Harking back directly to the origins which have guided Vacheron Constantin since its foundation in 1755, the Cabinotiers time-pieces embody the watchmaker’s art at its best and raising the creative talents of Vacheron Constantin to new heights.
Les Cabinotiers is the special section inside the manufacture where Vacheron Constantin’s master watchmakers work on the highest complications. This timepiece exemplifies exceptional technical superiority with a hand-wound movement and caliber 1755 SQ. The openworked case is 37 mm and is made of platinum. The grand complication, the minute repeater, is on-demand strike of hours, quarters, and minutes.
Les Cabinotiers Openworked Minute Repeater is the world’s slimmest-ever openworked minute repeater watch.
The IWC Specialities watch collection brings to the world one of the supreme wonders of haute horlogerie---the Grande Complication watch. Housed within the massive 42.2mm 18K gold or platinum case of the IWC Grande Complication watch, an exceptional and complex selfwinding movement with 659 individual parts performs an incredible symphony of functions, including a perpetual calendar which indicates day, date, month, century and moonphase, a chronograph, and a minute repeater. Due to the considerable demands placed upon the skills of the master IWC watchmakers in constructing the Grande Complication watch, only 50 are produced each year,guaranteeing the continued mystique of this most incredible of timepieces.
The hours sing out once more on the new Jules Audemars watch from Audemars Piguet. They also dance across the dial with its jumping display and elegant blued Arabic numerals. Combining two in-house specialities – the Minute Repeater and Jumping Hours – this marvel of precision and harmony perpetuates Audemars Piguet’s supreme expertise in the field of complicated watches. With its case and dial featuring a new take on classical styling, it gives a fresh boost to the Jules Audemars collection. This delightful new model will be music to the ears of connoisseurs the world over.
The Audemars Piguet Calibre 2907 driving the new Jules Audemars Jumping Hour Minute Repeater is clearly inspired by the movement of the historical 1992 model, whereas the architecture has been entirely redesigned to match the new case dimensions. Audemars Piguet has implemented innovative solutions to accommodate the relatively large movement and the complex striking mechanism within a diameter of just 43 mm. Blending traditional expertise and cutting-edge technologies, the Manufacture has also endowed the audible mechanism with all the fine-tuned technical details that distinguish its latest generation of Minute Repeaters. In particular, the movement has been equipped with a device that does eliminate any audible gap when the watch does not need to strike a quarter (e.g. 9:13); the sequence of 9 hours and 13 minutes is thus struck smoothly and without any interruption. Minute Repeater watches generally preclude any manual time-setting when the striking mechanism is in operation, since this might damage the movement. To remedy this problem, Audemars Piguet has developed a system that disengages the time-setting system while the watch is striking. This set of breakthrough developments thereby enhances the reliability, the security and the user-friendliness of Minute Repeater watches, while remaining true to the aesthetic appearance of the vintage models. The jumping hour mechanism has also been optimised. So as to enlarge the numerals while making sure the disc was not too large for the movement, watchmakers had to rethink the positioning of the disc and shift it towards the centre of the calibre.
20 pieces total will be made.
Case is 43mm and thickness 12mm.
Flame-blued "Poire Paris" minute hand.
The Girard Perregaux Opera Two is a minute repeater with Westminster Chime, tourbillon, perpetual calendar wristwatch in oversized, massive solid platinum case. The dial features cutaways which highlight the tourbillon and repeating apparatus. The Girard Perregaux "Opera" series watches are the highest of high grade watches, from Switzerland's oldest continuously operating watch manufacturer. The dial is silver with dauphine hands. This watch is a perpetual calendar, and the uppermost subdial displays month and leap year cycle. Date is displayed in the 3 o'clock subdial. Day is displayed in the 9 o'clock subdial. Tourbillon is visible working in the 6 o'clock dial cut away.
Movement is the extremely elite manual winding Girard Perregaux Caliber GP 9897 with 37 jewels, beating at 21,600 vibrations per hour and with 75 hour power reserve. The real story with this caliber is, of course, the complications: Westminster Chime Minutes Repetition, Tourbillon and Perpetual Calendar. Technical Data:
Material : Pink goldDimensions / Diameter : 42.00 mmHeight : 14.54 mmCase-back : Sapphire crystal, secured by 6 screwsWater resistance : 3 ATM (100 feet)Movement : GPME0980, manualCalibre : 12 1/2 '''Frequency : 21,600 Vib/h (3 Hz)Jewels : 37Power reserve : min. 75 hoursFunctions : Tourbillon, hour, minute, minute repeater on four gongs (hours, quarters and minutes - Westminster chime), perpetual calendar, small second on the Tourbillon
Have you ever wondered what is exactly Grand Sonnerie is??
Well, Grande sonnerie (French, meaning 'grand strike') is a complication in a mechanical watch or clock which combines a quarter striking mechanism with a repeater. On the quarter-hour, it strikes the number of hours audibly on a gong, and then the number of quarter-hours since the hour on a second gong. In addition it can strike the hours on demand, at the push of a button. The term is sometimes used erroneously for a mere quarter striking mechanism.
It is more complex than the petite sonnerie, which merely strikes the hours on the hour and the quarter hours on the quarter, with no repeater function.
What's the big deal? And how does it work?
In the noted horology book "Britten's Old Clocks and Watches", G.H. Baillie defines a Grand Sonnerie movement as follows:
"A form of quarter-striking in which the hour last struck is also repeated at each hour."
It works like this, striking the quarter-hour on one gong and the hour on a second, slightly lower-toned gong:
At 3:15 the clock strikes once on the higher chime to indicate the quarter hour, followed by three strikes on the lower chime to indicate the hour.
At 3:30 the clock stikes two times on the higher chime (half-hour), followed by three chimes on the lower gong (hour) ...etc.
This way, if you are within hearing distance of the clock, day or night, you can tell exactly what time it is at each quarter hour.
Petite Sonnerie
A "petite sonnerie" movement strikes once on each quarter and then the hour on the hour.
All you really need to know about this watch is that it costs half a million bucks and has a waiting list of two to three years.Requiring ten patents and six years of development (as you can see in the right photo there's some really crazy stuff happening on the inside), the F.P. Journe Sonnerie Souveraine ($560,000) is a grand-strike clockwatch and minute repeater. What does this mean? Basically, it sounds the hours and quarters — like dong, dong, dong... ding-dong, ding-dong for 3:30. This might not sound like a big deal, but it's apparently huge in real watchmaking.
Journe’s Sonnerie Souveraine is much more than ‘simply’ a grand sonnerie; it is a grand et petite sonnerie plus a minute repeater. A sonnerie is a clockwatch; that means that it sounds the time (hours and quarters) in passing - just like an old grandfather clock: although a grandfather clock is likely to strike only the hours or perhaps half hours. A grand sonnerie (full strike) sounds the hours and the quarters at each quarter (every 15 minutes), i.e. at 4.45 we would hear four dongs (hours) and three ding-dongs (quarters). A petite sonnerie (small strike) sounds only the hour at the hour the quarters at the quarters, i.e. at 4.45 we would hear only the three ding-dongs of the quarter hours."
Technical Data: Calibre 1505: Manually wound. 40 jewels. 400+ pieces in movement Movement Dimensions: 35mm x 7.8mm Balance: 4 adjustable weights. 21,600 v/h. Free-sprung. Power Reserve: 120 hours/5 days without chime. 48 hours with grand strike. 24 hours of autonomy after strike runs down. Case: Steel. 42mm x 12.25mm
Since 1833, when the inventive Charles Antoine LeCoultre established this venerable watchmaker, it has produced some of the most outstanding and innovative timepieces. It wasn't until 1931, however, that the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand rose to international fame. It was then that the Reverso - an ingenious reversible watch - was unveiled to the public.
Two years in development, this is a stunning addition to the Jaeger lineup. It is the first minute-repeater that is water resistant to 50 meters. It displays its functions on the front dial which offer a view into this miniaturized wonder of mechanical engineering. The watch chimes - which are sublime to hear and which were designed in collaboration with the Orchestra Leader Georges Prêtre - produce a very sonorous 55 decibels (at two feet away). An incredible 15-day power reserve. Limited to a very exclusive 200 individually numbered pieces.
Also features: Luminescent hour markers. All parts are hand-chamfered and polished. Nickel silver sunray-patterned bottom plate.
A blog that shows no other things but timepieces, or anything that could related to time.
As i constantly trying to put as much stuffs in as i could, whatever you need or you want and i dont have, please feel free to email me, the link can be found at the bottom.
Thank you and have a pleasant day!
-Joseph
