Horological Meandering

A vast majority of mechanical watches run at 28,800vph, or what is referred to as 4Hz.  This means that the palette fork will go back and forth 4 times (for a total of eight touches) every second.  And so, if you were to look closely at the "sweeping" seconds hand on say, your Rolex, you'd see that it is really making 8 small movements per second.  If you are the lucky owner of a JLC Duometre, you have a watch that runs at 3Hz, or 21,600vph.  In this case, the palette fork goes back and forth 3 times for a total of six (6) touches every second.  Hence the 1/6th of a second foudroyante hand at six o'clock.  Many chronographs, for example, have ultra fast heartbeats in excess of 5Hz (36,000vph) in order to track and show 100th's of a second.  Obviously, the challenge with watches that run at a high Hz is incorporating materials and parts that will not wear down due to the higher stress levels within the mechanics.

Personally, I have always been fascinated by the variances in watch oscillations, and have always wondered what the watchmaker is thinking when he/she decides the heartbeat's pace.  My brother has a Panerai PAM 177, with an ETA 6497 that runs at 2.5Hz, or 18,000vph.  I suppose the slower the regulator, the more difficult it is to adjust.  One thing's for sure - when my brother's Panerai is running properly it keeps particularly excellent time.  Truth be told, my Habring2 Foudroyante (4Hz) is ridiculously accurate and watching the 1/8 of second hand fly around (and trigger the dead-beat seconds hand) is practically hypnotic.  Of all my watches - Casio G-Shock not withstanding - it is my Chinese-made tourbillon that keeps time the best.  Oscillating at 21,600vph, its accuracy is truly outstanding.  Unfortunately, the Panerai-like design is quite uninspired and the watch spends most of its time in the box.

Since tracking the speed of a regulator is relatively new ground for me, I invite any and all input regarding this post.  And I apologize in advance if some of the information I have put forth is not entirely accurate.  Although I have done research on this topic, there does not seem to be a whole lot of definitive resources on the web.  I look forward to learning more about these all these mathematical equations.

- Scott

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