FERDINAND BERTHOUD – Chronometrie FB 3SPC Gold Edition

 

FERDINAND BERTHOUD – CHRONOMÉTRIE FB 3SPC Gold Edition 2022

 THE NEW CHRONOMèTRE FB 3SPC:
when curves consort with chronometry

Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud unveils the third pillar of its collections: the new Chronomètre FB 3SPC. Powered by a mechanical movement featuring a novel construction and a cylindrical balance-spring, this timepiece approaches the core theme of precision from a new angle. It took two years to perfect the adjustments of the regulating organ before obtaining official "chronometer" certification (ISO 3159 standard): a first for such a movement. This new FB 3 collection draws its stylistic, technical and aesthetic inspiration from a rare and exceptional creation: the No. 26 decimal watch.  

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Originating from the workshop founded by Ferdinand Berthoud in Paris after being awarded his “maîtrise” (master of horology title) in 1753, this creation is signed by his nephew, Louis Berthoud. It is the symbol of a revival in this post-revolutionary period, during which marine chronometers – measuring instruments intended for naval use in the 18th century – paved the way for watchmaking of very high quality, pare-down and firmly rooted in the 19th century and its civil applications. The Chronomètre FB 3SPC reflects this historical and horological transition.

Chronometric filiation: a cylindrical balance-spring chronometer-certified by the COSC

Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud is launching a third collection of wristwatches in the wake of those created since 2015: the new Chronomètre FB 3SPC. The spirit of Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud is based on the quest for reliability and precision through unprecedented horological creations, and the new FB 3 collection is no exception to this rule.

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The Chronomètre FB 3SPC thus explores another chronometric issue, which was the subject of the most abundant and fruitful research during the 18th century golden age of watchmaking: the balance-spring. These experiments were however poorly documented and it was thus in the total absence of specialised literature that Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud set about creating the new Calibre FB-SPC.

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This new mechanical movement is based on a cylindrical balance-spring, a rare watchmaking speciality on which Ferdinand Berthoud himself worked. His nephew, Louis Berthoud, favoured its use in his famous No. 26 decimal watch. Calibre FB-SPC is the only one of its kind to satisfy the chronometric (precision timekeeping) criteria of the COSC: ISO 3159 certification made possible only by the precision adjustments performed by the Manufacture's watchmakers. 

In addition to the development of a new variable-inertia balance-spring, equipped with four fine adjustment screws and 12 load screws, many months of research, testing and fine-tuning were necessary to define the number of coils and the geometry of the terminal curve at the attachment points in order to optimise rate precision.

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This new mechanical hand-wound movement stems from more than three years of research and development, during which every detail was carefully examined. Appearing at 9 o'clock, the three main escapement organs – the balance-wheel, pallet-lever and escape-wheel – are thus individualised, distinct and prominent. This ample space dedicated to the regulating organ enables its operation to be admired in full, and the cylindrical balance-spring to be seen beating throughout the three-day power reserve, including through a large water-resistant porthole created in the case middle at 9 o'clock.

Stylistic filiation: a design inspired by pocket watches

While the FB 1 and FB 2 collections belong to the legacy of Ferdinand Berthoud's marine chronometers, the FB 3 collection borrows from the style of the Master's nephew, student and successor: Pierre-Louis Berthoud (1754-1813) known as "Louis Berthoud". Born in 1754 in Couvet, in the Val-de-Travers, the latter moved to Paris at his uncle’s request. In 1784, having skilfully assisted in the making and improving of his distinguished relative’s marine chronometers, he was entrusted by Ferdinand Berthoud with the responsibility of his workshop, located since 1754 on Rue de Harlay, running along the Place Dauphine in Paris.

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Under his impetus, private watchmaking experienced considerable expansion. Louis Berthoud added his personal touch, which can be seen in the aesthetics of the mechanism. He inaugurated a style that was rooted in the highly functional appearance of marine chronometers, where function dictated form. He developed these pragmatic designs at a time when the spirit of the age was shifting from the baroque and opulent style of the monarchy to neo-classicism during the early days of the Republic and subsequently the Empire. Thanks to his exceptional talent, Louis Berthoud made the workshop's activity bear fruit by naturally accompanying the societal and stylistic changes of his time.

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This inspiration is evident at first glance in the FB3 collection. Its new round case, available in 18-carat white or rose gold, recalls the curves of pocket watches from the early 19th century, such as the decimal watch No. 26, made in 1793 by Louis Berthoud and now on display within the Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud heritage collection in Fleurier.

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A single line hugs the curves of the domed crystal and the slender polished bezel of the FB 3 models, while harmoniously extending along the strap and the lugs screwed to the case. This refined and coherent ensemble echoes the slimness of the case (42 mm in diameter and 9.43 mm thick), which fades into the background so as to make way for the spectacular movement.

 Aesthetic affiliation: architecture designed to highlight every detail

The other deep-seated characteristic of Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud lies in the desire to create movements with a legible, graphic and three-dimensional architecture. The mainplate is placed at the heart of Calibre FB-SPC and the components are assembled on either side of it.

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On the dial side, a close-knit array of six bridges traces curves and lines directly inspired by the work of Louis Berthoud. They are echoed on the back by ten other bridges forming an intimately juxtaposed mosaic.

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The indication of time is pared down to the absolute minimum: a peripheral inner bezel ring for the hours and minutes, and small seconds at 6 o'clock. At 2 o'clock, the power-reserve indicator is engraved in a sector graduated in 12-hour segments from "0" to "1". The rest of the dial, deliberately left open, enables one to admire the aesthetics of the movement's components, their arrangement, as well as the surface conditions alternating between chamfered and polished bevels and matt surfaces created by fine sandblasting. 

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The architecture of the movement is minimalist in appearance, yet no less complex. The hours and minutes flange, shaped like an amphitheatre, extends vertically to the mainplate. The openworked and suspended seconds disc is secured from below to a dedicated bridge. The balance-bridge, with its distinctive screw-in heel shape, is a historical reference to Ferdinand Berthoud's No. 3 astronomical watch. Positioned at 12 o’clock, the barrel bridge spanning a wide 120° angle recalls a bridge on the No. 2575 quarter-repeater watch made by Louis Berthoud.  

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More than 100 hours are required to decorate the 230 components of the movement in order to achieve the ultimate degree of perfection characterising the creations bearing the Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud signature.

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The Chronomètre FB 3SPC is available in two versions. The first features an 18-carat white gold case, 2N pale yellow gold movement components and an eggshell-coloured dial in sandblasted silver-toned brass. The second is equipped with an 18-carat 5N rose gold case framing a black-varnished minutes track with black-rhodium treated visible movement components. Their facetted, skeletonised and open-tipped 18-carat gold hands are inspired by a 1785 Ferdinand Berthoud astronomical regulator belonging to the Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud heritage collection in Fleurier.

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The gold used in the production of Chronomètre FB 3SPC models stems from the ethical sourcing process instated by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele – President and Founder of Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud – at Chopard, of which he is also Co-President.

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The Chronomètre FB 3SPC thus perpetuates one of the most emblematic stylistic elements of Louis Berthoud's era, the post-revolutionary years of the early 19th century, when the pocket watch entered a new technical age. The Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud collection thus gains a new territory of expression, still rooted in historical chronometry, while its degree of finishing and its level of quality remain unchanged. Production of the Chronomètre FB 3SPC is naturally limited by the capacities of the Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud workshop in Fleurier to a maximum 25 of these timepieces per year.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model:  CHRONOMÈTRE FB 3SPC Gold Edition

 FUNCTIONS
• Central display of the hours and minutes, seconds at 6 o’clock and power reserve at 2 o’clock

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MOVEMENT

Mechanical hand-wound ...................................................................................................Calibre FB-SPC
Diameter.......................................................................................................................................37.30 mm
Thickness .......................................................................................................................................6.84 mm
Lignes ....................................................................................................................................................15’’’
Jewels ........................................................................................................................................................ 47
Frequency ........................................................................................................................21,600 vph (3 Hz)
Power reserve ................................................................................................................................ 72 hours
Number of components ........................................................................................................................230
Number of bridges ....................................................................................................................................16

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Slip-spring barrel (automatic uncoupling when maximum power reserve is reached)
• Variable-inertia balance with four fine-adjustment screws and 12 load screws
• Cylindrical balance-spring with hand-crafted Berthoud terminal curves
• Swiss lever escapement
• Crown-activated stop-seconds mechanism
• Mainplate and bridges in sandblasted nickel silver
• Hand-finished to the highest watchmaking standards

Officially chronometer-certified by the COSC

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🟠REF. FB 3SPC.1

 CASE
• Round case in ethical 18-carat white gold with a transparent sapphire ‘porthole’ at 9 o’clock
Total diameter ..............................................................................................................................42.30 mm
Thickness .......................................................................................................................................9.43 mm
Water resistance .........................................................................................................................30 metres
Crown diameter .............................................................................................................................8.50 mm
• Crown in ethical 18-carat white gold
• Exhibition back in ethical 18-carat white gold fitted with a glareproofed sapphire crystal pane
• Domed sapphire crystal glareproofed on both sides
DIAL
• Eggshell-coloured peripheral inner bezel ring for the hours and minutes, in sandblasted silver-toned brass
• Eggshell-coloured seconds subdial at 6 o’clock, in sandblasted silver-toned brass
• Sandblasted and 2N gilded visible components of Calibre FB-SPC
Hands
• Facetted and skeletonised and open-tipped hours and minutes hands in 18-carat gold with blue CVD treatment
• Seconds hand with counterweight in 18-carat gold with blue CVD treatement
• Arrow-shaped power-reserve hand in 18-carat gold with blue CVD treatement
STRAP and BUCKLE
• Alligator leather strap (125 x 70 mm) – Various sizes available on request
• 18-carat white gold pin buckle

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⚫REF. FB 3SPC.2

 CASE
• Round case in ethical 18-carat rose gold with a transparent sapphire ‘porthole’ at 9 o’clock
Total diameter ..............................................................................................................................42.30 mm
Thickness .......................................................................................................................................9.43 mm
Water resistance .........................................................................................................................30 metres
Crown diameter .............................................................................................................................8.50 mm
• Crown in ethical 18-carat rose gold
• Exhibition back in ethical 18-carat rose gold fitted with a glareproofed sapphire crystal pane
• Domed sapphire crystal glareproofed on both sides
DIAL
• Black-varnished peripheral inner bezel ring for the hours and minutes, in sandblasted brass
• Black-varnished seconds subdial at 6 o’clock in sandblasted brass
• Black rhodium-treated visible components of Calibre FB-SPC
Hands
• Facetted and skeletonised open-tipped hours and minutes hands in 18-carat rose gold
• Seconds hand with counterweight in 18-carat rose gold
• Arrow-shaped power-reserve hand in 18-carat rose gold
STRAP and BUCKLE
• Alligator leather strap (125 x 70 mm) – Various sizes available on request
• 18-carat rose gold pin buckle

 Limitation  Only 25 pieces of each version watches

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Press Release - 2022
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Chronométrie FERDINAND BERTHOUD SA
Rue des Moulins 20
Case postale 128
2114 Fleurier, Val-de-Travers (NE)
Switzerland
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www.FerdinandBerthoud.ch

Krayon – ANYWHERE “Métiers d’art Azur” Platinum Edition

Krayon – ANYWHERE “Métiers d’art Azur” Calendar 40mm Platinum Edition 2022

 ‘Anywhere Métiers d’Art Azur’ by Krayon
beckons to discover and explore.

Blue, a primary colour connected to the sky, the ocean.
The colour of the infinite, the horizon, of peace and serenity.

Absolute mastery of technique, materials and know-how – Krayon’s latest creation is an ode to the inspired craftsmanship that for over four centuries has defined finest watchmaking and decoration.
Is it not by nurturing these ancestral techniques, by reinterpreting them with a contemporary vision, that we ultimately ensure they will endure?

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Thus comes into being an exceptional, individually crafted creation that pays tribute to this precious heritage, by calling on the rare artisan-craftspeople who still master these skills and their secrets.

Infinite hues of blue

The magic of miniature painting, at play with a myriad hues of blue,
on a sublimated dial, merging age-old mastery and modern inspiration.

Hinting at the mysterious cosmos at night-time, the sky turns azure with a shining sun, each day anew on a journey each can imagine and set out on for themselves.

For an exceptional watch, the noblest of precious metals – Krayon chooses 950 platinum.

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTOBeyond the technical prowess of its movement and the artistic sensibility of its dial,
this platinum watch, the brainchild of watch designer Rémi Maillat, founder of Krayon,
brings age-old Swiss traditions into the present, delighting connoisseurs and appreciators of refinements that have become all too rare.

A manifesto for the love of discovery, of exploration, to follow in the traces of the great voyagers of the 15th century who braved the seas and oceans to chart the unknown. Krayon celebrates this spirit of adventure with Anywhere Métiers d'Art Azur, a timepiece designed to captivate collectors and lovers of rare refinements, one that offers a singular complication: the indication of sunrise and sunset, at the precise location chosen by the wearer, anywhere in the world.

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Whilst this hyper complication, a tailored ephemeris intimately linked to its wearer, distinguishes itself by its ingenuity, the finesse of the dial echoes the miniature painting techniques of master enamellers of centuries past. The harmonious curves of the case and the contemporary sense of balance that emanates from the whole make this a unique timekeeper: an elegant watch that yet again demonstrates, through hand-finishing artistry taken to new heights, all the savoir-faire of the independent Swiss watchmaker.
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What if you could tell the exact time of sunrise or sunset at any location on the planet? Wherever you happen to be – or imagine yourself to be. Truly anywhere on Earth. Anywhere is an unprecedented complication in the world of fine watchmaking. Anywhere tells the time of our intimate relationship with Earth, with our place on it. Because, at the end of the day, there is no place more important than yours, the one you see, where you are or in your mind’s eye, or in your heart.

This watch is a hyper complication, an ephemeris intimately linked to its wearer.

Rémi Maillat is a watchmaking engineer and the founder of Krayon. With the tip of his pencil, he transforms undreamt of concepts into watchmaking intricacies. His creation, Anywhere, indicates the length of the day and the time at which the sun rises and sets, whilst displaying the ephemeris at a point on the globe chosen personally by the wearer of the watch, placing him or her at the centre of a universal and intimate horology. 

Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO This emotional dimension of time and space, at the nexus of a most personal sense of place and concrete geography, is what drives Krayon. This interpretation of time takes the form of a watch that goes beyond convention and habit. It is like every dawn and every dusk, never the same as the last or the next, always experienced in a personal way.

An exceptional dial crafted as a miniature painting, delicately by hand.

The latest addition to a Krayon’s family of unusual hyper complications, the new Anywhere Métiers d'Art Azur watch creation, with its 432 components, is an ideal of serenity and technical sophistication. It continues in the spirit of the Anywhere Edition Only Watch 2021, its exceptional dial combining technical prowess with contemporary artistic inspiration.

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A tribute to the métiers d’art, the family of crafts that are akin to forms of art, the visual language of Anywhere Métiers d'Art Azur whispers discovery and beckons to embark an inner journey. The choice of a multitude of blues amplifies the purpose of this Anywhere watch, like an invitation to contemplation, before sunrise. That magical moment when nature, in suspension, awaits the light.

To achieve this effect, a myriad small alveoli have been hollowed out into which a Swiss enamelling artist has patiently deposited, by hand, each dab of lacquer until the desired spectrum of blue hues is obtained, producing an outcome of unparalleled finesse.

The noblest of metals for an exceptional watch.

Rare and precious, platinum enthrals with its silvery-white appearance; its brightness responds particularly well to shades of blue. It is not only one of the world’s heaviest and densest materials but is also distinguished by unique physical and chemical properties, such as its exceptional resistance to corrosion. Paradoxically, it is also soft, elastic and extremely malleable. Machining and polishing platinum is therefore particularly challenging and requires a high level of expertise.

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Krayon uses only 950 platinum, an alloy composed of 950 ‰ (per thousand) of platinum meticulously crafted in Switzerland. For an exceptional watch, only the noblest of precious metals.

Rarity, elevated.

Watch and watchmaking connoisseurs consider timepieces with date functions or astronomical indications to be masterpieces of mechanical engineering, not only because of their level of complexity but also because these calendar displays trace back directly to astronomical observations made by the earliest civilisations eons ago.

For those who grasp the full scale of the achievement, a date watch becomes a connection to the cosmos, a link that is all the richer with symbolism because it is founded on the bedrock of horological science.

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The calendar is a mechanical solution to an astronomical problem. From ancient Egypt to Rome via the Greece of Antiquity, from astronomers to mathematicians, including clergymen, the history of the calendar has mainly revolved around the question of fitting the lunar and solar calendars into a scheme of whole numbers.

Anywhere Métiers d'Art Azur indicates hours and minutes by means of two hands, placed in the centre of a dial that seems suspended in the centre of the watch. It is surrounded by an annular zone on which circulates, in perpetual movement, a small sun that indicates the time over 24 hours. The ring-shaped display is divided in two: a diurnal sector (sky blue) and a nocturnal sector (midnight blue), whose respective lengths are in constant flux, indicating by their positions the sunrise and sunset times that can be read on the rehaut.

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To integrate this geographical factor, Krayon devised a mechanical positioning system, using rakes and rockers instead of a fixed cam. The relative position of the two sapphire discs is determined not only by the reference position, but also by the calendar. To this end, Anywhere Métiers d'Art Azur indicates the date and month on a subsidiary dial at 6 o'clock.

This is a double calendar, for which all months last 31 days. It therefore requires only five annual adjustments, easily and quickly effected via the crown in both directions. Whilst these sources of inspiration are anchored in the past, Rémi Maillat has reinterpreted them, even transcended them with his contemporary vision.

 The heart of the watch.

Krayon Anywhere Métiers d'Art Azur is equipped with the Calibre C030, meticulously designed, developed and entirely assembled in Neuchatel, Switzerland, by Rémi Maillat, Krayon's founder and master watchmaker. This calibre is in the direct lineage of that created for the one-off Anywhere specifically made for the Only Watch 2021 charity auction.

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With its apparent simplicity, its width, its thinness in relation to its complexity (only 5 mm), and its manual winding mechanism, Anywhere’s technical sophistication (432 components, 86 hours of power reserve) leaves its mark on the beholder, surprising them with its ability to define a geographical and temporal space tailored to the wearer.

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According to a principle dear to Rémi Maillat, the purchaser will be able to set the watch to the city or location of his or her choice for the indication of sunrise and sunset.

Krayon takes flight: four years rich in developments and creations.

A watchmaking designer-engineer and the founder of Krayon, Rémi Maillat also has a precious talent: the ability to turn mathematical calculations into fantastic watchmaking creations; with the self-evidence that comes with simplicity. Whether he is working on commissions for renowned clients or giving substance to his own imagination, this gifted engineer is a true master of the technical complexities of the art of watchmaking. For him, a successful concept begins as a sketch from the tip of his pencil; hence Krayon, as in crayon, the French word for pencil.

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After unveiling his first Everywhere creation in June 2017, Rémi Maillat presented a bespoke timepiece in 2018, Everywhere Horizon, which was awarded the Best Watchmaking Innovation Prize by the Jury of the 2018 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix.

In 2020, Rémi Maillat presented Anywhere, true to the concept of the art of the singular measurement of time. A marvellous synthesis of mathematics, artistic watchmaking, poetry in details and a genuine philosophical dimension.

In 2021, Krayon participated for the first time in the Only Watch charity auction; his first Anywhere Métiers d'Art watch, a one-off created for the charity event, with a magnificent sunset by Claude Monet sold for four times its estimate.

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In 2022, the Krayon brand returns with this new opus, Anywhere Métiers d'Art Azur. With its multitude of blues, the watch is an invitation to escape, to discover and to dream. It is up to each and every one of us to let our emotions inspire us. Only 15 pieces will be produced and offered for sale.

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Technical Specifications

Collection: ANYWHERE

Model:   Krayon – Anywhere “Métiers d’art Azur” Platinum Edition 

Ref. C030-51 – 950 platinum

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Movement: Cal. C030
Diameter: 35.40 mm
Thickness: 5.00 mm
Specifications
Power reserve 86 hours
Frequency 3 Hz
Manual winding, with stopwork
55 jewels
432 components
Functions

• Hours and minutes
• Day and night indication
• Sunrise and sunset indication on the periphery, set to location desired by the client
• 24-hour display
• Simple calendar at 6 o’clock
• Month

Displays
Hours and minutes at centre
Sunrise and sunset times on peripheral discs
Date at 6 o’clock
Month indication
Case
Diameter 39 mm
Thickness 9.5 mm
Material: 950 platinum
Dial
Métiers d’Art in miniature painting, hand-crafted, in multiple shades of blue
Month indication
Strap
Blue grained calfskin strap
Buckle and pin in 950 platinum

🔰 Edition of ✅only 15 pieces

 🔴Price: CHF 150,000 before taxes

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Press release - 2022
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