Equation of Space
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Mine is still my Chopard 1.96 in my 16/1860
Many other worthy contenders, of course: the Laurent Ferrier not least among them:
But the Chopard always feels and looks more social ultimately - the 90s is “my” era, the dogged spirit of “let’s just lock a few people in a room and build a movement from the ground up”, the involvement of Michel Parmigiani in the design - and the ultimate combination of COSC and Poinçon de Genève certification all combine to make this a complete winner for me.
Micro Rotors: Which One Is Your Favorite?
Synopsis: What micro rotor is your favorite and why? Patek Philippe 240 caliber, first debuted in 1977. Photo from Patek Philippe. WHY MICRO ROTOR: Micro rotors are amazing automatic winding movements. They were initially pioneered to help make a watch th...
A LOVELY choice!
That one winds exceptionally well - probably because it's so large and heavy and benefits from significant centrifugal force. Although, personally, oddly, all the Langes I've ever coveted were manual winds.
I love manual wind...
...but the Saxonia Annual Calendar is one of my favorite Langes, and it comes with a version of this movement...
Renaud Tixier's microrotor movement (RTIV2023) is worth a mention for its height
Despite the microtor, it’s one of the thickest time-only automatic wristwatch movements ever made at 6.86 mm.
Does yours wind well?
I agree, this is a GORGEOUS movement. Mine doesn't wind well. I'll wind it up with 70 turns of the crown, set the time, put it on my wrist, and after four active days (each day I'm walking over 10,000 steps, according to my phone's step counter), the watc...
Ahh, yes. Tight movements will do that.
Movement designers have to actually allow for a tiny amount of play in the crown to avoid the jumping of the minute hand when you push in the crown. If the crown mechanism is "too tight" there is a higher chance that there will be a small jump. Kind of ir...
Funny, though, that a couple of years ago I took mine to Chopard at NYC for service and they told me that that model watch in particular needed to go back to the factory
So they sent it to the factory, I paid for the service, but it’s still the same as new. 🤷🏻♂️
They loosened it up somewhat recently.
And now the movement isn't so tight and thus less likely for the minute hand to jump.
Mine is still my Chopard 1.96 in my 16/1860
Many other worthy contenders, of course: the Laurent Ferrier not least among them: But the Chopard always feels and looks more social ultimately - the 90s is “my” era, the dogged spirit of “let’s just lock a few people in a room and build a movement from ...
You make a very good case for the 1.96!
But I personally find the FBN 229.01 of Ferrier, Barbasini and Navas a little more attractive and extraordinary in terms of design and finishing. Best, Emmanuel
Fabrique du Temps are definitely….
….smashing it out of the park recently: the Daniel Roths have been great (and look great in the metal). Ferrier is Ferrier - I have nothing to add there, his watches are a dream. Love the finishing on Grönefelds too - very different style but a feast for ...
I have Grönefelds on my mind….
….because I Might Be About To Do A Thing…. 🫣 Will post photos if I get it!
My Chopard 96 doesn't wind very well.
I'll hand-wind the watch with 70 turns of the crown, set the time, and then put the watch on and wear it every day. After about four very active days, where each day I'm walking over 10,000 steps (according to my phone which has a step counter), the watch...
No problems - but it’s just been serviced and is still under warranty for that.
Will keep an eye on it!
Yeah! Please do! And report back if you can!
I always try to wear the same watch for a week at a time - especially if I travel somewhere and it's my only watch. That's a great time to assess the watch. But remember to wind the watch fully, put it on your wrist, have active days, and see if the watch...
My octo had a rotor problem, so not that one
Apparently they fixed it now, and the movements look slightly different which is good. But it basically wasn't winding before even when I tried to wind it manually.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo?
My Bulgari Octo Finissimo doesn't wind especially well neither. I often use it as my sole watch. And it will often stop in the middle of the night - despite having very active days continuously. I define an active day as having more than 10,000 steps a da...
Patrick, thanks for the post, it’s very educational.
Have to say, I just love all of those watches even if they aren’t potentially as efficient.
I like micro rotors a lot.
The first Patek Philippe that I met was the 5000 and 6000 models. I really liked the 240 caliber within and its micro rotor. The movement aesthetics, the architecture, and the finishing really spoke to me. And eventually, a 240 caliber was the first watch...
I didn't even know this one was a micro rotor!
Good to know! Thank you for opening my eyes!
Thank you for this very nice post, Patrick.
Even if the 240 and the 1.96 are great calibers with a rich significance, I think my personal favorite micro rotor movement is the FBN 229.01 from Laurent Ferrier, Enrico Barbasini and Michel Navas: architecture, depth, finishing, everything is superlativ...
The Laurent Ferrier seems to be a favorite!
I must say, I too am extremely fond of the LF movement. Although I don't own one.
Yes, truly wonderful design from F, B & N !
Always a great pleasure to look at it. Automatic movements, though, whatever the rotor, micro or central, don't need to be wound daily, which deprives the owner of this great daily pleasure (for me, at least)!
Yes. Agreed.
I do like manual wind watches! But only if they feel good to wind - like Lange.
Patek's cal. 240 is just wonderful even after so many decades.
I really like the Laurent Ferrier micro rotor too. Beautiful architecture and execution. Cheers, John
I concur!
That LF is indeed extremely beautiful. Especially with the large bridge, which allows the rotor to pivot/spin more freely, as there is no friction from the rotor being only mounted on one side. It should be a very good movement! Although, I don't know for...
The one I have…
Is the Cal. 4.96 in the Chopard LUC Sport 2000. It works well enough, even if it doesn’t wind particularly efficiently. At the same time one thing you cannot unnoticed once someone points it out is that it is relatively loud, when compared to other watche...
Probably because I already mentioned it.
Yes! My Chopard 96 series movement is very loud! I can hear it on the winder, moving about 120 degrees at a time. Universal Geneve - I did mention it in my initial posting. And the Universal Geneve watches are not well known; not many were sold/produced b...
UG provided their movements to quite some brands back in the day…
Including Chopard and Patek, IIRC 👍🏻
Ahh. I did not know this. Was this in the 1960s?
Obviously JLC supplied a lot of whole movements, base plates, and partial movements to many brands including top-level brands like Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, and more. I didn't know that Universale Geneve was a significant supplier at the high l...
The 4.96 is the Quattro, four barrel, right?
Also beautiful - and that architecture is extraordinary - just maybe a touch less so than the original 1.96, for me. But as I mentioned above, I’m a sucker for a story - the caliber that relaunched a house etc….
Not quite…
That would be the 1.98 IIRC. The 4.96 is a derivation of the 1.96 with slightly less finishing and a tungsten rotor for sportier applications 👍🏻
Oui oui! A cooler and more modern movement!
Slightly different regulator system (aka fine tuning system). But otherwise a very nice movement!
I have only experienced the Patek
240 calibre. Not sure if it is my favorite, but I like it a lot. Nicely finished, and all works well with no issue over the years.
I like my 240 caliber Pateks too!
I haven't had any problems with the movement itself neither. Although one is in need of a service.
Your surprise is warranted!!!
I don't happen to own a Piaget and I have little to no experience with them.
A wonderful horological post, thank you
So nice to see this type of post. Inspirational. Will see if I can post something more than just pictures. Claus