Chronoswiss Opus Dakar Sundown: Desert Gold Meets Skeleton Chronograph

Chronoswiss has a habit of sneaking something genuinely interesting onto the market before you've had a chance to notice. The latest is the Opus Dakar Sundown, a new iteration of the brand's long-running skeleton chronograph that leans hard into warm desert tones. It combines a two-tone steel and red gold case with a skeletonised dial built around the colours of a Saharan sunset.

The Opus line has been around since 1995, when Chronoswiss introduced it as the world's first serially produced skeletonised automatic chronograph. That's not a small claim, and the collection has stayed relevant by refreshing colour palettes and materials rather than redesigning from scratch. Last year brought a titanium Dakar version. This year, the Dakar gets gold.

What's Actually New

The big change here is the case construction. Chronoswiss is using a two-tone setup: steel paired with red gold accents. That combination immediately shifts the feel of the watch from the cooler, more industrial tone of the titanium predecessor to something warmer and more dressy, without going full precious metal on you.

The dial follows the same logic. The skeletonised movement architecture is still the centrepiece, but the colour treatment evokes late-afternoon desert light. Think amber, orange-tinged gold, and warm earth tones layered across the exposed bridges and wheels. It's a coherent theme executed consistently across case and dial.

The Skeleton Chronograph Underneath

The Opus has always been about showing the movement, and that hasn't changed. The automatic chronograph calibre is fully skeletonised, meaning the dial is essentially the movement itself. Every time you look at the watch, you're looking straight through to the mechanics. It's a format that rewards close inspection.

Here's a quick summary of what defines the Opus Dakar Sundown as a package:

• Two-tone case combining steel and red gold elements
• Skeletonised automatic chronograph movement
• Desert sunset colour palette across bridges, wheels, and finishing
• Follows the titanium Opus Dakar released the previous year
• Part of Chronoswiss's core Opus collection, active since 1995

Who This Is For

You need to be comfortable with a busy dial. Skeleton chronographs demand attention. The movement is the dial, so there's no quiet negative space to rest your eye. If you prefer something clean and minimal, this isn't your watch.

But if you like mechanical complexity on display, and you want that complexity dressed up in warmer, more characterful tones rather than the cold palette of titanium or brushed steel, the Dakar Sundown hits a specific gap. It's positioned between a hardcore tool watch and a full dress piece. The steel keeps it grounded. The red gold lifts it.

It also suits someone who wants an independent Swiss brand with genuine history. Chronoswiss isn't a newcomer making skeleton watches because they're fashionable. The Opus predates the current skeleton trend by decades.

How It Stacks Up Against the Titanium Dakar

Last year's titanium Opus Dakar was the cooler, more understated sibling. Titanium reads as sporty and lightweight. The Sundown swings in the opposite direction: richer, warmer, more traditional in its material language. Neither is objectively better. They're genuinely different propositions that happen to share the same case shape and movement.

Price

At €29,000, the Opus Dakar Sundown is genuinely a luxury proposition, but it lands in a different conversation than a mainstream bicolor chronograph at the same money. You are paying for a fully skeletonised in-house-finished chronograph in a two-tone case from an independent Swiss brand with a 30-year collection history behind the piece. For that context, it reads as more interesting, and arguably more collectible, than most steel-and-gold chronographs sitting at the same price point.

The Chronoswiss Opus Dakar Sundown is a confident, thematic update to a collection with real pedigree. It doesn't reinvent anything, and it doesn't need to. The combination of two-tone case work and desert-warm skeletonisation gives this version its own clear identity within the Opus family. Worth keeping on your radar.