Breguet’s stunning new Tradition 7087 is the product of intense scientific research and craftsmanship inspired by sound.
Since its beginnings in 1775, the Manufacture Breguet has earned the distinction of applying flawless style and technique to the creation of exceptional timepieces. This year, Breguet’s watchmakers and engineers have made a clean sweep of the usual methods, choosing instead to design their timepiece around the sound it produces.
Using hundreds of thousands of synthesized sounds, engineers discovered two desired notes with the aim of revolutionising sound perception by modern harmonies and tuning. The construction of the new Tradition 7087 timepiece was then undertaken to reproduce the selected sound mechanically.
The gong springs, invented in 1783 by Abraham-Louis Breguet, have been entirely reworked and attached to the bezel to favour the transmission of vibrations. The radiating glass that is found on the Reine de Naples Sonnerie au Passage 8978 is replaced by a radiating bezel screwed to the caseband with three pillars allowing the bezel and glass to vibrate freely, resulting in improved sound emission, particularly at low frequencies. Unlike many minute-repeaters this Breguet Tradition 7087 has hammers that strike vertically from the movement towards the bezel, allowing vibrations to be efficiently transformed into sound waves.
The construction materials were also chosen according to the results of Breguet’s scientific research into vibroacoustics. The model thus comes in 18-carat white gold or rose gold case with a gong made from the same material. The baseplate and bridges of the movement are in titanium. Along with an appropriate sizing of the parts, this material serves to avoid propagating the noises from the mechanism by filtering their transmission to the exterior.
Designed to spread and amplify the sound, the latter is distinguished by its ability to reproduce the sound of the gongs in all its majestic purity. The Manufacture Breguet is the first to use titanium in a movement for acoustical reasons, mainly because this material is so difficult to work with.
For more Collectables inspiration click here.
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? FOLLOW ALPHA MEN ASIA ON FACEBOOK, OR INSTAGRAM AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR HONG KONG-CENTRIC NEWSLETTER HERE
