Commander 40

Delma has been making pilot’s watches in Lengnau since 1924, and the Commander has always been the reference where that lineage is most legible. This new 40mm edition has a case that is slimmer in profile and reduced from its previous dimensions to a diameter that sits with genuine balance on the wrist, and the dial has been reworked with a full minute track and a 24-hour scale that reinforce the watch’s aviation instrument logic. Bold Arabic numerals run fully luminous now, and the date window at three o’clock is integrated cleanly.

Black and classic blue are the anchors of the range, joined by a muted olive that gives the watch a military tone, and a salmon dial paired with a brown strap that introduces a warmer contrast for those who want the functionality without the field watch palette. Each variation works because the restraint is consistent across all of them. Nothing here is competing for attention.

The movement is the Sellita SW200-1, an automatic caliber with a 38-hour power reserve that Delma has used across its collections for good reason. It is reliable, well-supported, and appropriate for what this watch is asking it to do. The strap is handmade Italian leather. The Commander at 40mm is a smaller, cleaner, and more wearable version of a watch that already had a clear sense of purpose, and that is exactly the right kind of update.