A solid gold Delbana Cioccolatone

From my years as a kid, I had vague recollections of seeing my dad wear an old gold watch on a few occasions. I didn't really remember much from it, except that it has a squarish case and looked quite ugly to me at the time.

Fast forward almost half a century, and I now know a lot more about what I saw back then. In fact, my mom recently made me the custodian of this watch. It turns out that it was not originally my dad's but his father's, my grandfather who had died long before I was born. My dad inherited it, and wore it only on special occasions. And when he passed away 20 years ago, my mom put this watch and a few others in a bank safe where it remained until earlier this month. Even though unstoppable as she ever was, my mom is now almost 89 years old, and she wanted me to get some of the things in that safe, this watch (and a couple of others) included.

Now, it's time for a proper introduction. It's a Delbana, a brand I'm hardly familiar with, and design-wise I suspect it is from the mid-1950s. In fact, when I was given it, I knew that its particular shape had a specific name, one I had to google to remember: Cioccolatone. Basically, it's Italian for the little chocolate square you sometime get with your espresso coffee. Looking at the case shape, I understand the connection. Apparently, prestigious brands such as Vacheron Constantin or Audemars Piguet released similar models. I can also tell you that this Delbana has automatic movement as I can hear its rotor inside the case. On the other hand, the watch is currently unresponsive, so it'll have to be serviced.

It is currently mounted on a solid gold bracelet which is way too short for my mammoth wrist. My goal was initially to remove it and install this watch on a crocodile strap, as I've seen a few pictures of similar watches mounted on leather and liked the effect. Unfortunately, the bars seem to be fixed on the lugs, and one of them actually looks like a rather crude repair. So it's very possible that my watchmaker will end up horrified.

Since I know very little about this watch or the brand that made it, I would be very grateful if any of you had any information to share based on the few pictures below.

Delbana still exists, though there's no telling how much of a connection the modern company has with the original. Still, it couldn't hurt to send them a query.

A beautiful and classic case! 👍 I woud change to a leather-trap to avoid damage of the case (lugs).

Whilst I understand and to a degree agree with the strap comments above, if I was lucky enough to have such a family relic I would wear as is with some kind of bracelet extender.

Good enough for dad and gramps, good enough for me.

I can understand your point, but while I'm not too fond of the bracelet to begin with, the way the bars have been obviously "fixed" in the past lead me to believe that some work needs to be done there. It really looks like some kind of crude repair, and I believe the bracelet will need to be taken off anyway. I would of course keep it, but I still think I would much rather put this baby on a strap. The latter would complement the case shape better in my opinion.

I'm too chickenshit to attempt opening the case myself, but from what I've been reading online, there is a fair chance that the movement inside is a Felsa calibre 690 Bydinator, as it was found in several other Delbana watches from approximately the same period. I'm really looking forward to dropping it off in the care of a watchmaker who will be able to tell me for sure.

I did follow your suggestion, but I have yet to hear back from them.

Still no word from Delbana. I think it's safe to assume that they have limited interest in their vintage models.

On the other hand, I found the courage to open the case, and it is indeed a Felsa 690 inside it.