The workshop of MCT —Manufacture Contemporaine du Temps— is located in the heart of the Swiss watchmaking region of Lake Neuchâtel. Each watch is made by hand and a single watchmaker follows its assembly from the beginning to the end to ensure the ultimate quality and traceability. The Sequential One is product of a collaboration between designer Eric Giroud and concept engineer Jean-Francois Mojon. This fascinating timepiece is very unique because of its monumental hour numerals, ingenious for its in-house movement and pioneering for its mechanism of sequential display. This manufacture lead by François Candolfi is living example of the level of innovation and the creative spirit of independent watchmaking companies. In order to ease the review of this timepiece, let's start with a video produced by MCT that clearly explains the complexity of this mesmerizing timepiece.
Posts tagged #Jean-Francois Mojon
News: Pre-Baselworld 2014 Breva Genève Unveils the Génie 02 Terre. Full Presentation of the Watch in Geneva Next Week.
Following the success and ground breaking technology behind the Génie 01 with barometer, next week in Geneva —taking advantage of the fact that the international press will gather at the SIHH 2014—, Breva Genève will be presenting the new addition to their collection, the Breva Génie 02 Terre.
This new watch combines the stunning sophistication of a beautifully crafted mechanical timepiece with the practicality of a fully functional, high-performance mechanical altimeter. The Génie 02 Terre is a limited edition of 55 pieces in titanium G5 and is available with either meter or feet calibrations on the altimeter.
The superbly finished proprietary movement, much of which can be fully appreciated through the open dial and display case back, was developed exclusively for Breva by award-winning movement constructor Jean-François Mojon from Chronode. Génie 02 Terre is 100% Swiss-made, from inception to realization.
The dial side is dominated by a sub-dial at 8 o'clock displaying hours and minutes, and the precision altimeter sub-dial at 2 o'clock displaying meters or feet. Arching around the top of the dial is the large-scale altitude indicator, which displays up to 5,000 meters —16,400 feet—, with small seconds below. At 4 o'clock, an indicator shows when the air valve is open or closed —it must be open to indicate the altitude—, below which is the 65-hour power reserve indicator. In pride of place at the bottom of the dial, the top of one of the two aneroid capsules measuring air pressure —from which the altitude is derived— is visible, with a high-precision arm multiplying by 200 times the expansion and contraction of the capsules and relaying the air pressure to the two altitude indications.
Three chevron-engraved crowns wind, set, adjust and operate the functions of Génie 02:
a. 9 o'clock: Two-position crown both winds the movement and sets the time.
b. 2 o'clock: A screw down crown rotates both the altitude's precision-scale and large-scale to adjust for variations in air pressure, which affect altitude readings.
c. 4 o'clock: Screw down crown either seals air out of the movement or allows it in —for altitude function. Longevity and reliability of the timepiece are maximized by means of an osmotic Teflon membrane that filters any moisture and humidity from any air before it enters the movement. Just above the crown, a white indicator marked 'SEALED' warns when valve is locked.
Turning the Génie 02 Terre over, the complexity of the beautifully finished 415-component movement can be more fully appreciated. The movement is framed by the names of prestigious ski resorts − Aspen, Vail, Las Lenas, Gstaad, St Moritz, Zermatt, Courchevel, Cortina, Kitzbuhel, and Lech − along with their altitudes, engraved around the perimeter of the case back. When winding the movement you can see the rotation of the cap of the mainspring barrel.
We will be reporting from Geneva all next week to bring you all the news from the SIHH 2014 and live images of this amazing timepiece.
For more info on Breva Genève click here.
News: MB&F Unveils the Horological Machine No.5 RT in Red Gold. A New Limited Edition of Only 66 Pieces.
Press Release
Horological Machine No.5 is back 'On the Road Again', with a new 'RT' limited edition in red gold. After the original HM5 in zirconium presented in 2012, most would wonder why is the manufacture crafting another 66 pieces in red gold? Well, gold is highly resistant to corrosion; it conducts heat or electricity and reflects infrared radiation. Gold is highly malleable: a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of 1 micron. Gold is precious: all the gold ever mined in human history would fit in a cube of just 21 meters on each side. But let's get to the point: the real reason why MB&F is crafting this edition in red gold is because they think it looks damn beautiful!
HM5 RT is full of surprises: Hour and minute displays look straightforward, but they are bi-directional jumping hours with indications inverted, reflected 90° and magnified 20%. HM5 RT has a futuristic case design, but it’s from the 1970s. HM5 RT has a mechanical movement, but inspired by an era when quartz was King. The rear louvers on super cars block light, but on HM5 RT they let light in. Befitting its automotive heritage, HM5 RT has exhaust pipes, but they drain water. The gold endowing the HM5 RT case with such a rich lustrous glow was found on earth, but was actually created billions of years ago in deep space.
While we might still be waiting for flying cars, with the HM5 RT you can put a high-tech golden super car on your wrist! As with any super car, the best often lies under the hood and ‘lifting the hood’ of the HM5 RT case reveals a surprise: an inner case! Like a Russian Matryoshka doll, peeling away one layer reveals a second case in titanium. The reason for housing the Engine in an inner container is for water resistance. Those super car louvers let in water as well as light —the reason for those dual exhaust ports— so to protect the high-performance Engine from moisture as well as shocks, it is housed in its own titanium shell. This inner case is similar to the rigid chassis of a car on which the external coachwork/body is attached. Jean-François Mojon, Vincent Boucard and the team at Chronode developed the HM5 Engine. It may appear simple, but it’s complicated! Jumping hours are bi-directional, enabling the time to be easily set both forwards and backwards. The two mineral glass disks of the hours and minutes are supported by a flat wide bridge. The disks overlap to maximize their diameter and space for large legible numerals. Turning HM5 RT over reveals the Engine, with its 22k gold battle-axe shaped ‘mystery’ winding rotor, fast oscillating balance and stunning hand-finished bridges, through a sapphire crystal display back that is set into the water resistant container.
Horological Machine No. 5 RT retains all the key features of the HM5: a hand-finished automatic movement with bi-directional jumping hours; a vertical time display reflected and magnified by a sapphire crystal optical prism; 'light convector' flaps which allow to charge the superluminova hour and minute discs and to compensate for the higher weight of the external red gold case, they've modified the inner protective compartment from stainless steel to titanium. While HM5 RT has a generously sized 51.5mm x 49mm case and gold is known for its weight as much as its beauty, thanks to the discrete use of ultra-light titanium, HM5 RT is a very comfortable machine to wear.
Technical Specifications
ENGINE
Three-dimensional horological engine developed by Jean-François Mojon and Vincent Boucard of Chronode. Powered by a Sowind gear train. Battle-axe 22k gold ‘mystery ’ automatic winding rotor.
Power reserve: 42 hours
Balance frequency: 28,800bph/4Hz
Number of components: 224
Number of jewels: 30
Engine housed in a water resistant, titanium inner container
FUNCTIONS / INDICATIONS
Minutes and bi-directional jumping hours displayed by reflective sapphire crystal prism with integrated magnifying lens. Slide to open/close louvers on case top.
CASE
18K Red gold and titanium with internal water resistant titanium engine container. Slide button to open/close louvers. Exhaust ports to drain water.
Dimensions: 51.5mm x 49mm x 22.5mm
Number of components: 80
Water resistance of engine container: 30 meters
SAPPHIRE CRYSTALS
Smoked optical grade sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating and 20% magnification. Sapphire crystal on back with anti-reflective treatment on both faces.
STRAP & BUCKLE
Sculptured rubber strap, titanium tang buckle.
Sticker Price $82,000 USD. For more info on MB&F click here.
News: MB&F Presents the Legacy Machine No. 2. The Legacy Continues.
Press Release
Two years ago, MB&F took us back in time, asking us to imagine what MB&F would have created a century ago… the answer was Legacy Machine No.1. An unexpected new line for MB&F, who had accustomed you to futuristic, totally unconventional Horological Machines. The worldwide response was flabbergasting – climaxing in a double win at last year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, where LM1 took both the jury’s Best Men’s Watch and the Public Prize.
Legacy Machine No. 1.
Today, MB&F is asking us to push the time-traveling machine a bit further: adjust the knobs and levers to about 250 years ago. With a bit of luck we would've bumped into some of the greatest watchmakers this planet has seen: Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807), Antide Janvier (1751-1835) and Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823). These horological legends of the 18th century are united not only by
their inventive genius, but also by the fact that they have all
constructed clocks and watches with two balances.
Legacy Machine No.2 is once again a tribute to these amazing Horological ancestors. One movement. Two fully independent escapements, with two Legacy-style flying balance wheels floating high above the dial and a planetary differential which transmits the average rates of those balance wheels to a single gear train. Oscillating on high, the exalted double balance wheels of LM2 were inspired by, and pay homage to, one of the rarest mechanisms in the history of watchmaking: the dual regulator. And rarer still, the average rates of Legacy Machine No. 2’s dual regulators are transmitted by a differential to a single gear train, where the majority had two separate movements.
Legacy Machine No.2 in 18K Red Gold.
On display under a domed sapphire crystal cupola, the dial of Legacy Machine No. 2, which is actually the top plate of the exquisitely finished movement, is an object lesson in symmetrical simplicity. Top to bottom: the white stretched lacquer sub dial at 12 o’clock, with its blued gold hour and minute hands, is visually balanced by the large, raised differential at 6 o’clock. Left to right: the two flying balances and their escapements are identical mirror images, right down to the position of the stud holders pinning their balance springs. While superficially Legacy Machine No. 2 may look like a traditional round watch, its three-dimensional architecture offers visual treats on multiple levels. What looks at first glance to be the main dial is actually the top plate of the movement, which has been finely engraved, plated —or blued for the platinum model— and then hand-engraved with Legacy Machine below the differential.
Legacy Machine No. 2 in Platinum.
Slightly raised above the surface is the hour-minute sub dial, its fine gold circumference highlighting the pure white of the stretched lacquer dial, which is created by applying and heating multiple layers of lacquer, causing them to stretch tightly over the surface of the dial. The white contrasts superbly with the bright blued 18k gold hands. The hands are slightly curved to follow the slightly convex surface of the sub dial. To ensure aesthetic purity of the dial and its traditional Roman numerals, a sophisticated fixation underneath negates the necessity of visually obtrusive screws.
The planetary differential also sits proud of the surface, supported by a stunning double-arc mirror-polished bridge inset with three large jewels. The complex differential is the key element in the double regulator system and raising it just above the movements enables the mechanism to be better appreciated.
Suspended above both the sub dial and the differential are the two oscillating bespoke balance wheels. The dual balances feature Breguet over coils, inset with four fully functional timing screws. The two balances are mirror images of each other so that they react differently to different forces. The distance between the balance wheels has been carefully and deliberately calculated to avoid resonance, as this would negatively interfere with regulation.
Those elegant majestically curved arms suspending the flying balances are sculptural works of art in themselves. The elongated triangular cut out section could not be created by the usual method of wire electro erosion, but necessitated the creation of an electrode precisely shaped to the form of the cut out section.
While the levitated oscillating balance wheels of the binary regulators catch and hold the viewer ’s gaze, it is the large planetary differential sitting proud of the dial that is the real heart of Legacy Machine No. 2. In an incredible feat of micro-engineering − and the sheer paucity of timepieces with multiple regulators connected via a differential attests to the enormous difficulty in creating such a complex high-precision mechanism − the differential has three roles:
1. Transferring power to each of the regulators; 2. Receiving the individual timing rates from each balance; and 3. Transmitting the average rate of the two regulators to the gear train, where it finally manifests itself as the displayed time.
The movement of Legacy Machine No. 2 was developed to MB&F’s specifications by award-winning watchmaker Jean-François Mojon —Best Watchmaker at the 2010 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève— and his team at Chronode. Acclaimed independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen ensured that the movement’s aesthetic style was consistent with high-quality traditional timepieces of the 19th century and for specifying the superlative hand-finishing. Immaculate Geneva waves, gold chatons, mirror-polished bevels and bridges designed with deliberate internal bevelled angles —which cannot be finished by machine— showcase the movement’s peerless fine finishing. Consistent with MB&F’s spirit of transparency, the names of the two men responsible for the movement are hand engraved on the back.
Two and a half centuries after three of the world’s greatest watchmakers put two balance wheels into their movements, MB&F celebrates their pioneering works by creating LM2, a timepiece with two balances hovering outside the movement.
Legacy Machine No. 2 is available in 18K red gold, 18K white gold and a limited edition of 18 pieces in platinum .950 that features a striking sky-blue dial.
Legacy Machine No. 2 in 18K White Gold.
Below you will find a video produced by MB&F of the dual balance wheels in action.
For more info on MB&F click here.
