Technical advances in chiming movements are increasing the volume and quality of sound. They prove the value of watchmakers who know the (musical) score and delight devotees of melodies played on the wrist.
The year 2016 proved pivotal for watches sounding the time, and more recent developments have continued the trend. After decades of incremental advances and marginal improvements, the quality and intensity of minute repeater watches made a double quantum leap. Until then, to put it simply, the case, gongs and minute repeater movement were three separate entities. The gong had to excite the rest of the watch, which was responsible for propagating the sound outwards. Yet all waves need coherence and a watch is a naturally heterogeneous, discontinuous medium, which restricts sound. It was Jaeger-LeCoultre that invented the crystal gong, and welded the gongs to the watch glass, to use the latter as a propagator.
A double break with tradition
Six years ago, two innovations changed the state of the art. Audemars Piguet launched its Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie. It consists of inserting a vibrating part between the movement and the caseback, which is pierced with holes. This component naturally amplifies the chime, without having to make further changes to the existing movements. In addition to its formidable auditory efficiency, Supersonnerie saved Audemars Piguet time and money. Then came Chopard, which revolutionized the manufacture of audible timepieces with its L.U.C Full Strike. Instead of metal gongs screwed to the movement and/or the case, the brand created a system in which the gongs are machined in the same block as the glass, and therefore in sapphire. The transmission is accomplished through a homogeneous medium to a vibratory membrane with direct access to the outside. And since homogeneity is crucial, at Watches and Wonders 2022 Chopard launched the L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire, with an entirely sapphire case.
“Isolating the resonator from the wrist and the case enables minute-repeaters to vibrate more freely and with a more intense sound.”
Membranes
The effectiveness of these two principles has led others to follow suit. Ulysse Nardin worked with the loudspeaker manufacturer Devialet for their Hourstriker. They interposed a vibrating metal membrane, connected to the movement by a lever, with case openings facilitating its expression. Bulgari, in order to separate the chiming mechanism from the shock-absorbing medium represented by the wrist, devised a case-decoupling system. The Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon features a double structure: a platinum grid that encompasses the lugs and ensures a smooth fit on the wrist, and then a titanium secondary case housing the movement and dotted with resonant zones. The movement chimes, the container resonates and the platinum case does not dampen the sound. New creative paths and techniques are being envisaged for future projects with the Geneva acoustics specialist Goldmund, whose high-end speakers are much appreciated by demanding music lovers. Finally, Patek Philippe has synthesized most of the above solutions and applied them to its Caliber R 27 PS. The Ref. 5750 “Advanced Research” adds a circular sapphire piece between the movement and the caseback, under the name ‘ff’, standing for fortissimo amplification module. Dedicated to the striking mechanism, it vibrates smoothly and its transparency reveals all. In a crowning touch, the sound is transmitted through four apertures in a titanium container. Technologies converge, great minds think alike and listening pleasure wins the day.
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