Montblanc TimeWriter II 1/1000 Sec Chronograph

KIH · 2012-08-30T01:43:23Z

Explore Montblanc TimeWriter II's 1/1000 sec chronograph with Bartomeu Gomila. Discover the technical secrets behind this groundbreaking Villeret complication.

KIH

WPS member · Montblanc forum

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KIH's report on the Montblanc TimeWriter II, featuring an interview with Mr. Bartomeu Gomila, offers a rare glimpse into the development of a groundbreaking 1/1000th second chronograph. This article highlights the technical ingenuity and collaborative spirit behind Montblanc Villeret's high-horology projects. It provides invaluable context for understanding one of the most complex mechanical chronographs of its era.

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Time Writer II - Mr. Gomila talks

It is the time for the Annual "World Watch Fair" at Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo. As with last year, one of this year's biggest events was by Montblanc. As for last year, it was Montblanc's "Ecrire le Temps" Exhibition that caught people's eyes here=> montblanc.watchprosite.com

We don't have Montblanc event often here in Tokyo, but this World Watch Fair is where the big action of MB is seen.

Other interesting stuff at the Fair will be reported separately on HoMe.

One of the highlights of the Fair was the Talk Show of Mr. Gomila and Mr. Hirota (Japan's well known watch journalist) about Time Writer II. There have been several posts about this 1/1000 sec chronograph on PPro already, and I hope I can report something new details about it.

For your reference, below are some of the past posts about this model:
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1. Mr. Bartomeu Gomila Sintes
Born and grew up on the island of Menorca of Spain. Studied at the watchmaker school near Neuchatel. Now he owns his workshop there "Taller del Temps", mainly does restoration of the complication and/or historical pieces by the requests from the museums and private collectors. He does not belong to MB/Villeret, but he joined this "project" as the special force (concept, design and development of the special mechanism, etc.). 33 years old.

2. Talk show highlights:

Hirota (MH): Today, we want to ask Mr. Gomila how he made it possible to measure 1/1000 sec which is theoretically impossible. And we will show you a schematic which is made public as "world premier".
How did you get involved in this project?

Gamila (BG): As a watchmaker, I have for a long time wanted to visit Villeret (where MB's ex-Minerva manufacteur is located) and I fortunately could do so in 2010 where I met the legendary master watchmaker, Mr. Cabiddu. He showed me around the manufacteur, including those projects which had not been made public yet. One of them was the prototype of the chronograph which can measure 1/100 sec. I asked him why he does not announce such a wonderful watch and he replied, "I am not sure whether the public appreciate this level of chronograph now". And I told him that I had some idea which might enable the chronograph to measure 1/1000 sec., and he recommended that I make presentation to the high-end horology R&D Institute. At Villeret, there is a program every two years where worthy ideas does become the MB's project to make it really happen. And, my idea was approved there and chosen to become the project.

MH: Now let's talk about this watch.

MH: As you can see, this watch has two "engines". The 1st balance wheel at 7 o'clock is for the watch - 18,000 bph, and the 2nd balance wheel at 11 is for the chronograph - 360,000 bph. As you know, 18,000 bph makes 5 "clicks" in one second and many chronograph uses 18,000 bph movement with minute track divided by 5. And, similarly, 360,000 bph can measure up to 1/100 sec.

MH: But, theoretically speaking, 360,000 bph cannot measure 1/1000 sec.

BG: That is correct. It is possible to measure 1/100 sec, meaning make the chronograph second hand "jump" 100 times per second with the "normal" gear train. In order to measure 1/1000 sec, we had to come up with the idea of how to make 10 jumps between those 1/100 seconds. The theory is simple. As you can see in the schematic, there is an additional gear that divided one second (one round of the chronograph second hand) by 10.

MH: But there is a problem. The hand in the mechanical watch or chronograph "ticking" causes the hands' "jump" to slow-start, then accelerate and slow down, then accelerate.... repeats this cycle. How can you eliminate this "irregularity"? In other words, this "ticking" is the fate of any mechanical watch and that would prevent the accuracy, at least at 1/1000th of a second, and how did you manage to have the chronograph hand evolve at the "constant speed" (imagine "Spring Drive") to measure such a small amount of time?

BG: Exactly. That is where the "wheel for homogenization of the 1000th" is needed. It smoothes and make the jumping of movement of the hand constant.

MH: So, this gear with "black box" makes the gear evolve at the constant speed? What is inside?

BG: Yes, that is correct. Unfortunately, that parts is one of the 23 patents pending out of this model and I cannot talk in public fully for two years. But I can say that this is the first mechanism which runs the gear at the very, very accurate and constant speed.

HM: Too bad that we cannot hear about the secret here now, but this "world premier" schematic is really a huge leap from the version we were shown at SIHH this year. At that time, this parts was replaced with fake crap

One more question. I understand that you cannot tell us about this "black box", but how do you know that your 1/1000 sec chronograph is accurate?

BG: Ah! I thought you would ask. We put the movement in the dark room equipped with the strobe system set to flash each 1/1000 sec, with high speed camera. And voila, the 1/1000 gear was accurate as the strobe photo confirmed.

HM: Wow, I really wish to see the inside the black box. I understand that even this world premier schematic may never be shown again. But let me continue. This is one of my favorite chronographs and this manages to measure 1/100 sec, enabled by stopping escapement and intermediate wheel. The idea seems similar to yours. So, there are precedent in "dividing the frequency" to achieve high frequency chronograph. What is the major difference between the past ideas and yours?

BG: I am not familiar with that model but it is completely different from my mechanism. I believe it is similar to foudroyante. My mechanism, although I am sorry that I cannot explain too much, has two engines (watch and chrono), chronograph system moves homogeneously and with constant speed, and can measure 1/1000 sec.

MH: Finally, this watch has very good legibility, too. On 12 is the window of 1/1000 sec which is at N (neutral) when the chronograph is running. 1/100 sec marker is on the outside of the dial while the watch dial is smaller, inside the dial. On 3 is the power reserve for the chronograph which is 45 minutes at maximum. And on 6 is the small dial in which red dial shows the minutes and the black hand shows the second. Any special consideration here?

BG: Yes, I believe these "machine" must instantly tell you what you want. I placed the dials in one vertical line - you just have to move your eye from the bottom to the top. Therefore, the bottom tells you the minute and the second. Then the chronograph hand tells you 1/100 sec and the top window tells you the 1/1000 sec. Also, I want you to pay attention to the back side. As a watch restorer, I believe that the watch must be beautiful and the motif of the back side design is, obviously, a flower.

MH: So, the bottom line is that 1/1000 sec chronograph CAN be achieved based on the traditional watchmaking. Here is, for now, the only working sample of this model. The audience can see how it works at Montblanc booth later. Thank you very much for today.

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3. After the session:

See the big balance wheel for watch at 7 and small balance wheel for chronograph on 11.

See the super high speed spinning of the balance wheel on 11 when the chronograph starts.
(note that since this is still the first working sample, this needs a bit of adjustment - the second hand of the bottom subdial is not exactly at zero)

Longer version of promotion video made by MB. You can see more clearly how it works.
(Sorry, I took the screen of the monitor....

The watch power reserve is 5 days. Single barrel in which there are two-storey springs.

I asked additional questions:

PPro: I see your name on the dial (a little below the center of the dial). Did you insist this?

BG: Yes. And there is another thing I insisted on the dial design. The legibility and the dial placement, of course, and two balance wheels be seen from the dial side. These mechanism are so beautifully done and I want everybody to see them.

PPro: What else, I assume one of many, can you tell us about the difficulties during developing this model?

BG: Well, obviously, there were many. But one thing I remember is Mr. Cabiddu told me to make the chronograph balance wheel which spins at 360,000 bph with only 3 rounds of the hair spring. Yes, the longer the hair spring, the slower the balance wheel spins. But three rounds is not enough in terms of isochronous precision . So I had a headache for a long time. But I came up with the idea to use "double hair spring" which uses two set of hair spring powers to the opposite direction. Now I made the chronograph balance wheel with 11 rounds of hair spring as the normal balance wheel.

PPro: This must be a dumb question, but speaking of durability, 360,000 bph is so fast and the friction or wear of the parts must be a problem, too?

BG: If you run the chronograph 24 hours a day, you are correct. We calculated, based on the assumption that you use the chronograph for 45 minutes per day (same as one full power reserve time). Then, chances are, the watch mechanism requires servicing before chronograph mechanism requires servicing.

Thank you very much, Mr. Gomila.

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On my wrist....

LE of 36.

The backside is not really finished because this is still the sample.

I also asked whether Montbanc intends to make other than black/red version. But with 36 LE model, they do not have a plan to make other color of this model.

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Mr. Gomila is a very gentle, young and obviously talented watchmaker who is passionate about watchmaking. Very pleasant to spend time with. Although a bit of frustration was left in me with respect to the "black box", I would certainly hope to learn more some day and except more exciting projects from the WATCH BRAND, Montblanc going forward.

Special thanks to:
Mr. Bartomeu Gomila (Taller del Temps)
Mr. Masayuki Hirota (Watch journalist for Chronos Japan)
Ms. Yuka Akasaka (Richemont Japan: Montblanc)
Mr. Shingo Hisai (Richemont Japan: Montblanc)
Mr. Yoshikuni Kawazoe (Manager, Montblanc Boutique Ginza)

* all the slides and videos are posted here with permission.

Thank you for reading.

Ken
This message has been edited by KIH on 2012-08-30 07:34:54 This message has been edited by MTF on 2012-08-31 02:02:46

Key Points from the Discussion

The 'black box' mechanism, which enables the 1/1000th second measurement, is speculated to function similarly to a regulator system found in minute repeaters, using springs or air to stabilize rotation.
The TimeWriter II employs two separate escapements: a traditional one for timekeeping and a high-frequency chronograph escapement with a 10X multiplier gear for true 1/1000th second accuracy.
The challenge lies in converting the 'ticking' of the 1/1000th second gear into a smooth, constant speed, which likely involves a sophisticated regulator or governor mechanism, the details of which remain a mystery.
Despite the existence of precise electronic timing, the mechanical achievement of a true 1/1000th second chronograph makes it highly desirable for collectors of mechanical stop-watches.
The watch features a remarkable 5-day power reserve, and its chronograph mechanism is entirely separate, with distinct winding directions for the watch and chronograph functions.
There is a strong desire among collectors for Montblanc to produce more than the initial 36 pieces and to house this innovative mechanism in a new sports watch case.

The Discussion

andrewluff

Aug 30, 2012

Great report Ken!

I had not heard of this model until now... very cool looking but not sure how much use other than to have it as a great novelty someone else does not have! What size is the watch as it looks quite big on your wrist and any idea of the price? Thanks for sharing! Andrew

KIH

Aug 30, 2012

Size is...

.. as far as I remember, around 44mm? At first Mr. Gomila thought of 47, but MB thought it would be too big.... The price... I saw Japanese MSRP, but you should check with your local MB :-) Way out of my league, for sure! Ken

timerider

Aug 30, 2012

Very nicely done Ken. I am looking forward to

getting my hands on this one. My chronograph lust continues! Many thanks, Tim

KIH

Aug 30, 2012

It will take sometime to deliver the first one...

Hi Tim, For the first unit, almost all the parts must be made by Mr. Gomila himself and he was really not excited by the prospect of how long it will take the first commercial unit - may take a year or so. The second will be another 6 months or so. Be patient! Ken

timerider

Aug 30, 2012

Thanks Ken. But there are so many watches and

so little time! ;0). Best to all, Tim

patrick_y

Aug 30, 2012

Wow! A true 1/1000th counter!

Two escapements, a traditional escapement for the watch, and a chronograph escapement system with 100 beat per minute escapement with a 10X multiplier-gear for true 1000th of a second accuracy. That's amazing. I'm starting to see Villeret almost like a Harry Winston Opus line; the Opus line features some truly visually and horologically amazing watches. Will the Villeret line eventually have its own "OPUS" line with invited watchmakers who make really unusual special pieces? Meta-morphosis and n

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