Fortis
Fortis Novonaut 36 mm Slate 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 36 mm Slate 18k
Reference 52255OR.85
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Fortis
- Collection
- Novonaut
- Model
- Fortis Novonaut 36 mm Slate 18k
- Reference number
- 52255OR.85
- Year / era
- 2000 · 2000s — modern production
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- Automatic COSC chronometer
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Slate grey
- Strap / bracelet
- Oyster bracelet
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 36 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Slate grey
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Oyster bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 11F — Automatic COSC chronometer
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 37 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 2000 – 2004
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Fortis Novonaut 36 mm Slate 18k sits within Fortis's Novonaut line, introduced in 2000. It carries the house codes established since 1912 — 18k white gold case, slate grey dial and automatic cosc chronometer — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
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.