Horological Meandering

Generally, MR that are more complex (with additional complications) sound worse than sole minute repeaters.  

Out of all the minute repeater brands, Audemars Piguet has the richest history and was the most prolific minute repeating company 20 years ago.  Today, the production is dominated by Patek Philippe.  In the past 200 years, Breguet is the most famous for making minute repeaters, although some of their minute repeaters today don't sound too good.  

There are two types of "sound" produced by the minute repeater.  One is "administrative sounds" which is considered "noise."  This is the operational gears that operate the minute repeater itself.  These components give off noise that compete with the sound of the minute repeater.  The biggest source of noise is often the fly governor which always spins, sometimes noisily.  

The second type of "sound" produced by the minute repeater is the actual minute repeater sounds.  The music.  Like life, there are good pieces of music and bad ones.  There are minute repeaters that have flat sounding tones.  A minute repeater should have a distinct "Ding" and "Dong" but sometimes it's "Ding-sharp" and "Dong-flat" and the tones are off.  Sometimes the tones don't compliment each other.  Sometimes the tones just sound dull.  The sound can be adjusted in a multitude of ways - shortening the gongs, lengthening the gongs, and how quickly the hammer retracts from the minute repeater also impacts the sound - JLC invented the trebuchet hammer a special metal spring to pull back the hammer once it has hit the gong so the hammer itself doesn't muffle the gong.  

Finally...  This is how I GRADE MINUTE REPEATERS.  We should call this the WatchProSite Grading System of Minute Repeaters - although I would admit that other experienced individuals probably use mostly the same criteria to grade minute repeaters.  Amanico uses the same grading system but he will add on a fourth criteria related to practicality, reliability, and waterproofness.  

Criteria 1: Volume.  How loud is it?  Can you hear it?  The case has to allow the sound to come out.  

Criteria 2: Tonality.  Is the sound sonorous and bright?  Are the two Dings and Dongs at a good pitch and sufficiently different from another.  Are either of them "thunking" and instead of sounding like a bright DING DING DING they sound like a THUNK THUNK THUNK.  

Criteria 3: Speed.  How long does it take to do the whole sequence?  The longest sequence of chimes is 12:59.  This sequence should take around 17-19 seconds.  And I generally don't tolerate anything longer than 22-23 seconds.  Also, the pause between hours and quarter hours should be minimal.  As also, the pause between quarter hours and minutes should also be minimal.  

I would avoid the IWC.  They're nice watches, but mediocre minute repeaters.  A lot of fly governor noise in the background.  And they're too slow.  Often taking over 25 seconds.  Tonality is okay.  Volume is okay.  IWC Portuguese MR also uses a MR module on top of a pocket watch movement.  It's not an integrated movement.  

JLC.  Honestly, many JLCs are very good.  But there are some amazing minute repeaters at JLC that actually don't score well objectively.  The Reverso minute repeaters are amazing.  Impressive.  Awesome, and nearly unique due to their abnormal case shape.  But not all of the Reversos sound great.  The one from the 1990s is a beautiful watch but not necessarily a great sounder.  Some JLCs also suffer from fly governor noise.  Some JLCs can look very modern and cool.  Not overly stoic.  So definitely consider some pieces here.  

Breguet.  Many Breguets sound awful.  They're often quiet.  Muted.  And they sometimes thunk.  I would definitely avoid the ones with other complications in the same watch.  For a top watch brand, their minute repeaters are sometimes quite bad.  Modern examples aren't all great sounding.

Blancpain.  Often use a similar movement as their Breguet counterparts.  Again, go for simpler versions.  

Cartier.  Not always great sounding.  But not necessarily bad sounding.  They sometimes borrow components or designs from other Swiss brands - it's not an in-house movement.  The cases do muffle the sound often though.  And the cases look clumsily made sometimes with these clumsy slides sometimes.  

Vacheron Constantin.  Most of these made in the past 20 years sound great.  Bright.  Sonorous.  Excellent sound quality.  Hits all of my criteria.  The smaller ones and skeleton ones are sometimes quieter but usually have good tonality.  The modern examples do sound great.  

Audemars Piguet.  Most of these made in the past 20 years sound pretty darn good.  Some of the smaller ones from 20 years ago don't sound very loud but have good tonality.  Some APs are Carillons - meaning they have more than 2 gongs - so sometimes they have a Do Re Mi for hours, quarters, and minutes.  The modern examples do sound great.

Patek Philippe.  Like Vacheron Constantin, these are often excellent two gong minute repeaters.  Some people get enamored with the cathedral gongs.  Cathedral gongs?  I like cathedrals!  I must like cathedral gongs!  I admittedly did.  Then, after I calmed down and listened to the two objectively, I realized I liked the brighter normal gong.  The modern examples do sound superlative.

Chopard.  The recent ones with the sapphire gongs and sapphire crystal attachment is an impressive watch and may be amongst the best sounding.  One of our members who has listened to multiple brands of minute repeaters all in the same place in one go declares the modern Chopard to be the best.  I have to say, it is indeed very good - but I didn't hear multiple minute repeaters of competing brands all together in a quiet room at the same moment.  I do admit, all of the sapphire ones I've heard have been superlative.  We've got a video with audio of one on our Instagram page.  https://www.instagram.com/watchpurists/ 

Girard Perregaux also makes some wonderful minute repeaters.  Definitely need to hear them.  You can get some bargains here because the GP brand is not as famous for MRs.  Some of these are carillons too!  So you get the Do Re Mi sounds.  The GPs generally sound decent, but not usually superlative.  

Ulysse Nardin also has some interesting minute repeaters - some with small automatons.  The automatons don't make the sound better - but they do add some visual interest.  The watch appeals to more of your five senses; sight, hearing, feeling; just not smell nor taste.  

Bulgari and Gerald Genta.  These are great sounding pieces but they're sometimes quite large.  Then you have the Octo Finissimo which is very thin, it sounds good, good tonality, good speed, but it's a little quiet.  I would buy here if you want a modern design.  

Overall, don't limit yourself.  Avoid platinum.  The metal muffles the sound.  And don't compel yourself to stick with tradition and get a precious metal case - the movement deserves a precious metal case - but sometimes a titanium case might sound better!  This is due to the rigidity and hardness of titanium - it transmits the sound better.  Sometimes sapphire cases sound great too.  

Will you use the Minute Repeater?  Honestly, no.  Not after the first two months of owning it.  Sometimes when you're alone, you'll listen to it.  Your friends will listen to it more than you will.  Some MRs aren't reliable.  Some MRs are easily damaged usually by friends who push the button or slide the slide while the system hasn't fully stopped yet.  Some MRs are button operated (requires power from a mainspring) and some are slide powered (usually self powered and don't require power from a mainspring).  Servicing costs can be tremendous - especially vintage pocket watches with minute repeaters (which can be super inexpensive to buy and they sound good too - but they can be very expensive to service).  

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