Horological Meandering

SJX
[Purist]
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The interesting new Breitling in-house chronograph cal. B01

Breitling recently unveiled its B01 chronograph calibre, as expected it is a column wheel controlled vertical clutch chronograph with a fairly long power reserve. What is interesting is Breitling description of its assembly of the movement, this is the first time I've seen "software" in a press release used in context of anything other than design.

- SJX

Press release:

Breitling’s B01 takes wing

To guarantee its long-term independence and ensure that it has complete control over quality, Breitling is launching its own mechanical chronograph movement. The accurate, reliable, sturdy and efficient B01 is directly in line with the philosophy of excellence that the brand has been pursuing for 125 years. This new caliber has a column wheel, a vertical-trigger mechanism and a power reserve exceeding 70 hours, which ensures that the movement has a more regular rate. It was designed to maximize functionality and safety when in use. Breitling also gave it some assertively innovative features intended to increase its ease of manufacture and use, including a patented mechanism for auto-centering the reset hammers and an exclusive index regulator system that allows the watch’s timing to be quickly customized to the wearer. The B01’s intelligent architecture also offers significant advantages in terms of maintenance.

With its entirely new architecture, Caliber B01 marks the apotheosis of Breitling’s unceasing 125-year quest for quality and high performance. It also gains the company entry into the highly exclusive circle of watchmakers that have their own in-house mechanical chronograph movement.

Breitling revolutionizes the traditional assembly of movements

Its original construction is not the only reason the B01 stands out. In making its first proprietary chronograph movement, Breitling also chose to follow unusual paths. Drawing its inspiration from an avant-garde concept used in other high-tech sectors, and adapting the idea to watchmaking, the company developed a formula for an industrial production line that is revolutionizing the traditional assembly of movements. Each movement is tracked individually by highly sophisticated software that automatically sends it to the appropriate station along a route where completely automated stations alternate with those requiring manual intervention. All adjustment stages are also incorporated into this process, and as each B01 movement leaves the line it is ready for extremely rigorous testing by the COSC. This is how Breitling guarantees authentic reliability for its “instruments for professionals” on a large scale.