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Review New Chronometer Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1 watch: part 2 - Case and Dial

We report on the new Chronometer Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1 watch and the rationale for the decision choices during development at La Chronométrie FERDINAND BERTHOUD S.A.  Why did they choose that case shape, dial design, font type, hand shape and crown size? We reveal the background and project team thinking behind the scenes with original design illustrations and photos. A conclusion is made about the techniques and aesthetics of the watch.

The new Chronometer Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1 was announced in Paris with media frenzy. I needed time to absorb and cogitate on what we had seen.
Was it all hype?
Was it a modern creation with reinterpreted features of Berthoud's legacy?
Was it desirable?

In part 1 of this Review, we covered the decision choices for the super-chronometer movement; CLICK following URL link to read the report:  www.watchprosite.com

An infamous watch brand executive once told me that his goal was to ensure that 33% of people hate his designs, 33% of people love his watches, with 33% of people that are unsure and 1% of people who just don't care! Once you have recovered from the audacity of that assertion, it begins to make sense. There is nothing worse for a designer than universal acclaim because they know that they failed to push the design envelope to the limits. A bland design is a sad design indeed.

Chronométrie FERDINAND BERTHOUD President, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele stated: “We have a major responsibility in bringing the legendary Ferdinand Berthoud back to the forefront of the watchmaking scene. Our goal is not to develop nostalgic commemorative models, but instead to offer contemporary watches that will prove worthy of the great name they bear and of the excellence that is legitimately inspires.”
Was that achieved?  Let's study the evidence.

Objectively:
We were presented with a chronometer wristwatch housed in an octagonal case with watertight portholes (30m). The watch is delivered within a presentation box containing a gimbal. There are two variants with distinctive combinations of case materials and dial colours.

Chronomètre FERDINAND BERTHOUD FB 1.1 (18K white gold and titanium)
Case: Bimetallic in 18K white gold with Grade 5 titanium inter-horn space
Crown: 18K white gold with 18K rose gold medallion

Chronomètre FERDINAND BERTHOUD FB 1.2 (18K rose gold and black ceramic)
Case: Bimetallic in 18K rose gold with black ceramic inter-horn space
Crown: 18K rose gold with black ceramic medallion

Subjectively:
We'll analyse the FB 1.1 to illustrate the design rationale during development.
The first tenet of the FB 1 design is "Elegant Mechanical Simplicity".

Based on vintage Ferdinand Berthoud clocks and watches in the Chopard museum, specific design motifs were reinterpreted.

CASE DESIGN

Good Design Is Innovative
The movement is round so the core case element had to be a round cross-section to protect it for best water resistance. Marine chronometers are housed on gimbal suspension systems in wooden boxes. The four Cardinal Directions (North, South, East and West) and four Primary InterCardinal Directions (Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest) influenced the octagonal case shape resembling a Compass Rose.

The 44 mm diameter case is water-resistant to 30 metres and fitted with a glare proofed screw-down sapphire back. This allows light to stream into the case, illuminating the mechanisms visible through the four water-resistant lateral portholes. The round bezel is topped by a domed, arched and glare proofed sapphire crystal ensuring optimal legibility of the dial displays.

The four portholes allow views of the key elements of the movement: pillar-type architecture, suspended fusée - chain constant force mechanism with differential winding, and tourbillon with central seconds. This was achieved whilst maintaining water resistance with additional case components bolted to the central case core, which also gave the case a bold contemporary appearance.

Good Design Is Thorough Down to the Last Detail
The bolts securing the octagon side components are directly inspired by those used by Ferdinand Berthoud for marine clocks. The inter-lug space inserts are made of high-tech materials – grade 5 titanium for the white gold version and black ceramic for the rose gold version – accentuating the modern construct of this new watch. The case construct allows for variations of case core, sides and lug insert combinations.

CROWN DESIGN

Good Design Makes a Product Useful
The screw-lock crown at 3 o’clock is set with a rose gold medallion on the white gold case and a black ceramic medallion on the rose gold variant. The large crown diameter and 'engineering' knurling ensure optimal grip enabling easy adjustments of the movement.

DIAL DESIGN

Good Design Makes a Product Useful
Drawing inspiration from vintage dials, but updating them for contemporary use, the design focused on time read-off and the display of its precise measurement. The dial of the Chronomètre FERDINAND BERTHOUD FB 1 looks deceptively simple but is technically complex to produce. The off-set hours and minutes are clearly shown on a white-lacquered subdial at 12 o’clock. Depending on the case material, the dial background is either a black satin-brushed or ruthenium finish, but standing out in contrast, the seconds scale appears on a matt translucent SAPPHIRE RING surrounding the dial. The same vertical separators between digits from the vintage minutes/seconds scales are used on the FB 1.

Good Design Makes A Product Understandable
In the centre, an opening with carefully chamfered contours reveals the seconds wheel-and-pinion and the driving wheel of the tourbillon carriage – each turning in the opposite direction to the other.

Good Design Is Thorough Down to the Last Detail
The power reserve is displayed on a scale directly engraved on the mainplate at the 9 o’clock position. Its degree of autonomy is indicated by an arrow pointing to the French words, native to Berthoud: “Haut” (high) or “Bas” (low). The sub-dial is chamfered carefully.

Alongside the confirmation of “Chronometer” certification appearing at the bottom of the dial, the inscriptions “Val-de-Travers” and “Switzerland” emphasise the hand-crafted nature of this chronometer entirely developed in the birthplace of the master-watchmaker.

A special Berthoud Typeface Font was invented for La Chronométrie FERDINAND BERTHOUD.
Old School dial engravings are based on cursive handwriting styles of the 18th century whereas modern engineers, designers and architects are trained to use block capitals. Imbued with the spirit of handwriting but also the clarity of modern font, the Berthoud Typeface was designed in detail.

HANDS DESIGN

Good Design Makes a Product Useful
Immense care has been lavished on the design and execution of the hands, inspired by the characteristic shapes from Ferdinand Berthoud chronometer and astrologic clocks.

Complex and original designs required sophisticated production processes. The dagger-shaped hours and minutes hands are cut-out and facetted from 18-carat gold, while the extremely long and slim central sweep-seconds hand is made of bronze and fitted with a round counterweight typical of Ferdinand Berthoud regulators. The power-reserve indicator features a curved triangular tip.

Good Design Is Thorough Down to the Last Detail
Designed to match the shade of the dial, these pointers are all are either blued or gilded to guarantee perfect readability of the functions while enhancing the clarity of their precision.

STRAP DESIGN
Good Design Is Thorough Down to the Last Detail
The special inter-lug inserts do more than just being aesthetically pleasing. They allow the leather straps to integrate into the case for best fit and maximal comfort. The attention to detail extends to the hand-sewn rolled-edge alligator leather strap. This supple yet sturdy wristband composed of a single skin sewn with a linen thread is secured by an 18-carat gold double-blade safety folding clasp fitted with a length-adjustment device. The alligator scales are thus almost identical in appearance on both sides of the strap and equally resistant to perspiration.

PRESENTATION BOX

As proper kit for the discerning traveller, the Chronometer FB 1 comes with its own protective travel box - also octagonal in shape and fitted with a gimbal suspension system.

DISCOVER, ASSIMILATE, EMOTE

To date, the only critique of the Chronometer FB 1 has been about the aesthetics of dial and case shape:

Is the octagon merely a sop to oriental symbology and the affluent Asian luxury market? The origins are historical shapes and marine navigation. Admittedly, the octagon is also a lucky shape for oriental markets but that is a fortunate coincidence.

Why is there no date display? Should a chronometer have a date display? Berthoud’s marine chronometers had no date display but it would have been incongruous to have a date disc that obscures the light and airy feeling of the pillar construction of the movement.

Why is there a large fenestration in the middle of the dial? This is perhaps the most controversial aesthetic discussion point about the watch; the protagonists are equal in measure. Personally, I like it because it allows the counter-rotating wheels of the central seconds tourbillon to animate the watch. It mirrors the shape of the other portholes and allows light into the heart of the movement.

I like other fine details about the watch.

The slower cadence of the escapement makes for a soothing visual and aural experience.

The long sweeping blued central seconds hand moves majestically around its universe.

I love the ethereal glow of the sapphire ring that serves as the seconds’ scale around the elegant vertically brushed dial.

I thrill to the interplay of brushed and polished surfaces of the bezel, case sides, lugs and inter-lug inserts topped with a domed sapphire glass.

Mere words cannot describe the buttery smooth winding feel of the crown and the precise adjustment afforded by the knurled crown, accompanied by a visual feast through the portholes of the suspended fusée - chain constant force mechanism winding on its spindle. The extra-fine chain with hand joined links and components less than 0.3mm in width is a marvel in its own right.

The variable-inertia balance and tourbillon mechanism, for its entire technical prowess, is kept hidden in the back of the watch, only for the owner to see viz. copper beryllium alloy wheel, unbreakable, stainless and anti-magnetic self-compensating balance spring, hand-shaped terminal curve, balance rim inertia-blocks, 67-part titanium tourbillon carriage, 18K gold poising studs and mono-fork bridge.

This is a product design that happens to be a chronometer. You want to hold it and caress it and “call it George”. It looks modern like an iPhone or Bang & Olufsen remote control but also familiar as a timepiece.

In private discussions with experienced watch collectors and commentators, I have found roughly the same proportions of Naysayers, Fanatics and Indifferents; that bodes well for the hypothesis of cutting edge design not appealing to the great plebian blandness.

As there will always be a spectrum of personal opinion, it is imperative that such conclusions are resultant from a process of Discovery, Assimilation of Information and finally, Emotion. That is the objective of this two-part review. I hope that by revealing the rationale and decisions behind the design choices, the reader will be able to reach a personal conclusion about the techniques and aesthetics of the Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1 watch.

CONCLUSION

I leave you with a final elevation image of the watch that may be the designer's favourite. It captures the spirit of the FB 1 where it ceases to be a wristwatch but becomes a product that happens to be a chronometer.

I think the Chronometer Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1 watch stands up to intense scrutiny as demonstrated here by fellow PuristS and Chronos Japan editor M. Hirota:

I congratulate Mr Karl-Friedrich Scheufele and the La Chronométrie FERDINAND BERTHOUD team for succeeding in their project brief for Chronometer Ferdinand Berthoud FB 1:
It is not hype.
It is a modern creation with re-interpreted features of Berthoud's legacy.
It is desirable.

It does not appeal blandly to all but it does not have to do so.
There will be 50 pieces of each of the two variants of FB 1 thus they only have to appeal to 98 discerning 'chronometer passionates’, for I'm sure the first two pieces are destined for the family museum!

Publications

Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud watch Launch Report
www.watchprosite.com

FB 1 watch: part 1 - Movement
www.watchprosite.com

© Dr. M. Teillol-Foo, 2015.