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Girard Perregaux |  List All |  Top Level | Most Recent : (posts) *| FAV tick

The big piece - a surprise (and many pictures...)
May 13, 2005,02:14 AM - (view entire thread)
all images are clickable to enlarge


Dear enthusiasts,

you think you?ve seen it all by our SOWIND Group brands for 2005?

I?m afraid you didn?t and this one is truly special.
To be correct, these are special:



You?ve already seen the "onion", an original pocket watch made by Daniel Jean Richard himself in early 1700?s.
And i hope you found it to be interesting; it is an unusual piece in more than one aspect and a piece you will not come by easily, even if attending a watch museum with a good number of pieces on exhibition.

Of course there are reasons to showcase the original JeanRichard piece in the context of the 2005 news; you may already have suspected, but then i?m confident there?s another surprise which may explain.

And i?m confident you will not see these pictures and impressions in any other medium on the planet that soon; actually this very first example was finished the night before opening of the SIHH. Because of this, it was not included in the official JeanRichard press kits.

Two key aspects bridge the vintage and the new watch; decoration and timekeeping. Actually there?s a tie, which makes a nice story in itself!

So let me introduce what is one of the most stunning pieces during SIHH in 2005:

JeanRichard
Repetition Minutes


limited edition of 6 pieces





As you will see, JeanRichard added a Minute Repeater to the lineup of Haute Horlogerie pieces. But not "just another" chiming timepiece; although this one comes with a movement based on a creation by Christophe Claret, it is really special and does have some unique aspects and features.

For the simple paper specs:
The new Minute Repeater comes with a case of 43mm following the distinctive shape of the "Grand TV Screen" line by JeanRichard. The very first piece sports a white gold case, other case colours or platinum are available for other examples.
The functions include the indication of time by three hands (hour, minute, sub-second) and chimes (two hammers on two "cathedral" gongs).
The case offers a hinged back which covers the movement and this watch is the first to sport a completely new dial engraving in "wave" guilloche patterns.

The JeanRichard Repetition Minutes is a very limited edition of 6 pieces only (and during SIHH, already 3 were sold).

As noted, one common point of the "onion" and the new Repetition is the decoration. Back in 1700?s, an elaborate decoration included more or less a skillfull gold plating of the mechanism, the shape of the pillars and an elaborate engraving of the balance cover only. The movement itself appears to be rather plain, only the fine execution of the functional parts reveal the class.

First of all, what probably jumps to the eye is the balance cover. The rich engraving is again found in the back of the Repetition Minutes, which sports a hinged lid covering the movement (which, of course, is protected by a sapphire crystal).
In my eyes this is a great reminiscence for the heritage and history of the brand; a nod to Jean Richard himself and frankly, it?s great fun to let the spring-loaded lid jump up. It is activated by an integrated push pieces on the back side of the case, which again is spring-loaded.

But beyond that, the Repetition Minutes features a truly unique movement decoration with hand-made "Geneva Matt?".
This decoration recently was introduced, as was the maker: GP?s Watchmaker Master, Mr. Marko Makinen. The skilled craftsman added a matt? finish to the bridge by means of a diamond paste and very skilled and very careful polishing.
This extremely elaborate method, which requires true experience and quite a lot of training, makes each piece of the Repetition Minutes a truly unique masterpiece in terms of the decoration.

The dial of the Repetition Minutes is very unique as well:
Crafted in solid gold with a fine protective coating, this dial comes with a hand-made guilloche pattern. Like "sunray" patterns, the guilloche stripes expand from the sub-second located at 9 and cover the whole dial.
This decoration is subtle, as it is not easy to notice from a distance. But on closer view, the patterns become clearly visible and account for a very catching play of light, due to the shadows within the sunken areas.
It is extremely well crafted and of course finest quality; in my eyes a very worthy dial for such a special watch.

But beyond this, the function is special as well.
The vintage "onion" allowed for adjustement in a very rough way only, which of course was limited by the timekeeping capabilities of the verge movement.
The Repetition Minutes is a modern timepiece in terms of the basic functionality and a reliable as well as accurate timekeeper.
Yet, what is more appealing to a true enthusiast than the ability to "play around" with his watch? It adds the fun - maybe one reason why repeating timepieces did survive new times and technologies.
In this regard, the JeanRichard Repetition Minutes sports a completely new and unique development: the new external fine regulator.
This new creation by JeanRichard (and it?s an inhouse development) allows to adjust the watch by means of an external regulating device! It is limited to +/- 1 minute per day, but within this frame the timekeeping actually can be influenced. And it?s quite an ingenious development:
The Repetition Minutes comes with a slot in the case back, which is surrounded by a small pin and a scale. The slot itself is taking the special pen-like regulating tool, which is inserted and then allows to adjust the escapement settings (the pictured tool is a prototype only).

The "basic" (if anything in a Minute Repeater is "basic") functions are conventional; the repeating mechanism is released by a slide on the left side, while the winding and setting is managed by the crown on the right side.

Please feel kindly invited to follow through the follow-up posts, which will allow for some more close views of this highly special piece!
Chances to see one in nature that soon are naturally rare: the Repetition Minutes is priced in the region of 300.000 Swiss Francs and with only 6 to be made, it might well be you won?t see any around!

Greetings from germany,

Peter

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