The Hermès Arceau Duc Attelé was among the many most formidable mechanical creations at Watches and Wonders Geneva this yr, that includes a central triple-axis tourbillon and a tuning fork minute repeater. It follows within the footsteps of the 2019 Arceau L’heure de la lune, which reimagined the moon section show, and the 2022 Arceau Le Temps Voyageur, which proposed a extra elaborate method to point out time in two zones concurrently.
Initially invented within the early nineteenth century to cut back charge errors as a consequence of gravity on the accuracy of pocket watches, the tourbillon has change into a holy grail for watch fanatics for the reason that renaissance of mechanical watchmaking within the Nineties. Since then, we have now seen a proliferation of tourbillon designs, together with a number of tourbillon setups and single tourbillons working on a number of axes.
The Arceau Duc Attelé belongs to the latter class, that includes a triple-axis tourbillon within the encompass of a chapter ring and two peripheral arms. Its interlacing double H motif remembers the ironwork adorning the elevator on the maison’s first Paris boutique at 24 Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. Regardless of being composed of 99 elements, the tourbillon setup weighs solely 0.449 grams, because of using titanium. Its outer, intermediate and internal carriages full one revolution in 300, 60, and 25 seconds, respectively, whereas the steadiness features at a excessive frequency of 5 Hz. or 36,000 vph.
Including to the technical mastery of this watch is the minute repeater that chimes the time sonorously when the slide on the aspect of the case is actuated. Its mirror-polished, horse-head hammers sit slightly below the ability reserve indicator and strike on the u-shaped tuning fork tempered metal gongs that go across the fringe of the dial. Extra equestrian references are to be discovered on the hand-winding H1926 motion, notably the cut-out gears which resemble the spoked wheels of the Duc Attelé carriage as seen on the Hermès brand right this moment.
We’re fairly certain that Henri d’Origny didn’t consider these horological problems when designing the Arceau case in 1978. Nonetheless, the emblematic spherical case with asymmetrical stirrup lugs has confirmed to be supreme for haute horlogerie purposes, because of its scalable measurement and beneficiant inside quantity.
The Hermès Arceau Duc Attelé measures 43 mm however is sort of wearable on a regular-sized wrist. Two variations of the watch will probably be produced, every restricted to 24 items. The grade 5 titanium model encompasses a decrease dial with a striped guilloché motif and anthracite coating, paired with a matte anthracite leather-based strap. The rose gold model encompasses a decrease dial-in aventurine and is paired with a matte abyss blue leather-based strap.
Motion: Guide-winding calibre H1926; 48-hour energy reserve
Case: 43mm in titanium and rose gold; water resistant to 30m
Strap: Alligator (anthracite or blue)
Worth: NA
This story was first seen on WOW’s Summer time 2024 Subject.
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