THE ART OF SOUND

Superlatively striking timepieces that are a feast for both the eyes and the ears

BULGARI OCTO ROMA CARILLON TOURBILLON

For a new level of sensorial experience, simply turn to the Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon, a masterpiece of sound, artistry and technique. The mechanical symphony combines a three-hammer chime with a tourbillon regulator in a 44mm titanium case with matt black PVD coating. The middle case is designed to maximize sound and allow it to be broadcast as much as possible. It features hollowings to reduce the amount of metal between inside and outside, and three openings for the clearest diffusion of the three chimes.

The hammers, gongs, Tourbillon cage and perforated surfaces are crafted in alternating polished steels, while the finely-wrought mainplate and bridges have been treated with PVD. The high-tech carbon-based vacuum deposition is elegant in a modern deep black. The gongs of the watch are created by hand, in multiple stages. They are folded and formed by hand before being annealed, or hardened, at a temperature of 900 degrees, then cleaned before ironing in the oven at 500 degrees, an operation which will give the metal its crystalline resonance. The entire performance of this mechanical orchestra is revealed through its cut-out bridges.

Like certain components of the striking mechanism, they are lengthened with a file, so as to refine the chords of the ringing. The melodic sequence of this Carillon with three hammers sounding three tones plays the note C for the hours, the mid-re-C notes in sequence for the quarters, and the mid note for the minutes. The back is also hollowed and revamped with a meticulously crafted titanium grid that protects this resonance zone and allows sound to be transmitted to the outside.

Equipped with a power reserve of up to 75 hours, this exclusive timepiece is produced in an ultra-limited edition of 15 pieces, on a black alligator leather strap.

LOUIS VUITTON TAMBOUR CARPE DIEM

Originally, jacquemarts were automata created to strike the hours on church bell towers. When watchmakers miniaturised them on timepieces, their function became essentially decorative ‒ to add a bit of fun to the dial ‒ and the time continued to be indicated by classic hands. Today, Louis Vuitton has brought the jacquemart up to date in a unique, stylistic approach to the historic, symbolic art theme of the Vanitas with the Tambour Carpe Diem, featuring automatons that tell the time on demand, without hands. By pressing a push-piece, the dial’s miniature scenery comes to life on the wrist and the story’s protagonists, the snake and the skull which perform the role of jacquemarts, indicate the time. The entire spectacle lasts for 16 seconds and is accompanied by the chiming of the time.

Depicted since the 15th century on pocket watches and clocks, these skulls, skeletons and hourglasses are an allegory of the passing of time. In order to bring this Vanitas up-to-date, Louis Vuitton has modernised its attributes, entrusting its manufacture to the very best Swiss craftsmen such as Anita Porchet for the enamelling and Dick Steenman for the engraving.

Over 50 hours of work are dedicated to enamelling the snake and the dial. To bring to life the rattlesnake that appears in profile on the case’s push-piece, Dick Steenman crafted gold in a profiled, fluid manner in order to accentuate the crawling effect. Sculpted from gold with incredible precision, the skull, reptile and hourglass are enhanced by the timeless modernity of Louis Vuitton emblems, like the Monogram flowers engraved on the skull, tattooed on the snake’s scales or appearing in blood red on the skull’s eye socket. The delicacy, transparency and colours of the enamel, which are particularly remarkable and realistic on the teeth of the jacquemart, enhance the relief on the dial, suggesting ‒ even when the hour has not struck ‒ the idea of movement, inspiring the protagonists of the Tambour Carpe Diem in a celebration of existence.

Not content simply to allow the model to mark the passing of time, Louis Vuitton has equipped the 46.8mm pink-gold watch with additional complications, namely a jumping hour, a retrograde minute and a power reserve display

“Our aim was to get off the beaten track”, explains Michel Navas, master watchmaker at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton. “We wanted to bring to the jacquemart our vision of the 21st century with all the energy and creativity characteristic of our brand since it began producing watches in 2002.”

PATEK PHILIPPE REF. 5304/301R-001 MINUTE REPEATER

The first Patek Philippe grand complication with a transparent sapphire-crystal dial (Ref. 5104) was launched in 2006, in platinum with rose-gold intarsias. It was followed by the Ref. 5304 in rose gold with white-gold intarsias. On the occasion of the “Rare Handcrafts 2020-2021” exhibition, Patek Philippe has reinterpreted this unusual timepiece as a haute joaillerie spectacle that unquestionably sparks joy in rose gold, with 80 flawless Top Wesselton baguette diamonds (~6.22ct) on the bezel and lugs.

To allow this immersion into the mechanical heart of the watch, Patek Philippe developed an ingenious system for displaying the day, month, and leap year cycle with transparent sapphire-crystal disks in which the respective displays stand out in white against the black background of the small apertures beneath them.

The pierced leaf-shaped hands in black-lacquered white gold also enhance the view of the movement and its steel parts with beveled and polished edges that stand out beautifully against the rose gilt plates decorated with perlage. The flyback date display features a hand with a crescent moon tip that marks the numerals on a scale at the outermost edge of the dial. The perpetual calendar is complemented with a moon-phase display at 6 o’clock and a subsidiary seconds dial.

To further refine the appeal of this timepiece, Patek Philippe integrated delicate white-gold inlays with engraved leaf motifs in the case flanks and the repeater slide. The sapphire-crystal case back reveals the architecture of the self-winding movement, especially the minute repeater mechanism with two gongs or the centrifugal governor beneath the pierced Calatrava cross motif. Special emphasis was placed on movement finissage as evidenced by the recessed off-center mini-rotor in rose gold, decorated with a leaf motif and rhodiumed sinks.

JAEGER-LECOULTRE REVERSO HYBRIS MECHANICA

CALIBRE 185 QUADRIPTYQUE

With 188 years of relentless innovation and savoir-faire behind it, Jaeger-LeCoultre is known to set new boundaries in the domain of fine mechanical watchmaking. In 2021, it broke all barriers and took watchmaking to the farthest reaches of the horological cosmos with the Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 Quadriptyque, the world’s first watch with four faces of timekeeping indications, featuring a total of 11 complications, including perpetual calendar, minute repeater, indications of the synodic, draconic and anomalistic cycles.

Occupying the 7 o’clock position on the recto face of the case, the flying tourbillon makes one rotation a minute while continuously varying the position of the balance. The recto face of the Quadriptyque case shows the indications of a perpetual calendar, a centuries-old mechanism that always displays the correct date despite the irregular number of days each month. It also takes leap years into account, displaying a 29th day in the month of February every four years.

The verso face of the Quadriptyque case is a tour de force of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s patrimony as a master of chiming watches. With the slide of a lever located just above the crown, the Quadriptyque unleashes an uninterrupted opus of acoustic excellence. First, a series of low notes, correlating to the hour. Second, an alternating couplet of high and low notes, corresponding to the quarter-hour. Lastly, a succession of high notes, indicating the number of minutes to be added to the elapsed quarters. The striking works are completely exposed alongside a secondary time display, indicating the same time as the recto dial, but in a jumping-hour and peripheral-minute format.

For the first time ever in the history of mechanical horology, Jaeger-LeCoultre united three displays of lunar information ̶ the synodic cycle, the draconic cycle and the anomalistic cycle ̶ in a single wristwatch, making the Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 the only watch ever made to provide such depth of information about astronomical phenomena. This unique micromechanical combination of indications, located on the interior face of the cradle of the movement allows the determination of eclipse events (both solar and lunar) and rare lunar phenomena such as supermoons.

On the last face of the Quadriptyque, the exterior face of the cradle, a representation of the phases of the moon in the Southern Hemisphere is shown, whereas most indications of the moon phase are of the Northern Hemisphere perspective. A starflecked sky chart, engraved and lacquered in a gradient of blue shades forms the backdrop to the pink-gold moon, all of which are created in the Atelier des Métiers Rares of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Despite the multiple indications and complications, JaegerLeCoultre has drawn from its expertise in ultra-compact watchmaking and made the Quadriptyque one of the most wearable high-complication watches of our time.