Horological Meandering

In my post yesterday , I said that Patek Philippe 's creation of a square caliber for the Cubitus Perpetual Calendar ref. 5840P-001 earned my respect . In the comments, several of us raised some interesting questions and doubts : Isn't the 28-28 Q SQU cal...  

Yes, very interesting design. Cheers, Emmanuel

Thank you for the work.

Best, Emmanuel

It’s not up to what we (and they profess) hold as their standard

Best, Emmanuel

my wife complains i spent too much time in form of ipod, i have no clue how you do it, but i thank you. Best, Ashot

Thank you, dear Ashot. Best, Emmanuel

Another recent release I was comparing is the new Hermes H08 skeleton ($21K) to the new Richard Mille RM 55-01 ($155K) Both based on a Vaucher caliber. ...  

Best, Emmanuel

Hermes put out a proper square skeleton movement ...  

Best, Emmanuel

Hodinkee ...  

Best, Emmanuel

It seems like the 28-28 Q SQU is just laser cut with no attempt at beveling.

Best, Emmanuel

I think the responses and conclusions can be summarized as "Square Hole but Round Peg". The basic nature of watch movement parts ie: gears, coil springs, date wheels, etc tend to be round. So the corners of a square movement are mostly not "functional" in... 

are definitely very special and creative. I guess that's the kind of creativity we would expect or at least be happy to see coming from a brand like PP. But they prefer to follow a less adventurous and less expensive path. Best, Emmanuel

Best, Emmanuel

I do agree with you that it’s less of a corner cutting in this way than simply using fully round movements previously and yet we know PP can do much better 😉👍🏻🤞🏻 And while you are right that square movements cannot be made completely square in utilizing t... 

I agree that PP can do much better, but they've still taken a small step in the right direction. Too small a step, perhaps, but it's still better than nothing. And quite frankly, on a purely personal note, when I compare the movements of Gerald Charles an... 

movement and should also be compared to the new 28-28 I am persoanlly not a fan of the cubitas in any form - but mainly from an aesthetic viewpoint - not horologically Thank you again for your insights J

Whether square or rectangular, non-round movements always have corners which are “empty” of components and the design work consists of shaping the bridges to make them match the angular (square or rectangular) shape. As can be seen on this beautiful litho...  

Best, Emmanuel

I agree with your conclusions. We can see one big advantage of having a micro rotor movement in the stable, as they can be convincingly adapted to rectangular cases. The difference between degrees of success comes down to thoughtful consideration to the d... 

The Bell & Ross design team has definitely made a great job with these BR-X3. Best, Emmanuel

Really interesting to see the comparison. I'm also struck by the finishing - the 240, feels like it's archetypal & what we all expect from Patek while the 28-28 Q SQU appears to be much more industrial and more machine finished - which is perhaps a move a... 

to get a full sense of how it really is. Best, Emmanuel