Fortis Presents New Marinemaster M-40 Watches

As the UK’s exclusive retailer for Fortis, we’re proud to announce the release of the new Fortis Marinemaster watches here at Jura Watches. The M-40 models are available in a choice of four dial colours with colour coordinated rubber straps or a metal bracelet option.

Just last year Fortis was acquired by Jupp Philippe - a man with a plan. He wanted to reinvigorate and relaunch the brand whilst focussing on its heritage in creating rugged, functional watches for cosmonauts and pilots. The brand’s roadmap was redefined and restructured. Fortis would drive change from the inside out and part of that would involve the release of the new M-40 watches from the Marinemaster collection. If you think you recognise the name, you aren’t going insane. The watch collection is not entirely brand new. It has a place in the brand’s history and no one is threatening to touch that – moreover, the new CEO wants to cherish and nourish those roots with these new wristwatches that tell the next chapter in the story of Fortis’ waterproof wristwatches.

Some of the most popular Fortis Marinemaster watches were around during the 1960s and 1970s. These include the colourful model 6237, equipped with a Super Compressor case. If not that model, then you may be more familiar with the 8001 reference, equipped with a chronograph complication. It was powered by the famous Valjoux 72 movement, which powered a set of hands around the iconic Rolex Daytona of the 1970s too.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the Fortis Marinemaster has been lost to the archives over recent decades until a few years ago when Fortis released a 2002 version followed by another in 2012. The 2002 iteration was a 90th-anniversary edition, clad in the brand’s vibrant orange hue and featured a brushed stainless steel tonneau-shaped case measuring a 42mm diameter. It was a cool-looking watch, even more so with its matching vivid orange rubber strap. Onto the 2012 version of the Fortis Marinemaster and this was a vintage limited edition chronograph model and so it offered a small second sub-counter at 3 o’clock, a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock and a 30-minute totaliser at 9 o’clock. The sub-counters had received a splash of bright orange to their surfaces, as had the central hands. It followed suit with the traditional blocky elements of those Marinemaster watches from the 1970s and offered a tachymeter scale for measuring speed based on distance or distance based on time traveled.

Now the new Fortis Marinemaster watches comprise two separate designs; the M-40 and the M-44. It’s the M-40 that we’ll be looking at in this article. The watch comes in a variety of four different subdued colours and a choice of either a metal bracelet or a matching coloured rubber strap adorned with a textured surface. If you can, choose both, because each finish creates something different on the wrist. You can pair the rubber strap option with sporty attire or marry the stainless steel bracelet with something a little more formal. It’s important to note, however, that although each of the Fortis Marinemaster M-40 watches have obvious aquatic aspirations, the purpose of the watch doesn’t end there. Whether intending to submerse down to depths that these watches are capable of resisting against (300 meters) or not, they’re still bright, legible and fun on the wrist.

Fortis intends the new Marinemaster watches to be used in all outdoor situations – the subdued colours of which are obviously a nod to nature’s elements. Each model measures a 40mm diameter and has been crafted from recycled stainless steel with an anti-reflective front forged from strong sapphire crystal glass. The M-40 has a solid steel caseback and a screw-down crown equipped with a triple gasket and a crown guard to uphold a 300-meter water resistance. The watch also features a steel unidirectional rotating bezel with a 60-minute dive scale for the effective measuring of elapsed time whilst underwater.

The dial colours of the new Fortis Marinemaster M-40 watches come in Snow White, Serenity Blue, Woodpecker Green and Rockstone Grey. Again – if you recognised the pattern across the surface of the dial – you aren’t going crazy. It’s the “O” used in the Fortis logo and it’s that very same pattern that is echoed in the rubber straps that attach these watches to the wrist. The hands are sword-shaped and have been treated with Super-LumiNova material to match the baton indexes around the hour track. Each dial is also equipped with a legible date window at 3 o’clock. The flange of each dial is finished in matching colour to the rubber strap and the main dial face.

The new Fortis Marinemaster M-40 watches are powered by the Fortis UW-30 Calibre whose architecture is based on the SW200-1 movement. The self-winding engine features 26 jewels and performs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, delivering a power reserve of 38 hours when needed. The engine provides basic hours, minutes, hands and a date function, and features a Glucydur balance wheel.

If you’ like more information on the new Fortis Marinemaster M-40 watches, you can call our Jura Watches sales team on 01335 453453 or check out the following link to the range here.

Technical specifications of the Fortis Marinemaster M-40 watches

• Case: 40mm – recycled stainless steel – steel unidirectional rotating bezel with 60-minute dive scale – 300-meter water-resistant – solid caseback – sapphire crystal glass front with AR coating – screw-down crown with a triple gasket and crown guard
• Dial: Snow White / Serenity Blue / Woodpecker Green / Rockstone Grey – Fortis “O” patterned dial – date window at 3H – Super-LumiNova-coated sword-shaped hands – luminous baton hour markers
• Movement: UW-20 – automatic self-winding – Swiss-made – based on the Sellita SW-200-1 – 26 jewels – 28,800 V.P.H – 38-hour power reserve – Glucydur balance wheel
• Strap: Snow White, Serenity Blue, Woodpecker Green and Rockstone Grey rubber straps with steel pin buckle / stainless steel bracelet with slide clasp
• References: F8120003 – Serenity Blue with blue rubber strap, F8120004 – Serenity Blue with stainless steel bracelet, F8120005 – Rockstone Grey with grey rubber strap, F8120006 – Rockstone grey with stainless steel bracelet, F8120007 – Woodpecker Green with green rubber strap, F8120008 – Woodpecker green with stainless steel bracelet, F8120009 – Snow White with white rubber strap. F8120010 – Snow White with stainless steel bracelet
• Price: Starts from £2,650