Caliber R26: the new self-winding movement from LIP!

We're going to have a lot of Lip goodness today, but as I'm headed to the gym I for what promises to be an exhausting and brutal barbell class, I want to make sure we start at the beginning - the movement!

Courtesy of Lip

So before going any further, I have a confession to make. I have known about the development of this new movement and the exciting new watch that it is matched with. I got to see a preview a few weeks ago while in Switzerland and France and have been (im)patiently waiting to see the release and be able to share it!

The Caliber R26 is Lip's new, proprietary movement. So for anyone out there who had any doubt as to how seriously Pierre-Alain Berard and the team in Besançon are taking the revival of Lip, doubt no longer!

And as they've put all the work in, I thought I'd let them share the news in their own words -

Convinced that it had to restore the nobility of the oldest French brand still in operation, LIP's management decided to launch production of the LIP R26 in-house movement.

After three years of patient work carried out in collaboration with the SupMicroTech engineering school in Besançon, this self-winding mechanical movement, 70% of the cost price of which is French and more specifically from the Besançon region, equips a first family of watches designed to meet the needs of demanding users, whether on land, at sea or in the air.

Lip R26

Technical Characteristics

• Manufacture-made self-winding mechanical caliber, 26 mm in diameter and 5.92 mm thick.
• Clockwork brass treated by electroplating and surfaces with sandblasted finishes.
• Cost price 70% French.
• Design, assembly and adjustment carried out in-house in Besançon.
• LIP custom decoration of the gear train bridge and oscillating weight: laser carbonization of the LIP letters. Hexagonal screws for the oscillating weight, gear train bridges and balance wheel
• Setting of rubies in the LIP Manufacture workshops in Besançon.
• Regulating group oscillating at 21,600 vibrations per hour.
• 42 hours of power reserve on full charge.
• Accuracy: from 5 seconds late to 10 seconds early per day.
• Display: hours, minutes, central seconds, date window.
• Quick date adjustment using the winding crown.
• Stop second for more precise time setting.

So now, hopefully, I've got your attention!

Stay tuned, we've got a busy Saturday ahead of us as we roll this exciting news out!