Records in watchmaking are increasingly elusive, and generally transient. However, pursuing them has given rise to some very interesting watchmaking. Breaking a record may be hard, and holding it is even harder, but for now, it looks like Bvlgari has managed to do both, with the launch at Baselworld 2016 of its Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater.
Ultra-thin wristwatch movements are rare; complicated ultra-thin wristwatch movements are even more rare, since the challenges in ultra-thin watchmaking tend to rise exponentially as the watch becomes more complicated. For that reason, the most complex watches are made in ultra-thin variants by only a few companies, and as a rule, they're those firms with a very long technical history in such watchmaking – Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Piaget. Bvlgari came late to the ultra-thin game but they're playing it like they mean it, with such watches as the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon (see our introduction from 2014 here). The movement in the Finissimo Ultra Thin Tourbillon is just 1.95 mm thick, and the movement in the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater pushes the boundaries for repeaters just as the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon pushes them for tourbillons.
There are very few minute repeaters in the world in the sub-8 mm range; Vacheron's Caliber 1731 is 8.1 mm thick (cased) and the thinnest self-winding minute repeater in the world (and, it's also a flying tourbillon) is Jaeger-Lecoultre's Hybris Mechanica 11, which uses a peripheral rotor, and which comes in at 7.9 mm thick. One of the thinnest, if not the thinnest, repeaters ever made, is from Vacheron Constantin as well: according to the Vacheron Hour Lounge, in 1941-42, some examples of the reference 4261 used 13 ligne repeater movements only 3.1 mm thick. As far as we know that is the very last time, until now, that anyone has made a repeater movement under 3.2 mm thick, and though by the numbers, the caliber BVL 362 in the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater is 0.02mm thicker, at 3.12 mm, in practice, they're essentially neck and neck.
The Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater is, overall, only 6.85 mm thick. That is as far as we know a record for wristwatches, and by a fairly significant margin (at least by the standards of ultra-thin watchmaking, where records are won and lost in tenths, or hundredths of a millimeter, increments). A lot of the traditional methods for achieving an extra flat movement are in place here, including the use of a "hanging" mainspring barrel and crown wheel. Both are generally placed under their own bridge, in more conventional movements, and having them attached only to the bottom plate means you can suppress the height of the other bridges down to the level of the mainspring barrel. Caliber BVL 362 also uses a flat balance spring, as an overcoil would add too much height.
Despite the record-challenging thinness of the movement, it looks in many respects – maybe most respects – like a very traditional piece of watchmaking in many details (including the click spring for the mainspring barrel, which is virtually identical to the one found in Vacheron's reference 4261). Interestingly, there appears to be no provision for shock protection for the balance pivots in the Bvlgari Octo Minute Repeater, although there are two nested, lyre shaped spring clamps on the balance cock with arms resting on the upper cap jewel mount, which may be a shock protection system (though they may also just be there to hold the hairspring stud in place). Overall the first impression we have of the movement, is of absolutely top tier movement manufacturing and finish.
Of course, ultra-thin watchmaking also involves ultra-thin casemaking, and here Bvlgari continues to do a stellar job with the Octo Finissimo watches. The choice of titanium for the case is a logical one: it's strong, light, and its stiffness and lightness make it an excellent, if not traditional, choice for a repeater case. The quality of engineering it represents is shown by its water resistance: 30m, which is remarkable for an ultra-thin repeating watch; you could, theoretically, shower with it on (not that you would, God knows, but you could). Bvlgari has also opened up the dial; the numerals are cut into it, allowing sound to better propagate from the gongs, out through the front of the watch.
The Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Repeater is definitely one of the highlights of the year, and we're looking very much forward to telling you more about it once we've had a chance to go hands on – and ears open – with this watch at Baselworld 2016.
The Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater: movement, Bvlgari caliber BVL 362, hours, minutes, small seconds, minute repeater. 21,600 vph, 3.12 mm x 28.50 mm, 42-hour power reserve. Titanium case, 40mm x 6.85mm, water resistance 30mm. Pricing TBD.
For further reading on ultra thin repeaters, see our coverage of the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Caliber 1731 here, and an ultra-thin vintage Vacheron Constantin wristwatch minute repeater here. Read about the Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon here.
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