The Astronomic Souveraine

From F. P. Journe -

Courtesy of F.P. Journe

18 functions and complications, writ large against the stars in the sky.

Courtesy of F.P. Journe

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

ASTRONOMIC SOUVERAINE- 

Technical Specifications

Movement

Calibre 1619
Manual winding (34 turns of crown) 

In 18K rose Gold

Dimensions of the Movement

Overall diameter:

37 mm
Cased-up diameter:

36.4 mm
Height movement:

10.75 mm
Height of winding stem:

4.59 mm
Diameter of stem thread:

S1.20mm

Balance

Balance with 4 inertia weights Breguet 

Anachron spring Pinned stud
Free sprung
Nivatronic laser-welded to collet
Pinned Geneva stud

Frequency:

21,600 V/H, (3Hz)

Inertia:

11.00 mg*cm2

Angle of lift: 

52°

Amplitude:

0h dial up: > 260° 24h
vertical: > 260°

Main Characteristics
Tourbillon with remontoir d’égalité 

Minute repeater
Sidereal hours and minutes
2nd time zone
Moon phases
Annual calendar
Equation of time
Sunrise and sunset 

Natural dead-beat second 

All settings via the crown

Indications
Front:
Hours and 2nd time zone at 3 

Minutes in the centre
Sunrise and sunset at 12 

Sidereal hours and minutes at 9 

Power reserve at 6
Moon phases at 5
Second on disc at 7
Back:
Equation of time in the center 

Annual calendar at 10

Escapement
15 teeth escape wheel 90° Anchor fork
Power reserve 

40h
Decoration
High quality Circular waves on bridges
Partly circular grained baseplate
Polished screw heads and chamfered slots 

Pegs with polished rounded ends

Case - Steel 

Diameter: 44.00mm 

Total height: 13.80mm

Collaboration One "C1"

From EOT Watches -

Courtesy of EOT

This was the first of the EOT Forum collaboration watches.  And if you missed out the first time, now is your chance to pick one up.

It is available with a copper dial (above), and a silver dial (below) -

Courtesy of EOT

Here are the pertinent, straight from the source -


The EOT “C1” is a inspired by vintage wristwatches from the 1950’s.

Specifications -

Dial: Copper or Silver with superluminova markers for low light visibility.

Movement Caliber: ETA 2824-2 Swiss made automatic, 25 jewels, 28,800 vph. Rhodium finish.

Functions: Hour / Minute / Second

Case: 316L Stainless Steel, 36 mm x 12 mm. 20mm lug width, water-resistant to 5-ATM, curved crystal and a display back.

$1,395 US

Quentin Tarantino honored at the Festival Lumière by Girard-Perregaux

This just in from Girard-Perregaux -

Courtesy of Girard-Perregaux

Girard-Perregaux, luxury Swiss watchmaker and partner of the Festival Lumière, honored iconic Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino recipient of the 5th Lumière Award. The Lumière Award was created by The Lumière Institute to celebrate an artist, in Lyon, the very place where the cinematograph was invented by Louis and Auguste Lumière, where they shot their first film, Sortie d’Usine, in 1895.

Following the award ceremony, Quentin Tarantino was presented a Girard-Perregaux 1966 Annual Calendar and Equation of Time.

‘Quentin Tarantino has left his mark on cinema to become one of the most influential and distinctive directors of his generation. His bold creative spirit has brought great innovation to modern cinema’, said Michele Sofisti.

Courtesy of Girard-Perregaux

With this partnership, Girard-Perregaux will support the Institut Lumière in its ongoing efforts to work on the promotion of film heritage.

The Lumière film festival is part of the Brand’s engagement on behalf of the cinema. Late in 2012, Girard-Perregaux announced it would be the Exclusive Timekeeper and a Founding Supporter of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, to be located in Los Angeles and slated to open in 2016. 

So a Repeater, an Annual Calendar and an Equation of Time Walk into a Bar...

This just in from Girard-Perregaux -



Courtesy of Girard-Perregaux

 Girard-Perregaux 1966 Minute Repeater, Annual Calendar & Equation of Time watch The Mechanics of Time Captured in Three Complications


Minute Repeater, Annual Calendar and Equation of Time: in its 42 mm diameter, the Girard-Perregaux 1966 houses three illustrious watchmaking complications. They are displayed on the dial in perfect harmony, orchestrated by a mechanical caliber with over 400 component parts.

A model of technical ingenuity, the new Girard-Perregaux 1966 Minute Repeater, Annual Calendar & Equation of Time watch has all the attributes to earn its place in the firmament of the most outstanding watchmaking achievements. A worthy heir to the Girard-Perregaux 1966 Collection, it displays its various functions with a remarkable sense of aesthetic balance, despite its hidden complexities.

For the elegantly proportioned dial, a silvered sunburst decor has been chosen as a background to the various time indications. Surrounded by solid gold applique hour-markers with sharply defined profiles, the various indications perform their functions as the hours and minutes hands pursue their paths above them. The eye is immediately caught by the imposing date located at 1:30 on the dial. The month is displayed in a window opposite to complete the Annual Calendar function. This ingenious construction only requires a single adjustment of the date per year, in February, which is easily carried out through the watch’s crown.

Indicated by a cam appearing in relief on a wheel that completes one revolution per year, the Equation of Time is displayed at 4:30 on the dial. It shows the difference between civil time and solar time. For, in reality, the solar day varies in duration from day to day. While the two reference times in question coincide exactly four times per year, the accumulated difference between them can be as much as, for example, 16 minutes in November.

To complete this watchmaking masterpiece, a Minute Repeater enables the user to hear the striking of the hours, quarter-hours and minutes. Conceived in an age before the advent of electricity, when people needed to be able to hear an indication of the time during the night, today this has become one of the complications that is most appreciated by connoisseurs of fine watchmaking. In order to create the vibration that will produce a crystalline sound, the adjustment of the striking mechanism is one of the most delicate operations for a watchmaker, requiring nimble fingers and a particularly acute ear. The fruit of exhaustive acoustic research, the Girard-Perregaux Minute Repeater mechanism benefits from three specially designed aspects of the construction of the watch-case: an optimal fit between the internal diameter of the case and that of the caliber, so as to achieve maximum resonance; a curved case back that increases the volume of air between the movement and the case, and enhances the sound production; and the diamond-polished bottom of the case back, which reduces acoustic interference.

Visible through the sapphire crystal case back, the manually wound mechanical caliber perpetuates the great Girard-Perregaux watchmaking tradition. With its constant concern for aesthetic standards, Girard-Perregaux has designed the balance-cock in a semi-arrow shape that recalls the Golden Bridges, the brand's emblematic signature.




Girard-Perregaux 1966 Minute Repeater, Annual Calendar & Equation of Time watch TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Case in polished pink gold with anti-reflective sapphire crystal
Bezel: circular, satin-finish interior
Dimensions: 42 mm
Crystal: Domed anti-reflective sapphire
Dial: brass, appliques in 5N18 pink gold
Hands: "Leaf", "Baton" and "Arrow" styles in 5N18 pink gold and coated in diamond powder piece by piece Crown: 5N18 pink gold with GP logo engraved Case-back: sapphire crystal, closed with 6 screws, all inscriptions hand-engraved
Water resistance: 30 meters

Girard-Perregaux E09-0003 Movement Handwound mechanical movement
Caliber: 14¼'''
Frequency: 21,600 vib/h – (3 Hz)
Power reserve: min.100 hours (4 days)
Jeweling: 48 jewels
Number of components: 419
Plate: rhodium-plated and circular-grained
Bridges: côtes de Genève, polished beveled angles
Balance-cock: gold semi-arrow shaped, "rounded-off"
Balance: with variable inertia
Striking mechanism: repeating with two facing hammers, hours, quarter-hours, minutes.
Regulation of the speed of the striking-mechanism by inertia-driven governor, countersprings accessible on the bridge side, inverted minute rack; conventional gong pitches.
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, minute repeater, annual calendar, equation of time

Brown alligator strap Ardillon buckle in pink gold
Reference: 99651-52-131-BKBA
Limited edition of 15 pieces


www.girard-perregaux.com

Breguet Acquires Two Antique Watches for a Record Price of Nearly 7 Million Swiss Francs



2667 Courtesy of Breguet

The Breguet Museum and its President, Marc A. Hayek, have acquired two exceptional Breguet watches that made their mark on Fine Watchmaking history, for a record price of nearly 7 million Swiss francs. Bought at a Christie's auction in Geneva on Monday, May 14th, these masterpieces are the most expensive ever purchased in Breguet's history, and the costliest Breguet antique watches ever sold at auction to date. The first watch, no. 2667 dating from 1814, went for the unequalled price of over 4 million Swiss francs. This thin pocket watch with two movements is based on the chronometer principle (resonance).  It is an extremely rare piece made in 18-carat yellow gold, of unsurpassed delicacy and elegance. A.-L. Breguet designed it to confirm his theory that two oscillating bodies in close proximity will influence each other.  This objet d'art has two separate dials, the first numbered with Arabic numerals, the second with Roman numerals.  It is an extraordinary timepiece that reflects both Breguet's refined aesthetic sense and his innovative inventive genius.

4111 Courtesy of Breguet

The second antique piece, no. 4111, is a thin flat equation-of-time and repeater watch, built on the chronometer principle. It repeats hours, half-hours, quarter-hours, and half-quarters. This "Grande Complication" watch dates from 1827 and was purchased for more than 2.5 million Swiss francs. It has an annual calendar as well as a manual perpetual calendar, and also displays mean and apparent solar time. In pursuit of aesthetic and functional perfection, the balance wheel was especially worked so that the watch would be extremely thin, fascinating technical feats in a "Grande Complication" watch. Montres Breguet is proud to announce the arrival of these treasures for its museums. This unique event confirms Breguet President and CEO Marc A. Hayek's commitment to preserving the Manufacture's historic and cultural legacy.