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All their own work
Baselworld

All their own work

Wednesday, 09 April 2014
By Quentin Simonet
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Quentin Simonet

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6 min read

Oris, TAG Heuer, Breitling, Rolex, Patek Philippe and Blancpain were among the brands to introduce new in-house calibres at Baselworld. A brief presentation of these “engines”, all unprecedented, of course.

In with the new. This year’s Baselworld lived up to expectations with a host of creations plucked from watchmakers’ hyperactive imagination. Not that all the major developments and innovations were immediately visible, at least not the most strategic ones. To see them meant journeying to the heart of the watches on show to discover an abundance of new calibres. The engine inside the timepiece, these in-house movements give brands more room to manoeuvre, whether from an industrial or a commercial point of view.

They also allow a degree of independence from suppliers, Swatch Group and its movement-making wing ETA in particular. The Hayek family has fired enough warning shots; have they finally been heard? Ironically, time isn’t on watchmakers’ side. Come end 2019, the world’s number-one watch group can choose the brands it will keep in its portfolio of clients. And those it will let go. For the ones that have already cut the apron strings, these new movements are a means of setting themselves apart. Some of the calibres unveiled in Basel are reviewed below.

Rolex: the best of silicon

Credit where credit is due. Rolex, which makes all its movements in-house, has added a new string to its industrial bow. The “brand with the crown” took the wraps off its Calibre 2236 for women’s watches, fitted with a Syloxi silicon balance spring. Developed by Rolex, it guarantees outstanding chronometric performance for its ladies’ timepieces. This self-winding mechanical movement accrues five patents and marks the first stage in a new generation of calibres for women’s timepieces by the highest-grossing watch brand.

Without going into detail, Rolex, which belongs to the Wilsdorf Foundation, is convinced this is silicon technology at its best, with optimal balance spring geometry and the efficient design of its attachments. Like all Rolex Perpetual movements, the 2236 is certified by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC). For its debut outing, it equips the gem-laden Oyster Perpetual Datejust Pearlmaster 34 watches which the brand unveiled at Baselworld.

The new Oyster Perpetual Datejust Pearlmaster 34 is the first model equipped with calibre 2236 and the new Syloxi hairspring in silicon developed by Rolex
Breitling: a multi-function quartz

In what is its 130th anniversary year, Breitling proves it is serious about declaring independence, and takes a step closer to fully autonomous movement production. “This year Breitling will introduce its own multi-function analogue-digital quartz calibre,” declared Vice-President Jean-Paul Girardin. Part of production, including the brass blanks, will be carried out at the Breitling Chronométrie complex in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

The project originated in 2010. The brand, which is well-known for its mechanical chronographs designed with professional users in mind, wanted the movement to have specific functions. Digital complications are aimed at pilots, such as flight-time calculation via the chronograph, or memorisation of take-off and landing times to enter in the logbook. Passengers, meanwhile, are no longer confronted with complicated time-setting when moving to a new time zone: a single press on a pusher and the watch automatically displays destination time as the new local time. Contrast lighting makes the digital display easy to read. The rechargeable battery delivers an autonomy of one to six months, depending on use. The brand, which is based in Granges, Switzerland, already worked with an outside partner last year to develop an innovative rechargeable battery for its Emergency watch. Quartz models, which this new movement will equip, account for 20% to 25% of Breitling’s total offering.

TAG Heuer: a second chronograph calibre

Not one but two for TAG Heuer. The Chaux-de-Fonds brand, part of luxury giant LVMH, unveiled its new calibre at the world watch and jewellery show. Introduced in November 2013 under the codename “1969”, it came to Basel under its proper name, the CH 80 in reference to Chevenez, its production site which TAG Heuer opened in November last year, and its 80 hours of power reserve. Standing 6.5mm high and fitted with a vertical clutch, the CH 80 guarantees precision and endurance, says the brand. Composed of 233 parts, the movement’s heart beats at 28,800 vibrations/hour (4 Hz) and delivers an average daily rate of -4/+6 seconds. Manufactured partly in the brand’s workshops in La Chaux-de-Fonds and partly at Chevenez, the CH 80 has counters at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock, a date window and Côtes de Genève finishing. The escapement and four-spoke balance are supplied by Atokalpa, a company based in the Swiss Jura and owned by the Sandoz Family Foundation.

TAG Heuer’s quest for partial independence comes at a price. So far the brand has invested CHF 40 million in vertical integration. In addition to manufacturing facilities for its two chronograph calibres, the brand also has sites in Cornol and Tramelan for the production of cases and dials respectively. By 2015, the brand should be producing 100,000 chronographs equipped with in-house calibres.

Oris crosses the Rubicon

Another anniversary, this time for Oris which finally decided to take the plunge to mark its 110th year. The independent firm came to Basel with its own mechanical movement, despite repeated declarations that it had no intentions of going it alone. Developed by Oris in collaboration with suppliers in the Arc Jurassien and Le Locle technical college, there had nonetheless been talk of an in-house movement for a good decade. The project really began to take shape over the past five years, commented Rolf Studer who is Vice President of the brand that was established in 1904. The new calibre will initially equip a limited edition of 220 pieces.

Pricing is aggressive, not just to attract customers but also to stay within the brand’s chosen price segment. The steel version will retail at CHF 5,500 while the rose gold model will be priced at CHF 14,800. Says Studer: “Our philosophy stays the same, which is to propose watches made to a high standard that offer quality at an affordable price.” He also confirmed that the brand could step up production of the movement, according to how well the initial launch goes. This hand-wound movement delivers a ten-day power reserve with a patented non-linear power-reserve display. It has a single barrel containing a mainspring that measures 1.8 metres long when fully unwound. All this inside a 43mm case.

The Calibre 110 will appear in a new watch, the Oris 110 Years Limited Edition
Staying power from Blancpain

Blancpain doesn’t have the same concerns as certain of its rivals. The brand from La Vallée-de-Joux can count on the industrial resources and competencies of parent group Swatch for its supplies. Despite this, the brand, which is under the stewardship of Marc Alexander Hayek, has put its own expertise to use to produce a new calibre. A quarter-century after the launch of its Calibre 23, the first hand-wound flying tourbillon for a wristwatch, Blancpain has perfected this complication whose sole desire is to break free of the effects of gravity.

Like all Blancpain’s movements, this new self-winding tourbillon was developed in the Manufacture’s workshops. Its single barrel delivers an impressive 12 days of power reserve. Comprising 243 parts with a height of just 6.10mm and a diameter of 30.60mm, it comes equipped with a silicon balance spring and pallet horns to reduce the influence of magnetic fields. On the dial side, the tourbillon carriage at 12 o’clock has been enlarged to allow a clearer view of the balance and escape wheel design.

Travel timed by Patek Philippe

Last and by no means least, Patek Philippe. The Geneva-based Manufacture has developed a new calibre, the CH 28-520 C FUS, for its complication Nautilus with chronograph and Travel Time mechanism. This watch allows its wearer to keep track of time in two different zones. The date, which is coupled with local time, is shown by a hand that sweeps a counter at 12 o’clock. Balancing it is the 60-minute register in a counter at 6 o’clock, a new feature compared with the previous version. These modifications required 47 additional components.

That they should only have added a 0.3mm whisker to the movement height can be attributed to the new regulating organ, which replaces the overcoiled Breguet balance spring with the patented Spiromax balance spring whose geometry is calculated so that it oscillates symmetrically and isochronously in one plane. Like all Patek Philippe movements, the CH 28-520 C FUS is finished with Côtes de Genève on the hand-chamfered bridges and circular graining on the rotor. These decorations can be admired through the transparent sapphire back.

Patek Philippe has developed a new calibre, the CH 28-520 C FUS, for its Nautilus Travel Time Chronograph
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