Introducing the DS 30 and the DC 80 Central-Minutes Chronograph, Two Solid Tool Watches from Damasko

Damasko have released two new models—both of which share Damasko’s familiar design language, but also exhibit subtle yet significant functional differences. The brand new DS 30 is a three-hander with date (yep, you read that right—just a date rather than day-date) in a 39mm case, while the DC 80 features a central-minutes chronograph with an in-house movement. Both are unmistakably Damasko, yet both represent significant moves for the brand.

DS 30

Starting with the three-hander, the DS 30 is the first offering from Damasko that keeps much of the classic Damasko styling—namely the large and legible hour indices and minute markers, bold contrasting sword hands and the familiar cross-hairs through the center of the dial. Only this time, the day-date normally sitting just beneath the Damasko name and logo on the right side of the dial is dropped, and instead only a date window next to the three o’clock index remains. While the day-date display has become something of a Damasko trademark, I doubt I am the only one who is pleased to see a date-only model.

Though the watch looks like a small departure at first glance from what is common to many other Damasko watches, there are some notable differences here. The case is slightly smaller at 39mm, down from the 40mm of the DA 36. Unlike most Damasko watches, the case here is not ice hardened. Instead, it is made of bead-blasted submarine steel with surface hardening, making it strong and highly scratch and corrosion resistant. The DS 30 also features a screw down crown and a solid case back with 100m of water resistance, and the thickness comes in at just under 10mm.

Inside is the well-known automatic ETA 2824-2 caliber, beating at 28,800 bph and with a 40-hour power reserve. The custom date wheel is printed with the same white against matte black as the dial.To complement the clarity of the dial, the sapphire crystal has AR coating on both sides. The only dial option available so far is a striking white on black color scheme, and that comes with a variety of leather strap choices. It’s difficult not to think this one will be going up against the Sinn 556i as a stylish and versatile everyday wearer.

The Damasko DS 30 is available for pre-order directly from Damasko, or through Watchmann in the States. The retail is $995.

DC 80

The there’s the DC 80 chronograph. The watch uses Damasko’s C51-1 in-house movement featuring a central-minutes chronograph (no doubt inspired by the iconic Lemania 5100). Once again, Damasko’s highly legible aesthetic is fully adhered to as there are no additional sub-dial registers—only four hands sweeping the same dial; there’s the running hours and minutes, and the chronograph minutes and seconds.

Damasko place high importance on legibility and that applies to both the standard time telling via the familiar bold indices and hands contrasting against the matte black dial, and also to the chronograph hands which are easily distinguishable and readable on their own. Two versions of the watch are so far available—one with all white hands and another with vivid green chronograph hands. No other complications or dial markings, including date or day-date, are present.

The chronograph display is achieved through use of the C51-1 movement which Damasko has been working on for a number of years, with rumors regularly surfacing regarding its first usage. What started out as an ETA/Valjoux 7750 has received such significant modifications as to earn it “in-house” status. The chronograph minute counter jumps as the second hand reaches 60, and it measures a full 60 minutes around the dial rather than the usual 30 minute chronograph counter seen in the 7750 movement. Further functionality is offered by the bi-directional rotating bezel which is fully indexed with countdown markings.

The case is entirely ice-hardened, and on the black models it’s treated with Damasko’s DAMEST coating. The C51-1 movement inside sits within an anti-magnetic cage resistant up to 1,000 Gauss. The case measures 42mm in diameter with the bezel sitting slightly wider at just over 43mm, and the watch is under 14mm thick which is quite surprising given all that is contained within (also, it’s worth noting that the Lemania 5100 was quite thick, which meant that most watches using them were thick, too). The DC 80 is water resistant to 100m with a screw down crown, and it is also tested at negative pressure and accelerations according to MIL-Std-810.

Currently, the watch is available with black leather or black rubber, and the leather strap is also offered with green stitching to match the chronograph hands and bezel lume dot. Considering the amount of in-house technology packed into this highly legible and functional watch, the DC 80 looks to be a great value at €2,680 and €2,780 for the black version.