Lord_Arran
2254
Paul Gerber
I believe that it is necessary to enlighten people about the particularity Franck Muller and Paul Gerber with regard to the most complicated wrist watch of the world. Please read my report.
30.10.2001
The Earl of Arran
friend of Franck Muller
and Paul Gerber
THE MOST COMPLICATED WRIST WATCH OF THE WORLD
ACCOLADE FOR LOUIS-ELYSEE PIGUET, LE BRASSUS
FRANCK MULLER, GENEVA AND PAUL GERBER, ZURICH
Louis Elysee Piguet of Le Brassus has towards the end of the 19th century produced three pocket watches containing Minute Repeater, Grande et Petite Sonnerie, Hours, Minutes and Seconds. The watches were extremely small (32 millimeters or 14 Parisian Lines) with a thickness of 8mm.
Two of the three watches have gone astray and are missed since many years. The remaining one with the number zero has become property of FRANCK MULLER, GENEVA, watchmaker, in 1989. Franck Muller, then a practically unknown watchmaker except to some insiders, had looked for a sponsor to make the most complicated wrist watch based on the movement of this watch. Some manufacturers of watches were quite ready to sponsor the watch, but only if their brand name was chosen for the dial. This did not please Franck Muller who wanted to become known using his own name on the dial and the watch.
He finally found a watch collector who had confidence into Franck Muller and acquiesced to sponsor (finance) the watch. Franck Muller then produced a wrist watch embedded in Platinum, containing a Breguet- style dial. The watch came out with the original Minute Repeater, Grande et Petite Sonnerie (silence/strike/Grande Sonnerie or Petite Sonnerie thanks to 2 levers). Furthermore, the watch contained the hours, minutes, seconds, a perpetual calendar with a retrograde month, weekday, date, 24-hours indication, 4-years cycle indication, moon phases (the moon being upside down) and a thermometer for the internal temperature of the watch, as well as a retrograde monthly equation indication.
The watch was proudly presented at the Basel Fair 1992 and was then the most complicated wrist watch already. More was to come. Franck Muller has -not least thanks to this watch- gained international appraisal and has grown ever since until he was known ubiquitously.
Exit Franck Muller, Geneva. Enters Paul Gerber, Zurich.
The collector and owner of the most complicated watch was now ready for much more and this rather sooner than later. To his great fortune he knew Paul Gerber, watchmaker in Zurich. Albeit Paul Gerber hat hitherto never made a Tourbillon, he and the owner were confident, that Paul Gerber was not only willing but also able to build the most coveted piece for the watch: A FLYING TOURBILLON. Since the owner wanted to keep the original spring and size, the Flying Tourbillon was the only solution.
Paul Gerber, Zurich, did an excellent job and built this Tourbillon from scratch. It has meanwhile been used by other watch producers under license and also in Gerber?s world unique Pendulette 8-days watch, diameter 6.5cm, having as only watch a flying tourbillon.
We might as well mention, that Paul Gerber has made some world exclusivities, such as a Miniature Wooden Movement Wall Clock in 1977. Then 1989 his smallest wooden wheels movement clock which entered proudly into the Guiness Book of Records. He furthermore made a ?Mysterieuse? which found an echo at Faberge's Manufacture, who make table watches (the well known Faberge Eggs). Ever since 1996, Paul Gerber produces the mechanic for their watches. As from 1997, Paul Gerber constructed an alarm wrist watch for Fortis with Chronograph and Alarm, a world novelty. He then constructed an own Gerber wrist watch with a retrograde second at 6 o'clock and added a Retro Twin Automatic device for self winding, another world novelty.
Back to the SuperComplication. 1995 Paul Gerber could present the watch at the Basel Fair with this unique and SMALLEST FLYING TOURBILLON OF THE WORLD. Another superlative for this watch, which had become again the most complicated watch of the world. Paul Gerber received accolade on accolade for this unique accomplishment, and it seemed at that time that it was the end of construction for this unique watch.
Not so for the owner of the watch. He wanted to have an even larger gap between the second most complicated wrist watch of the world and his and dreamed of more complications. Paul Gerber was supportive and could be gained to continue to expand the complications.
Now he undertook to insert a split second chronograph with a jumping minute counter. The whole chronograph is laid out as a ?Fly Back? chronograph, thus giving the options Start Stop Zero, Start Stop Continue with Fly Back, Start Zero and all options accompanied by the split second function with a second Chrono hand. Furthermore, he inserted a power reserve indicator for both spring houses, indicating the power reserve for the movement and for the chimes.
The watch received thusly 5 more hands and 3 more levers. The open back of the watch (under glass) could be held free to the maximum, so that all the important parts (spring houses, repeater hammers, tourbillon, split second installation etc.) could still be seen. The ring of the back cover could be engraved and shows now the names of all the three artists: LOUIS-ELYSEE PIGUET, LE BRASSUS // FRANCK MULLER, GENEVE // PAUL GERBER, ZURICH.
The watch is finished and Paul Gerber assembles it at the moment. After over 12 years of work we have now
THE ABSOLUTELY MOST COMPLICATED WRIST WATCH EVER BUILT, A UNIQUE PIECE AND THE PRIDE OF THE ART OF WATCHMAKING.
Needless to say that the owner is completely happy and rightly presumes, that he has taken part in a world achievement and a monument.