Breguet No.05 Pocket Watch
Referring to Breguet, in the perception of the vast majority of watch friends, it will be considered a “traditional” watch brand. Indeed, this company founded in 1775 by Abraham-Louis Breguet has a history of more than 240 years. The functions, structures and styles from Breguet are popular, such as the famous tourbillon, Breguet hands, Breguet words, guilloche patterns dial, phonograph spring, Breguet hairspring, parachute shock absorber, and so on, it is no exaggeration to say that Breguet has influenced the watch industry, and even competitive brands will adopt Breguet’s design philosophy more or less.
And when these elements which born two centuries ago were brought together on the same watch, even if they were produced using modern craftsmanship, their “traditional” perceptions would continue to emerge.
Breguet Tourbillon Pocket Watch
The evaluation of things cannot be separated from the background of the times. Two centuries ago, the development of materials science lags behind. The materials used for hairsprings are almost all made of metal materials, such as carbon steel, gold, and platinum. These hairsprings made of materials of low density will have a center of gravity shift, whether at rest or in motion, and these offsets will affect the movement accuracy of the movement. In the absence of leaps and bounds in material innovation at the time, Mr. Abraham-Louis Breguet thought of using complex mechanical structures to compensate, placing the entire escapement on a 360° rotating platform, subjecting it to gravity. The offsets cancel each other out and eventually reduce the error.
The “traditional” skills we saw today were actually “innovative” behaviors in those years.
For Breguet, the constant “innovation” is the historical “tradition” of the brand.
And one of the watches we are going to talk about today is the “tradition” and “innovation” of Breguet.
Breguet Classique Chronometrie Manual Wind 41mm Rose Gold Wristwatch 7727BR/12/9WU
The first time I saw this Ref.7727 watch from the Breguet Classique series, I thought it was a very ordinary watch, or a timepiece that fits the public’s impression. For example: blue steel Breguet hands + guilloche patterns dial + micro-carved secret + coin pattern case + welded straight ear + independent number + “irregular” functional layout……Anyway, people don’t start getting mush interests in it.
But when I look at it again, I find that this Breguet Ref.7727 is somewhat different. Under the trademark of the guilloche patterns dial, it is marked with “10Hz” in light gray.
Hz is the basic unit of frequency, that is, the number of cycles per second (period/second). The oscillating frequency of a mechanical timepiece is calculated in hours. For example, 18000 VPH means 18,000 vibrations per hour, that is, 2.5 Hz. The swing frequency of our common mechanical clocks is 18000 VPH, 21600 VPH, 25200 VPH, 28800 VPH, 36000 VPH, which translates to 2.5 Hz, 3 Hz, 3.5 Hz, 4 Hz, 5 Hz. Among them, 2.5Hz and below is called “low frequency” and “slow pendulum”, above 5Hz generally can be called “high frequency”.
For watches, under the same conditions, the higher the Hz number, the stronger the accuracy and anti-interference ability of the watch. Therefore, from the mechanical watch to the quartz watch, to the cesium atomic clock, the fundamental mystery of the continuous innovation of the timing instrument is the increase of the Hz frequency.
For technological innovation, the more difficult it is to go up. This Breguet Ref.7727 has been doubled from high frequency 5Hz to 10Hz, and it can be thought of as “different”!
In addition to the low-key light gray “10Hz” lettering, there is a faster-moving pointer next to the second hand on the dial, which shows the difference in a more dynamic form.
As mentioned above, for a watch, the higher the Hz number, the higher the accuracy and anti-interference ability of the watch.
However, the swing frequency of the mechanical clock can not be added all the time. The principle is very simple, the more frequent the movement, the more wear and tear of the parts and the greater the energy consumption. For example, in 1969, Zenith introduced a 36,000 VPH (5 Hz) El Primero calibre. In 1988, Rolex has not produced its own self-winding chronograph movement, so it bought this movement for the Daytona watch. At that time, the first thing Rolex did was to reduce the frequency of the movement from 36000VPH (5Hz) to 28800VPH (4Hz), because the accuracy of the high-frequency operation is not cost-effective compared with the movement and power consumption. And the frequency from 21600VPH (3Hz) to 28800VPH (4Hz) is enough.