Origami
23
Pimp my Minute Repeater
Hi all, I'd like to share a little project I have. But before, let me tell you that I'm a Minute-Repeater WIS. I’ve been in love with minute repeaters for about 10 years now, and I own several (all of them are recased from pocket watches) I happened to have a small Minute repeater pocket watch. The diameter is 39 mm - or 1 inch 1/2 for those who are still using the Imperial measurement system (one day or another, you'll go Metric). I bought it on eBay several years ago because of it’s size. Since the start, I wanted to have it transformed into a wristwach. Two other pictures : I wanted to transform it into a wristwatch, but not a simple recasing. I wanted something more unique. I then thought of the Haldimann watches. The H8 and H9 (pictures by Foversta) and the H9 : I like these watches because they are Art. They are Horology to the extreme. Horology for horology's sake. And I thought : Why not simply take away the hands ? With a minute repeater, you can HEAR the time. So, you don't need to watch the time. This watch would then loose the reason why it's call a watch. Should I call it a "Listen" ? I then tried different ideas on Paint.net (easier than Photoshop, and free). Yes, this last one is great ! (note : at that time, I didn't have the pictures of the movement nor the case. So, the pictures are complete photoshop, with the case from one watch, and the movement from another one). What is funny is that a few days after I got this idea, I received the book "Minute Repeaters" by Patek Philippe. And inside, there is this text (translated from French, I don't have the English version) : 
The last words to the father of the Caliber 89, at the origin of all the contemporary Patek Philippe Minute repeaters. When we ask Jean-Pierre Musy to imagine the future and imagine the model that is still missing and that he would build if he had a free hand (carte blanche), the engineer thinsk, his eyes sparkles, with some mischief. [...] He very seriously answers that the fundamental objective of a minute repeater is to be able to know the time by night, or with closed eyes.
Here is his answer : "This would be a minute repeater without hands"
So, Jean-Pierre Musy dreamed it, I did it.
If Mr. Musy happens to visit Paris, I'd be honoured to show him my watch.
So, after several months waiting for the watchmaker to recase the watch, here are the first pictures he sent me.
OK. But there is a problem. With this configuration, it's impossible to set the time.
The green wheel should touch the blue wheel, that then make the orange pinion moves.
So, I ask my watchmaker to put back this wheel.
But the problem is that this wheel is held in place by the Hour Wheel :
And I asked my watchmaker to remove this Hour Wheel (as this wheel's only role is to transmit the movement from the Minute wheel to the Hour hand. As I won't have the Hour hand, I don't need the Hour Wheel.
My watchmaker sends me this picture, that shows that he kept the original case and dial. I wanted to keep the original case, even if I’ll most probably never need it again, because I try to apply to this project the same methods as the ones used when doing a restoration of a painting or an old object :
- Make any change reversible
- Make any alteration as discreet as possible.
I also asked him to make some extra hands (as I wanted a transparent dial, the original hands would have been too thin and it would have been very difficult to read the time.
So, some blued steel hands :
And finally, after a couple of extra days more, the picture I've been expected for several months :
He did a very nice work, as the small bridge is discreet and does not contrast too much with the rest of the movement, which is about 100 years old.
As a matter of fact, the watch should be seen like this :
The reason is that I want the activation lever to be on the right (I wear my watches on the left arm). I got the idea from a book my Richard Watkins about the Repeaters. It’s the best book that was ever wrote on the striking watches, and it’s free !
You can download it from Richard’s site :
He wrote :
I have always been frustrated by three things. First, the striking of normal minute repeaters is awkward and difficult to interpret. Second, the repeater mechanism is hidden under the dial and it is not possible to watch it while it is striking. And third, the repeater slide is always on the left side of wrist watches, where it is inconvenient to operate.
In 2007, as a result of writing the above explanation of time units, I “invented” my ideal repeater. It would use a decimal counting mechanism, the dial would be replaced by a transparent sapphire plate so that the mechanism is exposed, and the slide and crown would be reversed, placing the slide on the right-hand side of the wrist watch so that it is easy to use. Such a repeater would be just about perfect.
So, my repeater is almost the ideal repeater. I share Richard Watkins' thoughts on the ideal repeater.
Here is the video : www.youtube.com
Now, to answer some questions that I already had :
Q : How will I set the time without the hands ?
A : Easy. Activate the repeater to know what time the movement is set to. Then, change the time, looking at the Hour Star that will make one jump for every hour. Once the correct hours is set, look at the minute snail and turn it, looking at the arms of the snail.
Should need some practice, but I think I can learn to set the time quite rapidly.
Q : Who is the watchmaker that did this transformation ?
A : Please contact me for details.
Q : What happen if I get bored of this handless watch ?
A : I had some extra hands custom-made, so it will be easy to put them back
Q : Did I seek professional help ?
A : Nope. I’m fine, thanks.
Q : What’s your next project ?
A : I could tell you, but I’d then have to kill you.
Now, finally, if I look back at the Haldimann H9, I could go a step further and hide the movement.
Which is, more or less, one of the project ideas :
I also liked this very minimal solution. But I’m too fascinated by the repeater mechanism to hide it.
Thanks a lot for reading. I’m impatient to read your comments.
Pimp my Minute Repeater
Very nice!
Yes, I wanted a custom-made second hand
:) That's a great idea!
OK, you've asked for it. But don't complain afterwards :-)
superb examples. G...
So cool, very neat
And the videos ...
some nice sounding movements there,...
Great videos Thanks for sharing!
Brilliant!
No idea, but I'd say about 1 minute to set the time
New link for the video
the video is great and shows the watch off very well.
