As we speak, for our newest in-depth video, we’re going technical. That is what MONOCHROME is all about, in spite of everything. Sharing the data behind fantastic horology and understanding how our beloved mechanical watches really work. As we speak’s subject is one pricey to our hearts, because it combines every little thing we love in fantastic watchmaking: high-end ending, mechanical ingenuity, profound historic references and a fancy mechanical machine that goals to boost precision. It’s time for us to dive into some of the spectacular actions presently in manufacturing, Laurent Ferrier‘s micro-rotor calibre, and to grasp how its pure escapement works.
Horology 101 – What’s an escapement?
Earlier than we even strategy the idea of the pure escapement, we’d like a concise reminder in regards to the escapement itself. What’s the position of the escapement in a watch? The escapement is likely one of the most important components of a watch, the mind of the motion, or its coronary heart, as some would possibly say. It’s the machine that counts the passage of time that regulates the tic-tac of the motion. It instructions the pace at which the power from the mainspring barrel is launched. It really works along with the oscillator (stability + hairspring), giving impulses to energy it. In return, it’s regulated by the oscillator. Its position is crucial within the quest for a motion’s good precision, stability and sturdiness.
Invented by the English horologist Thomas Mudge in the midst of the 18th century, the Swiss lever escapement is presently utilized in nearly the entire mechanical watches we’ve right now. Its supremacy lies in its unparalleled simplicity, making it extraordinarily economical. Though it’s recognized for its excellent reliability, the Swiss lever escapement has low effectivity, transmitting to the oscillator barely greater than a 3rd of the power it receives from the mainspring.
The Swiss lever escapement can be appreciated for its self-starting capability, but it comes with the inherent want for lubrication. Certainly, the sliding movement of the pallet jewels creates a excessive degree of friction. Not solely does this have an effect on the escapement’s effectivity, however it additionally impacts the precision of the motion over time because the oils degrade. This is the reason, for so long as horology has existed, watchmakers have challenged the idea of the Swiss lever escapement, looking for extra environment friendly options.
Breguet’s concept, The Pure escapement
One of many oldest but most fascinating options to compensate for the issues of the lever escapement must be credited to one of many biggest names in horology, Abraham-Louis Breguet. His concept was to mix the self-starting capability of Mudge’s 1755 lever escapement with the frictionless operation of one other unique resolution, the detent escapement – which predates the lever escapement, arguably invented in 1748 by clockmaker Pierre Le Roy, refined by Englishmen Arnold and Earnshaw. Breguet thus conceived the so-called pure escapement.
In his quest to enhance chronometry, Breguet’s concept was to create an escapement incorporating two escape wheels. The escapement is alleged to be ‘pure’ as a result of the impulses are transmitted from the escapement wheels to the stability wheel as straight as potential. There is no such thing as a sliding friction, which is likely one of the fundamental weaknesses of the Swiss lever escapement, and they don’t require lubrication. Working in alternation, these give two impulses per oscillation, one in every course.
Nonetheless, Breguet confronted main points within the improvement of the pure escapement, largely associated to the shortage of know-how, the poor high quality of the supplies and the shortcoming to realize the excessive tolerances required for such a fancy mechanism – there was some play between the gears and backlash. Because of this, Breguet and different modern watchmakers who tried to make the pure escapement possible, regardless that theoretically superior, needed to return to the traditional Swiss lever system.
Fashionable days, the return of the double-wheel escapement
The resurgence of impartial watchmaking that adopted the quartz disaster introduced again among the nice horologists underneath the highlight, with the work of A.L. Breguet being studied by males resembling George Daniels and Derek Pratt. Daniels, whereas researching various escapements – which gave start to the all-time well-known co-axial escapement – and options to cut back the sliding friction of the Swiss lever, got here to rediscover Breguet’s pure escapement.
Daniels tried to enhance Breguet’s resolution, implementing his personal imaginative and prescient throughout the actions of the Area Traveller I and Area Traveller II. One of many tweaks was to take away the direct connection between the 2 escape wheels, creating two sub-movements with every its personal mainspring, gear practice and escape wheel. As such, the difficulty of play present in Breguet’s concept was cancelled, in addition to the necessity for escape wheels with pillars. Primarily, Daniels created a double-wheel escapement, not a totally useful pure escapement the Breguet approach.
Derek Pratt, a buddy of Daniels and an equally genius horologist, adopted Breguet’s idea for himself extra respectfully. He didn’t use separate gear trains. The concept, defined in a Horological Journal article from 2009 – which you’ll be able to learn right here – got here from one other Breguet idea, the tourbillon. Discovered within the Double-Wheel Remontoir Tourbillon of 1997, this watch featured double escape wheels throughout the tourbillon cage with separate remontoir springs into every escape wheel.
Fashionable applied sciences made it potential for watchmakers to cut back tolerances to the max and thus to adapt Breguet’s pure escapement to wristwatches and for it to carry out its ballet, as conceived by Breguet. Kari Voutilainen, François-Paul Journe, Charles Frodsham, Bernard Lederer, and Ulysse Nardin, with its twin impulse escapement, all have been impressed by Breguet and managed to provide pure escapements because of silicon, LIGA, DRIE and CNC machining.
Laurent Ferrier’s Pure Escapement
Laurent Ferrier is understood for crafting among the most elegant wristwatches, classics with a twist and fantastically completed actions. In 2009, after a protracted profession with Patek Philippe, he based an eponymous model together with his buddy Francois Servanin. The primary watch introduced by the model was a tourbillon outfitted with a double hairspring. The second mannequin, launched a yr later, was fitted with the model’s proprietary micro-rotor motion. And the latter wasn’t solely spectacular in its design and ornament, it additionally got here with a totally functioning tackle the pure escapement, the way in which Breguet conceived it… one thing that by some means doesn’t get the popularity it ought to.
Developed along with motion specialist La Fabrique du Temps (now owned by LV), the Laurent Ferrier micro-rotor returned to the unique concept of A.L. Breguet, the place the 2 escape wheels mesh, as the primary escape wheel not solely performs its escapement position but additionally drives the second as a part of the gear practice – the LF micro-rotor notably options solely a single mainspring and kit practice, not two like Daniels’ idea.
The geometry of those two escape wheels incorporates vertical tooth or pillars that substitute the pallets of an ordinary escapement. They offer the impulse on to the stability. Additionally they relaxation on the anchor whereas ready for the following impulse to the stability wheel. The conception of this advanced pure escapement was made potential because of trendy applied sciences. It depends on LIGA know-how (Lithographie, Galvanoformung, Abformung) to create escape wheels constructed from nickel-phosphorus as a single half on two planes. With this design, LF’s pure escapement might effectively be the closest to the unique designs of Breguet, and in all equity, that is one thing that must be a lot applauded.
These trendy applied sciences had been essential in making the pure escapement viable, primarily as a result of a pure escapement requires ultra-precise and light-weight elements (low inertia is essential for the pure escapement) with minimal friction. This explains why there are not any jewels within the escapement of this Laurent Ferrier micro-rotor motion, opposite to the pallets of an ordinary Swiss lever escapement. The detent lever is constructed from silicon, once more eliminating the necessity for lubrication and likewise permitting for exact geometry.
One of many advantages of this pure escapement, given the low degree of friction, is its excessive effectivity in comparison with a standard lever escapement. Laurent Ferrier’s micro-rotor calibre gives 72 hours of energy reserve, which is substantial contemplating using an off-centred micro-rotor throughout the motion, one thing that doesn’t enable for a big barrel and with a protracted mainspring.
A motion with spectacular ending
Apart from its technical superiority and the easy incontrovertible fact that we’re one of many solely working makes an attempt to deliver Breguet’s authentic pure escapement to life, the micro-rotor motion of Laurent Ferrier can be a marvellous piece of horology, a motion that has been handsomely designed and completed. Similar to Ferrier’s watches, it isn’t overly demonstrative. It doesn’t attempt to do an excessive amount of, however a educated eye will see what issues.
The micro-rotor motion is in the beginning a extremely elegant motion, with nice shapes for the bridges, giant sinks for the jewels and fantastically formed edges that observe the place of the jewels. A better look reveals the fantastic thing about the ornament, which is finished by hand, together with giant hand-polished bevels, inner angles and black polished metal components. The stability bridge and the micro-rotor bridge are, undoubtedly, the 2 most spectacular components of this motion. Go deeper, and also you’ll see that nothing has been left on the facet… However then once more, it’s by no means overly spectacular.
This excellent calibre has been instrumental within the improvement of Laurent Ferrier as an impartial watchmaking model. It powers among the model’s most interesting fashions, such because the Galet or Basic Micro-Rotor watches, the extra authentic Sq. mannequin that you may see within the video or the Traveller’s watch.
For extra particulars, check out the video on the high of this text and go to laurentferrier.ch.
