatic Powermatic 80 · Quartz
- Notable watches
- Fortis Flieger 43 mm Silvered Sapphire (1970) · Fortis Flieger 37 mm Green Grade (1978) · Fortis Flieger 42 mm Silvered 18k (1966) · Fortis Flieger 38 mm Meteorite Grade (1974)
Brand history
Fortis has spent more than 114 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Flieger, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Walter Vogt established Fortis in 1912, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Fortis calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1912
Walter Vogt founds Fortis in Switzerland.
1969
The quartz era forces Fortis to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Fortis enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Fortis continues to produce Flieger, Marinemaster, Stratoliner and other icons in limited numbers.