The luxury watch market has matured significantly over the past decade. The driving force behind this has been the huge boom in luxury sports watches that began around 2015. Following this qualitative expansion, discerning watch enthusiasts are now shifting their interest from fashion to timepieces that will stand the test of time. So what kind of watches could become the horological heritage of the future? Special contributions by renowned journalists and interviews with experts shed light on the qualities of masterpieces that connect the past and the future.
Photographs by Masanori Yoshie
Masamasa Hirota (this magazine): Text
Text by Masayuki Hirota (Chronos-Japan)
Edited by Yuto Hosoda (Chronos-Japan), Hiroyuki Suzuki
[Article published in the July 2024 issue of Kronos Japan]
A masterpiece movement that will remain in the future
The difference between 30 years ago and now is that the movement has become one of the criteria for a masterpiece watch. In the past, the criteria for a watch to be called a masterpiece were, at most, design, brand, and uniqueness. However, advances in manufacturing technology have brought the movement to the forefront. What the masterpieces listed here have in common is aesthetic beauty rather than functional beauty.
The aesthetics brought about by the evolution of machine tools are the basis for evaluating movements
For any discerning watch lover, the movement is surely a requirement for a masterpiece. Although it is not as important as the design, the movement has become a major criterion for choosing a mechanical watch.
However, it is only recently that movements have begun to attract attention. Until the late 1990s, mass-produced movements were primarily composed of stamped parts. While these parts were durable and highly manufacturable, they were hardly aesthetically pleasing. For example, the Valjoux (now ETA) 7750 automatic chronograph movement, released in 1973, was a key player in popularizing automatic chronographs, which were previously considered expensive, thanks to its use of presses. After mechanical watches became a single movement, many manufacturers used the ETA 7750 to create a variety of watches. However, this movement was too industrial-looking to feature a transparent case back. The only successful examples showcasing the ETA 7750 were IWC's incredibly complex and elaborate watches and Chronoswiss's skeletonized watches.
A turning point came in 1999, when A. Lange & Söhne began to use a wire-cut electrical discharge machine, originally used for mold manufacturing, to create aesthetically pleasing chronograph components. This resulted in the Datograph Caliber L951, an extremely aesthetically pleasing movement with its layered component arrangement and dramatically curved levers.
It's safe to say that all subsequent movements have followed the Datograph's lead, without exception. In other words, by using wire EDMs and CNC lathes instead of presses, mechanical movements have become possible in ways never before imagined. Of course, precision components are the reason mechanical watches are equipped with amazing functions. But more importantly, technological innovations have enabled watch movement parts to be made with precision and shape that surpassed the era when they were made by hand. This did have the drawback of causing the prices of in-house movements to rise, but the benefits far outweighed the negative aspects.
The spread of wire EDM and cutting techniques dramatically changed the nature of mechanical movements. The Cal. RM27-05, made of carbon fiber, is an ultra-lightweight movement that can be said to represent the movement of today. The entire watch weighs just 11.5g. At the same time, Richard Mille hand-carves the edges and other details essential to luxury watches.
I would like to mention some of these latest masterpieces. Richard Mille's Caliber RM27-05 is the movement used in the latest Nadal model. This movement uses carbon for the baseplate, making it extremely lightweight, while at the same time never forgetting aesthetics. The fusion of new materials and handcrafted techniques is a characteristic of the latest movements, and Richard Mille is a pioneer in this genre.
The Caliber 1510 used in FP Journe's Tourbillon Souverain is another example of a unique vertical tourbillon mechanism being fitted to a wristwatch. Additionally, Journe is the first to extensively use gold plates and bridges, a design once seen only in some luxury watches, in a mass-produced watch. These two movements combine functionality and aesthetics, making them the ultimate modern movement.
This is the successor to FP Journe's masterpiece, the Tourbillon Souverain. The tourbillon carriage has been reoriented perpendicular to the dial, but the balance wheel's moment of inertia remains the same as the previous model at 11 mg/cm2. Despite its vertical orientation, the case thickness has been kept to 13.6 mm. The inclusion of a one-second remontoire ensures a stable 260° oscillation throughout almost the entire running time.
Moritz Grossmann perfected the approach of hand-finishing precision machining. By using wire EDM to carve out the hands and some movement components, the company has brought back the intricate details seen in pocket watches. What was once only possible by hand is now commonplace.
This is the "finished version" of the Cal. 100 series, incorporating everything that was not possible due to limitations in processing equipment and personnel. The precision parts manufacturing that was not possible with the Benu was achieved by using a wire EDM. What is interesting is the adjusted position of the regulator. In order to achieve precision with the regulator in the center, it was replaced with a precision balance wheel made in-house.
As mentioned above, the pioneer of this kind of endeavor was the Datograph Caliber L951. The Caliber L951, which repurposed a wire EDM machine, previously used to make perpetual calendar levers, to manufacture aesthetic components, achieved a form of aesthetic beauty never before achieved. Previously, thin, winding components could only be cut with a jigsaw, but since then, they have become readily available, provided the necessary funds are available. Even now, a quarter of a century after its release, its level of perfection remains astounding.
This is the current version of this masterpiece movement. Its running time has been significantly extended from the 1999 Cal. L951.1, and a power reserve indicator has been added. The regulator has also been changed to a free-sprung mechanism, and the chronograph reset has been changed from a direct to an indirect system, which is less prone to wear. The balance spring is also made in-house. However, its aesthetic beauty remains unchanged.
Jacob's "Astronomia" is an example of an attempt to fuse function and design to a high degree. Needless to say, precision parts are required to precisely rotate a heavy rotating body, including a tourbillon. In addition, Jacob further exaggerated its originality by rotating heavy precious stones. Incidentally, the prototype of the Astronomia was made entirely by hand. However, today, its production is carried out by movement manufacturers with the latest machine tools. This is an example of machines replacing manual labor.
This movement operates six mechanisms on a central axis that rotates once every 20 minutes. The hours, minutes, seconds, three-axis tourbillon, and yellow sapphire moon all rotate simultaneously. Rotating heavy components requires proper torque management of the mainspring and perfect balancing of the components. When it comes to rotating heavy structures, there is no movement that can match this one.
The emergence of these new movements inevitably drew attention to the excellent movements of the past. At the pinnacle of this trend are Audemars Piguet's 2120 series (Vacheron Constantin's 1120 series) and Lemania's 2310 series. The latter is a functional mass-produced movement whose basic design dates back to 1942, but its functional beauty sets it apart from modern movements, which tend to lean more toward aesthetic appeal. In particular, Vacheron Constantin's Cal. 1142, with its free-sprung balance, is the final form of the Lemania 2310 series. These movements have begun to attract attention in the context of their appearance. This trend is sure to become even stronger in the future.
This legendary movement has been reborn. While it looks the same as the original Cal. 321, the manufacturing method for its parts has been changed from pressing to cutting. This is likely due to a shift to aesthetics over productivity. The classic balance wheel with regulating screws has also been redesigned. The basic design remains largely the same, but the power reserve has been extended to approximately 60 hours.
The Lemania 2310 series was released in 1942. Aside from Omega, the only remaining movement is the Vacheron Constantin Caliber 1142. At the time, all parts were manufactured by pressing, but now they are basically machined. As befits a high-end watch, all parts are deeply chamfered, and the regulator has been removed and replaced with a shock-resistant free-sprung movement.
