Breguet

Kong
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Breguet Type XXII 3880 ST 10Hz Chronograph with Flyback

Last year Breguet snatched the limelight announcing their High Frequency (HF), 10Hz  Chronograph, the  3880 ST. A production model and not prototyping. 
Breguet housed their first HF in the TYPE XXII collection.  The 10Hz  (72,000 VPH) movement with silicon escapement and flat balance spring is cased in a 44mm diameter 100m water-resistance rated steel case. 

HF movement ( 5Hz and above) is known to be more accurate and provide a higher resolution chronograph.  The 3880 ST records down to 1/10 of a second and its chronograph second-hand completes a single rotation in 30 seconds instead of typical 60 seconds.  Reading the timing , will need some practises.

Though the 3880 ST was launched last year, it is not easily seen.  However a finalised piece landed in Singapore Boutique recently and likely it has flown off the shelf.

Some pictures of the production model of the TYPE XXII 3880 ST 10Hz Chronograph with Flyback .....



44mm diameter steel case with fluted caseband.  Bezel is bi-directional and marked with 60-min scale.

Black dial with prints in red and white.

The hour indexes are printed in white and red to have sort of stereoscopic 3D effect like some Anaglyph images.

But it has a functional purpose too for the chronograph reading, which will revisit at the end of this post.



Subdial 9H is the small-second on a 30-second per round, Second time zone indicator is represented by sub-dial 6H with date and at 3H, it is 24 hour indicator.

For both the hands in the centre, the Red chronograph’s seconds hand runs on a 30-second basis, while the White hand with a diamond-shaped tip, is a half-minute totalizer,








Signed Breguet crown, with 4 positions. 

Positon #1 is the crown is screwed in, #2 is for manual winding, #3 is for the time-zone and date setting (which should be the time the city you are in) and #4 is for the reference time (your domicile location) .

The pusher at 2H is the Start-Stop of the chronograph while the ....


pusher at 4H which is marked with two red bands  is to reset the chronograph and also the flyback  actuator too.

Pushers tactile is smooth and positive.




As for the caseback, it has not much to see.  The steel caseback covers most of the automatic10Hz Breguet. Cal. 589F which has a 45-hour power-reserve. 
Per instructions, with about 40 rounds turning of the crown, will achieve full-winding of the movement.

A keyhole to peep at the escapement ...


In the crown up position, the rotor partially painted red will block the escapement....


Turning it over will expose the escapement, giving a view of the  ...


Silicon escapement and flat balance spring.





Taking the read out of the 3880 ST ....


A point to note the 3880 ST chronograph could accurately record under 1 hour ...



1) To read, first note the location of the centre minute-hand (white with red diamond tip, M60 ),  that's the direct minute reading.

2) Then note which colour it is pointing at.... (Red or White on the B60). 

If it is red, then the red centre second-hand  ( S30) is still within the 0 to 30 second  zone.  

Otherwise the red centre second-hand  ( S30) should be pointing at the white bar, indicating it is now in the 31 to 60 second zone.

3) Get the reading for second ...

and

4) Get the reading for 1/10 sec.







Two examples from Breguet Instruction manual ....







Reference to Diagram A and the steps mentioned above :

1) Note M60-hand location for minute reading.  Where it is pointing on the outer-most  band B60?
After 53 min

So the minute reading is  53 minutes!

2) What colour bar was M60-hand pointing at?

Pointing at the end of the red bar (ie before 30 sec).


3) Now see where is the red-hand S30 on the B30-band ?
28 Sec

4) Its not over yet.  Now for the 1/10 second ... where exactly is S30 pointing within the minute?
3.  Thus it is 3/10.

So the full chronograph reading is 53 mins 28 sec 3/10





One more example .... full reading is in the diagram 



A fast lume shot indicating which or what will illuminate at low light.  Beautiful Blue when fully charged.



A wristshot.


A video previously taken ....




At 44mm, some think it is big, but I felt it is wearable on my small wrist. The chronograph second-hand glides smoothly over the dial and the actuators are smooth. 
Reading where the markers are pointing is a bit challenging for me, (think hyperopia is setting in), and the reflective crystal does not help either.  Perhaps the crystal should be both sides anti-reflective coated to reduce glare.
Wonder how Breguet and others (brands attempting HF Chronograph) will redesign for faster and easier readout of the chronograph timing.

Before I end the post, another 2 pictures, see if you can interpret the readings correctly



Diagram # 1


Diagram #B


Thanks for viewing.

Kong





This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2011-06-12 12:19:50

This message has been edited by Kong on 2011-06-22 01:48:15