A minute repeater is a mechanism that indicates the time with sound. The first minute repeater was created in the 18th century in order to find out the time using sound in the dark, because in that era there was no electric lighting. Such complication is no longer an urgent necessity, but still symbolizes the apotheosis of watchmaking, since each model of a minute repeater watch is unique and preserves the unique style of the master who created it through the centuries. These clocks live their own life, play their own melody, falling silent only for unique moments when the chimes ring out. At the customer's request, the minute repeater can chime hours, quarter hours and minutes. The only element of the main complication visible from the dial side is the repeater slider. After its activation, the hammer strikes the low-tone gong, striking the hours, the quarter of an hour is struck by two hammers on two low- and high-tone gongs, and the minutes are announced by a high-tone gong.

Of the three “Grandes complication”, the minute repeater is the most complex mechanism to design. Each minute repeater is unique because... It is impossible to create two identical sounds.

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Patek Philippe 5216R

Repeater - module complex function a mechanical watch that chimes time on demand when you press a button or move a lever. There are different types of repeaters that chime time with varying degrees of accuracy. Simple quarter repeaters chime the hours and quarter hours, while minute repeaters chime the time to the minute, producing sounds of different tones to indicate the hours, quarter hours and minutes.

Invented before the widespread use of electricity, repeaters made it possible to tell time in the dark and were also used by visually impaired people. Currently, the minute repeater is one of the most complex repeater mechanisms. These rare masterpieces of precision mechanics are highly prized by collectors and watch aficionados.

Listen to the exact time signal being played by the repeater

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Minute repeaters produce three types of sounds: hours, as a rule, chime in a low pitch; quarters of an hour - in two keys; and the minutes are in a high key. For example, at 02:49, the minute repeater will strike two hours with two strikes in the low register, three double strikes will indicate 45 minutes, and four strikes in the high register will indicate four minutes.

Time is struck with miniature steel hammers on gongs that sound in different tones - steel springs bent into a circle and placed along the inner perimeter of the case. The striking mechanism, with tiny wheels, combs, volutes and intricately shaped cams, makes the minute repeater one of the most advanced complex functions.

Minute repeater models are considered to be the most complicated watches in the world, they belong to the category of striking watches that have become the embodiment of the richest watch heritage.

The history of the creation of minute repeaters dates back to the 17th century. The first examples of striking watches were “night” repeaters, which struck the hours with dull, silent blows on the case, which could only be felt when holding the watch in your hands. This allowed the courtiers, among whom such watches were especially popular, to discreetly tell the time during tedious receptions and royal councils, keeping their hand in their pocket, and thus without the risk of offending the monarch.

Over time, the bell, usually attached to the inside of the watch case back, was supplemented with a striking hammer: this is how the first striking watches were created. Technological progress has made it possible to create repeaters that chime not only the hours, but also quarters, half-quarters of an hour and five-minute intervals.

The first examples of minute repeaters appeared in the middle of the 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, A. L. Breguet developed a mechanism that struck the hours, quarter hours and minutes, replacing the bells with a set of gongs made of twisted wire, sounding in different tones and taking up much less space. By the end of the 19th century, the minute repeater mechanism had been significantly improved and developed to the configuration currently used.

The minute repeater movement requires more than 100 unique parts, each of which is manufactured with optimal precision. Only experienced, highly qualified craftsmen can integrate a minute repeater into a pocket watch, in the case of wristwatch the task becomes much more difficult. In the building smaller size The miniaturization of already extremely small parts must be taken to the extreme.

Assembling a minute repeater, which takes 200 to 300 hours, requires a high level of craftsmanship and unique skills that take several decades to master. The high-tech process, during which numerous subtleties must be taken into account, is based on a rigorous scientific approach.

At the final stage, the sound quality is carefully checked. No two watches sound exactly alike. The strike of two identical models with a body made of the same metal will be slightly different, since it is as individual as people's fingerprints.

In the early 1960s, the technology for creating minute repeaters was almost completely lost. However, in 1989, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the company, Philippe Stern, who at that time held the position of President of Patek Philippe, decided to resume production of repeaters, adding them to the collection of wristwatches.

Patek Philippe's R&D team has been diligently disassembling and studying vintage examples for a number of years, seeking clues from the past to create the innovative minute repeaters of the future.

Throughout this period, the president of the company personally listened to the chiming of numerous antique minute repeaters. This allowed him to understand that minute repeaters, which are the quintessence of watchmaking, are the most susceptible to criticism. According to him, “even if a person does not understand anything about watchmaking, he can always note the imperfection of sound.”

For several years, Patek Philippe, in collaboration with the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Geneva School of Engineering, has been searching for the perfect sound. Experiments were carried out with different alloys, compositions were carefully selected to create Patek Philippe gongs with optimal sound quality.

Family-owned watchmaker Patek Philippe has consistently been at the forefront of minute repeater production, each of which is personally audited by the company's president. Patek Philippe also offers an extensive collection of series-produced models, ensuring the company's position as a leading manufacturer of watches with complex functions.

When planning to buy a Swiss watch, a sophisticated consumer will certainly inquire about the availability of a repeater. Following tourbillons and perpetual calendars, repeaters have acquired unprecedented relevance among punctual admirers of watch movements. The tourbillon in watches no longer arouses due interest, since today both prestigious RoccoBarocco and outright crafts of dubious origin are equipped with this watch complication. But in parallel with the “tourbillon inflation,” the rate of other original complications and, above all, the repeater is growing...

Repeater watches were designed to remind the owner of the time away from the tower clock, in complete darkness, somewhere on a long road, where even the moon does not shine. Luminous phosphor hands are a later invention; they appeared during the First World War. In the 18th century, there was little choice: either provide a watch with a “blind” indication similar to Braille, or teach it to make sounds. The first pocket repeaters rang a bell, but the great Abraham Louis Berge suggested using a gong in the form of a metal plate or a coiled string. In this regard, the main problem of watchmakers is still the creation of a strong and long-lasting signal that can overcome the hermetically sealed watch case.

Considering that any repeater is quite complex, and manufacturers are rightly proud that they are able to make it at all, there is an internal gradation of repeaters. Quarter repeaters chime the hours and full quarter hours. Thus, their sonic accuracy is plus or minus fourteen minutes. A five-minute repeater will announce the number of five-minute intervals instead of full quarters, bringing the error to four minutes. The minute repeater will ring first the hours, then in another tone - quarters, and third - the number of minutes. For example, at 10:48 a.m. the minute repeater will strike ten hours, three quarters and three minutes. Even with minimal mental arithmetic skill, it is difficult to lose track. The repeater is activated by a special button, which is usually located on the left, opposite the crown. By pressing the repeater trigger, the spring is cocked, and the hammers begin a melodic chime. There are repeaters that tell you the time without any special request. These are the so-called Grand Sonnerie and Petite Sonnerie. They have an autonomous energy reserve and a separate barrel with a spring, which is wound together with the winding of the watch. The Grand Sonnerie is for hours and quarters, while the Petite Sonnerie is only for hours. It is clear that it is always possible, if necessary, to set the silence mode so that the ringing does not accompany the owner of the repeater all day. Sometimes a music box - a carillon - is added to the clock. For example, the famous Opera II watch by Girard Perregaux can be asked to play something from Mozart, and it will respond with several musical phrases from Mozart or from Tchaikovsky (as indicated by the abbreviations MZT and TKY on the dial).

Repeaters are never overproduced. Patek Philippe minute repeaters are made to order only, and in order to make it, you will need a description of the client with his data. The final decision on whether the client is worthy of wearing a Patek rarity will be made personally by the head of Patek, Philipp Stern.

When creating repeaters we are talking about tens or hundreds of pieces. Unlike prestigious Rochas, repeaters do not require precious materials at all. Because platinum dampens sound, and simple steel resonates better than gold. It’s not for nothing that François-Paul Journe, the founder, owner and chief watchmaker of F.P.Journe Invenit et Fecit, made his famous Repetition Minutes Souveraine from steel. He says that no other material could have given such resonance and pure sound, adding that the most difficult thing in creating the “sovereign” was protecting it from accidental breakdowns. Repeaters are very fragile.

Until recently, one of the main advantages of a repeater was its aristocratic modesty. Blancpain CEO Marc Hayek once said that he really enjoys walking around with a precious watch on his wrist and seeing that no one understands its true value. They look like an ordinary watch with two hands. Tourbillons are already distinguishable, but repeaters are not yet.

However, what looks like an advantage to a purist and retrograde Hayek, seems like a disadvantage to others. Clients increasingly began to insist that the marvelous movements of the hammers be visible, since so much was paid for them. And the watchmakers, in fact, were not averse to once again showing off their mechanisms. So now, more and more often, repeater hammers are laid out on the dial. Both in Journov’s Souveraine and Chopard L.U.K. Tech Strike One, where the beautiful repeater mechanism is on display around the Roman numeral XII. And last year in the fall, Jaeger-leCoultre began releasing its new minute repeater Hybris Mechanica f Grande Sonnerie. Of course, as is customary with Jaeger-leCoultre, this was a repeater for all repeaters: with minute precision, with the Westminster carillon, which evokes the melody of Big Ben. As a modest addition - a perpetual calendar and a “flying” tourbillon.

There is no doubt that Rado watches are worthy of the highest ratings, but any repeater has a collector's status, and therefore its price will only increase.

Nowadays, watches that chime time have turned from a necessary attribute into a demonstration of watchmaking craftsmanship. Therefore, at the annual Geneva show of watch achievements, every self-respecting company presents its repeater.

Minute repeaters are the most complex, expensive and prestigious watches. They are able to inform you of the current time through combat. When there was no electricity or even matches, these watches were very necessary. Now they are produced to preserve the traditions of fine watchmaking, and to demonstrate the greatest capabilities of their manufacture. In addition, they continue to fulfill the most important role of modern watches - to attract everyone's attention. That’s why there are minute repeaters in model range every self-respecting person at home. Moreover, every year they become more perfect, more efficient and louder, as could be seen at the International Salon of Haute Horlogerie in Geneva in January.

ROGER DUBUIS HOMMAGE MINUTE REPEATER

The house of Roger Dubuis decided to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a skeletonized minute repeater with tourbillon. The model was included in a special Hommage collection, the watches for which are created by the master founder of the brand, Roger Dubuis himself. The automatic base in-house movement RD104 features two eccentric micro-rotors embedded in the plate, as well as a flying tourbillon with a new cage that gives the balance wheel optimal moment of inertia, stability and stability. The repeater gongs are rectangular in shape, providing maximum contact with the hammers and a long, clear sound. The case is made of rose gold.

JAEGER-LECOULTRE MASTER GRANDE TRADITION GRANDE COMPLICATION

The most beautiful and complex minute repeater watches were created by the Jaeger-LeCouItre manufactory. This is an astronomical and zodiac calendar with an equation of time and an orbital flying tourbillon that completes a counterclockwise revolution around the dial in 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. The position of the carriage shows not terrestrial, but sidereal sidereal time. The dial represents a map of the Northern Hemisphere sky. It depicts the stars and constellations familiar to everyone: Ursa Major, Polaris, Cassiopeia, as well as 12 zodiac constellations. The Sun rotates along the edge of the sky, making a revolution in exactly 24 hours. By its position it indicates the signs of the zodiac, months and days of the week, indicated on a circular scale. The minute repeater is equipped with cathedral gongs and specially designed hammers. The hand-wound Jaeger-LeCouItre Caliber 945 has a silicon escapement and consists of 527 parts, with a power reserve of 40 hours. 45 mm rose gold case.

PARMIGIANI TORIC TECNICA ST.BASIL

The collection of perfect Toric minute repeaters from Michel Parmigiani now includes two new models - Toric Capitole Waves and Toric Tecnica St.Basil. The second one is of particular interest to us, since it was made specifically for Russian market. This is generally one of the most complex models in the history of the Parmigiani house. The 45mm platinum case houses a minute repeater, tourbillon, perpetual calendar, chronograph and energy reserve indicator. The hand-wound PF351 movement is half-skeletonized, its plates are decorated with a CluesdeParis pattern in relief, representing pyramids of different sizes. Main platinum from side back cover covered with enamel depicting the domes of St. Basil's Cathedral.

CARTIER ROTONDE DE CARTIER GRANDE COMPLICATION SKELETON

The legendary Parisian sentry and Jewelry House presented the most complex watches in its glorious history - a minute repeater, tourbillon and perpetual calendar in a 45 mm platinum case. Before this, Cartier already had watches with all the listed complications, but this is the first time they have come together. The most complex automatic movement Caliber 9406 MC from 578 parts has a height of 5.49 mm, which is very small for calibers of this class. Having skeletonized it, the craftsmen complicated their task to the limit, but they coped with it brilliantly, as evidenced by the sign of the highest watch quality - the Geneva hallmark. 50 copies will be produced at 520,000 euros each. The version in a platinum case, inlaid with diamond baguettes weighing 4 carats, costs 100 thousand more.

The independent house of Audemars Piguet managed to achieve the seemingly impossible - to create the first wrist repeater, the chime of which can be heard without straining, even at some distance. The concept of the watch lies in the fact that it is an avant-garde skeleton with gongs made of a secret alloy, which must be forged in a special way at a strictly defined temperature. Work on the alloy recipe and gong production technology lasted for eight years. Leading scientists from the Lausanne Institute of Technology took part in it. The Royal Oak case is made of steel and titanium - the best conductors of sound. The minute repeater module with a silent centrifuge was installed on the in-house AP2937 base movement with manual winding, tourbillon and chronograph. The new movement received the article number Caliber 2874SS. It consists of 460 parts and has an energy reserve of 40 hours.

A.LANGE & SOHNE ZEITWERK MINUTE REPEATER

When the Glashütte manufacturer presented the Zeitwerk Striking Time, it was clear that this was the first step towards creating its own repeater. I had to wait three years, but it was worth it. The Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is the first repeater with a digital disc time display, which made operation significantly more difficult. If the minute indicator goes off during a battle, the repeater module will have to be sent for repair. It was necessary to create a system for disconnecting the repeater module from the clock mechanism during the battle. Another feature is that this is a decimal repeater: that is, it chimes not quarter hours, but ten-minute intervals. The clock mechanism and repeater module are served by one drum, which independently turns off the striking function when less than 12 hours remain before the expiration of the mainspring energy. The repeater will come in a platinum case with a diameter of 44.2 mm.

Eco-drive Minute Repeater Perpetual. New 2006. The world's first minute repeater

Repeater

(from the French Repeter - repeat) is a complex device of an expensive mechanical watch, designed to indicate time using melodic chimes of different tones. When you press a special button (automatically in some models), sounds are heard that allow you to determine the time with an accuracy of up to a minute, without even looking at the dial. The first repeaters were created long before the invention of electricity to tell time in the dark. Today, repeater watches speak of the virtuoso craftsmanship of a watch company and the high status of its owner.

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