This Underrated Affordable Automatic Tool Watch Gets Slimmer and Sleeker

That salmon dial is a nice touch.

Close-up of a beige dial wristwatch with luminous numerals, date window, stainless steel case, and brown leather strap.

Add Gear Patrol as a Preferred Source on Google

Published June 8, 2026

·

If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

Delma is a hidden gem among heritage Swiss watchmakers. The independent brand was founded in 1924 and took on its current name after changing hands in 1966.

It is best known for robust dive watches with intriguing retro design language, most notably the Shell Star collection, but Delma produces a full range of capable tool watches. The Commander collection contains the brand’s flagship pilot’s watches, and it now offers a new addition optimized for daily wear.

Close-up of a Delma 1924 automatic wristwatch with black dial, luminous green numerals, date window, and black leather strap on brown textured surface. — The Commander 40mm reduces the case diameter by 5 mm.

This completely new design is called the Commander 40mm, named after the new case size, which is 5mm smaller than the standard Commander.

It uses the same round case with long, slightly curved lugs and a smooth fixed bezel, only downsized to the new, more wearable proportions.

The Commander 40mm is by no means small, measuring 11.4mm tall and 48mm lug-to-lug, but it is not an absolute wrist eater like its predecessor.

Wristwatch with a tan dial, silver case, and brown leather strap worn on a wrist over beige and brown fabric. — The Commander 40mm still wears big, measuring 48mm lug-to-lug.

Delma also introduces a completely new dial design to the Commander collection, which may be confusing given its pilot’s designation. The traditional Flieger-style dial found on existing references is replaced with a design that many would consider a field watch.

Field testing

The “military time” dial, featuring large Arabic numeral hour markers with a smaller 13-24 track placed inside, is the tell-tale sign of a field watch, but the dial layout was also used on aeronautical watches as far back as WWII. Hamilton’s FAPD-5101 is a notable example produced for the US Air Force during the 1970s.

Close-up of a Delma 1924 automatic watch with a blue dial, luminous yellow numerals, and a blue leather strap on sandy ground. — The Commander 40mm has a “field watch” dial with a large numeral hour track underlined by a 13-24 hour track.

The Commander 40mm has large printed numeral hour markers, with the 3:00 marker swapped out for a framed date window with a triangle pointing to it. It is coated in Super-LumiNova.

It is underlined by a small printed military time track, and encircled by a ruler-style minutes track with numerals and a lume dot every five spaces.

Close-up of a Delma automatic wristwatch with a beige dial, green numerals, date window, and brown leather strap on sand. — The Commander 40mm has brushed steel fence post hands with lume inlays.

The fence-post-shaped hour and minute hands feature a rich brushed texture and Super-Luminova inlays. They are joined by an arrow-shaped seconds hand that extends almost to the edge of the dial.

Keep it simple

Delma keeps its watches affordable by using Swiss workhorse movements like the Sellita SW200-1 powering the Commander 40mm. One of the most relied-upon automatic movements in the world, it beats at 4Hz and provides a 41-hour power reserve.

Silver watch with brown leather strap and beige dial showing date on a wrist. — The Commander 40mm comes on a leather pin buckle strap.

The Commander 40mm debuts with four dial colors. The black, blue and khaki are typical military tool watch options, while the salmon offers a more lively alternative.

Completing the retro military vibe, it comes on a leather pin buckle strap with stitched ends. The black, blue and khaki dials all have matching strap colors, while the salmon dial comes on a brown strap.

Availability and pricing

The Commander 40mm represents what Delma does best. It is a well-built, practical tool watch that looks good enough to be a daily go-to option.

Delma’s new Commander 40mm is available now for $1,175 and is only offered on a leather strap.

Round silver stainless steel watch with beige dial, black numerals, date window, and brown leather strap.

Delma Commander 40mm

Specs

Case Size	40mm
Movement	Sellita Caliber SW200-1 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

$1,175 at Delma

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.