Wednesday, July 19, 2023

JC BIVER — Catharsis Unique Piece for Only Watch 2023

 

JC BIVER Catharsis Tourbillon Carillon Minute Repeater Unique Piece for Only Watch 2023

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JC BIVER Watches presents Catharsis

On a starlit night, the moon cresting over the horizon, a wave of sapphires breaks, sweeping aside hands and indexes to reveal a new order.

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JC BIVER Watches is pleased to preview this new, unprecedented configuration in which dial, crown and hands play off each other in a completely new division of roles.

Catharsis is a singular interpretation of the minute repeater carillon tourbillon, with no visible display of time. Made of titanium, the piece combines unusual handcrafts, with unique techniques for invisible gem-setting, stone marquetery and guilloché.

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Thanks to the total absence of hands on the dial, and freed from all technical constraints, the dial can fully express itself with a seemingly random pattern of 89 sapphires, in three dimensions, to give volume to the stones, the natural effect of the movement of sea waves.

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"We give birth to the soul of the watch." Jean-Claude Biver, after 50 years in the watchmaking industry, and his son Pierre, both passionate collectors, have created a hyper-exclusive brand. Free from all economic pressures, they have called upon the best specialists in each field (movements, dials, hands, bracelets, cases) to create museum-quality pieces of great prestige.

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The first chapter of this story, which is just beginning to unfold, is dedicated to a watchmaking complication that is close to their hearts: a minute repeater. More precisely, a minute repeater with a tourbillon and a micro rotor, the prototype of which was sold for the record price of CHF 1.27 million by Phillips in Geneva on on May 15, 2023.

Catharsis

What is it about time that fascinates, if not obsesses, humans? Forever we have tried to interpret it, understand it and sometimes even master it. Watches for Jean-Claude and Pierre Biver, who are both passionate collectors, have always harbored this duality: on one side showing us we are well and alive in this time; on the other indicating our own time passing and slowly running out.

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The Catharsis timepiece was an idea from an artist friend who once told Jean-Claude Biver: “Make me a minute repeater with no hands, no indexes. I want time to be MINE. Self-evident in the way it captures the intricate relationship between a watch and its owner.

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The singularity of this minute repeater carillon tourbillon resides in its giving the time without your having to look at it. The concept is to replace it with a true work of art, and in so doing to enhance the timekeeper. The starry sky above is made of silver obsidian, chosen for attributes recognized for thousands of years: it confers dynamism, optimism and is very stimulating. With stars of opal and a moon of meteorite, this sky is deeply poetic, levitating above the seascape that occupies the lower part of the dial. 

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Composed of 89 sapphires – no two alike in size or weight – skillfully set, seemingly at random to reflect natural waves. Ultimately, time shows only through the hour hand at the back of the watch. It is flame-blued by hand in JC Biver’s workshops in the magnificent old farmhouse the brand calls home mid-way between Geneva and Lausanne.

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The Catharsis timepiece is a distillation of watchmaking culture aimed at the enlightened watch lover. Each element tells a story, creating a bridge between the past, the present and the future. It is both a collector's item and an art object, as even its smallest constituents, including those that cannot be seen, are decorated by hand. Because it is in the finishing touches that one recognizes the Biver signature, the quest for invisible beauty.

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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Name: Catharsis 

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Unique piece for Only Watch 2023

Technical Specifications

Functions: Hours, tourbillon, carillon minute repeater, micro-rotor
Movement
Caliber JCB-002
Type: Automatic caliber, wound by micro-rotor
Winding and setting the time: via the crown (2 positions)
Caliber characteristics
Number of components: 374
Jewels: 44 rubies

Diameter: 34 mm
Power reserve: 72 hours
Specificity: platinum micro-rotor with decorative plate in rose gold
Frequency: 21,600 vibrations per hour (3Hz)
Decorations: white gold bridges, black-polished and grained; steel components, black-polished and satin-
finished; bevels, black-polished and straight-grained
Display
No visible display of time
Dial: silver obsidian hardstone, meteorite and opal
Gem-setting: 💎89 blue sapphires, each of a different size and weight
Hour hand (on the movement side): flame-blued by hand
Case 
Vaterial: Grade 5 Titanium
Diameter: 42 mm

Thickness: 13.90 mm
Crystal: Sapphire with inner anti-reflective coating
Case back: display back with sapphire crystal
Water resistance: 5 ATM (50 meters, approx. 160 feet)
Bracelet
Leather strap, hand-stitching
Buckle: Buckle and pin in Grade 5 Titanium

 🔴Price    Lot 10      Estimated at CHF 500,000 - CHF 700,000 💰

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www.OnlyWatch.com
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jcbiver.com 

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

A. Lange & Sohne – 1815 RATTRAPANTE Perpetual Calendar Edition

 

A. Lange & Sohne1815 RATTRAPANTE Perpetual Calendar White Gold Edition 2023

 Threefold complication, twofold assembly, one-of-a-kind Lange

With the 1815 RATTRAPANTE PERPETUAL CALENDAR, A. Lange & Söhne presents three of the most sophisticated watchmaking complications in a classic design. The equally rare and ambitious combination of a split-seconds or rattrapante chronograph with a perpetual calendar now appears in a new guise, featuring an 18-carat white gold case with a pink-gold dial. The new 1815 RATTRAPANTE PERPETUAL CALENDAR is limited to 100 pieces.

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With its launch in 2013, the 1815 RATTRAPANTE PERPETUAL CALENDAR marked a milestone in A. Lange & Söhne’s more recent history: no less than seven chronograph calibres had previously been crafted by the Saxon manufactory. Equipped with a specially developed movement, it united three of the most elaborate complications – very rare in this configuration – while maintaining the classic, elegant design of the 1815 watch family. 

Click, to see the large size. BIG FOTO  The outstanding timepiece excels in the measurement of short and long distances: thanks to its eponymous complications, the 1815 RATTRAPANTE PERPETUAL CALENDAR sets standards in both short-time measurement and the display of calendar periods.

Comparative time measurements to a fraction of a second

The rattrapante function of the 1815 RATTRAPANTE PERPETUAL CALENDAR represents one of the greatest horological challenges. In addition to the conventional functions of a chronograph, this sophisticated complication is capable of measuring intermediate times and comparative times, as well as determining minimum and maximum values in the course of one minute. 

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Since the balance wheel of the manufacture calibre L101.1 beats with six semi-oscillations per second, the stopped times can be recorded with an accuracy of one sixth of a second. High-precision readings are assured thanks to the additional graduation on the peripheral minute scale. 

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The precisely orchestrated proceedings within the movement can be observed through the sapphire-crystal caseback. The classic two-column wheel transmission is used to control the measurement of stopped and intermediate times. As is typical for A. Lange & Söhne, technical intricacy is coupled with a high degree of artisanship. The upper surfaces of all moving parts are decorated with straight graining while the peripheral chamfers are polished. Only an experienced finisseur has the skill to polish the bevels to sharp and flat perfection.

A calendar for perpetuity

While the rattrapante chronograph is capable of measuring different time intervals to a fraction of a second, the remarkable technical feat of the perpetual calendar lies in its “long-term memory”. As its name suggests, the complex and prescient mechanism ensures that the date, day of the week and month are correctly displayed ‒ every single day, during decades, even taking leap years into account. The calendar indications must only be corrected by one day but not until 1 March 2100; according to the rules of the Gregorian calendar, the leap year will then be skipped.

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The high-precision moon-phase display has also been programmed with the long term in mind. It so closely emulates the duration of the synodic orbit of the earth’s satellite that it would take 122.6 years for the display to be corrected by one day.

Harmoniously arranged displays

Not only the technical details distinguish the 1815 RATTRAPANTE PERPETUAL CALENDAR but also the well-organised arrangement of its displays. Following the DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON (2019) and the LANGE 1 PERPETUAL CALENDAR (2021), it is the third A. Lange & Söhne timepiece showcasing an 18-carat pink gold dial: the warm, golden hue contrasts elegantly with the cool white gold of the case. 

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With a traditional railway-track minute scale, Arabic numerals and the harmonious arrangement of the four subsidiary dials, the dial embodies the essence of the watch family named after the birth year of Ferdinand Adolph Lange.

Click, to see the large size. BIG FOTO  The manifold displays of the perpetual calendar and the rattrapante chronograph echo the classic aesthetics of earlier Lange pocket watches. The two pairs of combined calendar indications are arranged at 3 and 9 o’clock. The left subsidiary dial shows the date and day of the week, the right the month and leap year. Sharing an auxiliary dial with the subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock, the moon-phase display provides an expressive colourful accent. The minute counter and power-reserve indicator are located at 12 o’clock. 

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The shorter gold hand in the inner circle reveals when it is time to deliver new power to the movement via the winding crown. The longer hand made of blued steel imparts information about the stopped minutes.

Manufacture calibre L101.1

Incorporating traditional design and engineering features, the manually wound movement L101.1 totals an impressive number of 631 individual parts. The mechanism of the perpetual calendar alone requires 211 components, a further 206 account for the rattrapante-chronograph mechanism. 

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A screw balance, which is driven by the balance spring developed and manufactured in-house, ensures high rate stability. Lange-typical quality hallmarks such as screwed gold chatons, blued screws, an elaborate whiplash precision index adjuster and the hand-engraved balance cock are visible through the sapphire-crystal caseback. The finissage of the movement, which is assembled twice, reflects A. Lange & Söhne’s high standards in every single detail.

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With three classic complications, the manufacture calibre L101.1 is one of our most complex movements. Each one in itself already constitutes a technical feat; when combined, they represent a far greater challenge. For our designers and our watchmakers in equal measure, since the tweaking and tuning process of all mechanisms requires an exceptionally high degree of dexterity and technical expertise,” explains Anthony de Haas, Director of Product Development at A. Lange & Söhne.

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Technical Specifications

Model: 1815 RATTRAPANTE Perpetual Calendar Handwerkskunst White Gold Edition

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Reference
№: A421.056FE

Movement
Lange manufacture calibre L101.1;
Manually wound, crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards,
Diameter: 32.6 millimetres; height: 9.1 millimetres
Movement parts: 631
Jewels: 43
Screwed gold chatons: 4
Escapement: Lever escapement
Power reserve: 42 hours when fully wound
Oscillator:Shock-resistant screw balance, superior-quality balance spring manufactured in-house, frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour, precision beat adjustment mechanism with lateral setscrew and whiplash spring
Functions
Time indicated in hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds dial with stop seconds; rattrapante chronograph with minute counter; per

Operating elements Crown for winding the watch and setting the time; two chronograph buttons,
one button to operate the rattrapante mechanism; separate recessed correctors for advancing the
date, day of week, month and moon phasepetual calendar with date, day of week, month, moon phase and leap year; power-reserve indicator
Case
18-carat White Gold
Hinged cuvette in blue enamelled white gold with relief and tremblage engraving
Diameter: 41.9 millimetres; height: 14.7 millimetres
Crystal and back: Sapphire crystal (Mohs hardness 9)
Dial
Solid pink gold
Hands and appliques: Rhodiumed gold; blued steel hour, minute, minute counter and
rattrapante hand, rhodiumed steel chronograph hand
Strap
Hand-stitched alligator leather, dark brown
Buckle: Deployant buckle in 18-carat white gold

Limited Edition  to only 100 pieces

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Press Release - 2023
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Contact information for the media
Arnd Einhorn, Director Press and PR
* Tel.: +49 (0)35053 44 5505
E-mail: presse@lange-soehne.com
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www.Alange & Soehne.com