Horological Meandering

Let me say this directly:  one of the greatest designs in the history of watchmaking is the 7750.  It was designed and developed into its present form by the brilliant constructor Edmund Capt.  What is brilliant about it is that it is inexpensive to construct and can be produced in industrial quantities very easily. Moreover, for the most part the movement is reliable and robust.   Viewed as an engineering exercise, it is great.  However, elegant this engineering solution may be from an economic point of view, it is not an haute horlogerie movement.  Placed in a watch at an appropriate price point--read cheap--it delivers great value.  The trouble is too many watch companies skimp on their own engineering, buy 7750s, and pour all their investment into marketing and advertising.  And in the process charge a lot for a watch that has a $100 dollar movement beating inside.  I, for one, am scandalized when I see this.  A person who buys an expensive watch like this is not buying fine watchmaking; he is buying advertising fluff.

The 7750, unless it is modified can never match the smooth creamy feel in operation of a real column wheel chronograph.  Can't be done.  The 7750 relies upon a switching lever which inevitably will be harsh in operation.

A proper haute horlogerie chronograph has a column wheel.  Period.

There is one other expedient to address: integrated chronographs vs. modular chronographs.  A modular chrono cannot match an integrated movement in operation.  Inevitably there will be gear lash when the chrono module is engaged.  This causes frequent jumping of the regular time minute hand.  Not all the time, but many times.  Can't be avoided.  This occurs whether or not the chronograph module has a column wheel.

So now we have worked our way up to the top:  integrated chronographs with column wheel control.  Here there is a divide:  those using vertical clutches and those using horizontal gear engagement (ok you sharp shooters, Claret just did one using planetary gears, but that is a minority case).  From a pure performance point of view, the vertical clutch design has several distinct advantages over horizontal gear engagement.  First, it will start and stop smoothly, without ever a needle jump every single time.  No matter what, with horizontal gear engagement, some of the time the chrono seconds hand will jump as gear engagement is a random event.  Second, horizontal gear systems have two additional drawbacks in operation.  The running rate of the watch changes depending on whether the chrono is engaged or not.  This is because tension must be applied to the chrono seconds hand to minimize needle flutter with the horizontal system.  This tension means extra drag so that the amplitude of the watch drops when the chrono is running.  Further, since horizontal gear systems employ very tiny triangular teeth, they are subject to wear if the chrono is used too much.  This is why horizontal gear chrono manufactures advise owners not to keep their chronos running.  None of these drawbacks apply to vertical clutches.  There is minimal impact on amplitude when the chrono is running and the chrono can be run constantly if the owner wishes.

That said, horizontal gear chrono designs are beautiful to behold and represent watchmaking at its finest.

How will the chronograph feel when you push the buttons?  My three hands down favorites are the Lange Datograph,  the Blancpain Le Brassus Perpetual Split Second Chronograph, and the AP Cabinet Series 1.  All three are sublimely creamy in operation.  The buttons are joy to push.  Which one of the three starts and stops always with zero jumping?  The Blancpain.  And who designed that movement?  Edmund Capt.  Blancpain supports several brands selling them its inhouse chrono movement:  Vacheron, AP, and a few others use the Blancpain movement for their automatic winding chronographs.

Jeff

 

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