The unique Maitre Cabinotiers Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon

[serg70]

Ну вот, и дождались наработок от 57260 в наручных часах )))



In september 2015 Vacheron Constantin presented the ref 57260, with 57 complications it was and remains the world's most complicated watch ever made.

However there were questions whether we would see certain complications found in this überwatch in wristwatch format.



Well here is the first spinoff with the use of an armilliary tourbillon

In fact this Maitre Cabinotier is a unique piece with a dual retrograde time display and a double axis spherical tourbillon, inspired by French chronometry of the 18th century yet made with 21st century watchmaking in mind and the use of new avant garde techniques.

The movement coated with NAC (a special metal alloy) is also revealed through lateral windows of the impressive 45.7mm 18K white gold case flanks (the case measures 20.6mm thick but includes the domed crystal)

Before delving deeper into the amazing technical feat of Cal 1990 let's just step back and savour what vacheron Constantin has done: A superb timepiece, viciously cool in looks and with such audacity that we rarely expect from these venerable Geneva based brands. Vacheron Constantin has given its vision of 21st century Haute Horlogerie and the result is nothing short of astounding.

Double retrograde system

The manually wound calibre 1990 movement developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin features retrograde hours and minutes indications with instant flyback. The hands flick back to zero in high speed and to have them as lightweight as possible they are crafted in titanium.



Armillary tourbillon

The elegantly structured tourbillon operates as a sphere perpetually rotating on two axes under a sapphire crystal dome at 9 o'clock. It’s called an armillary tourbillon because it is based on an armillary sphere like the one incorporated in an astronomic clock made by the French clockmaker, Antide Janvier, in the 18th century. The tourbillon is a visual evocation of the rings and hoops of the ancient model of the celestial sphere. The spherical balance spring, which was first developed by Jacques-Frédéric Houriet in 1814, is particularly rare in today’s watches. The shape ensures the concentric development of the spring and consequently the isochronism of the balance wheel. The tourbillon carriage, made of lightweight aluminium alloy, incorporates Vacheron Constantin’s Maltese Cross emblem, which forms up every 15 seconds as the tourbillon rotates. This ongoing spectacle may be admired every 30 seconds through a sapphire crystal opening on the side of the case.



High-precision movement

As fascinating as it is for its action and construction, the armillary tourbillon achieves remarkable timekeeping precision. It is fitted with a new type of escapement, developed and made by Vacheron Constantin that has the escape wheel and lever in silicon with diamond pallet stones for resistance to wear and long life. The escapement, made as lightweight as possible by the use of high-tech materials, contributes significantly to the performance of this watch, which greatly exceeds the COSC requirements. This level of precision is all the more noteworthy considering the large amount of energy absorbed by the double retrograde indications.

Contemporary styling and finish

Another feature that makes the Maître Cabinotier retrograde armillary tourbillon watch original is the modern styling applied to the architecture and finish of the movement. The calibre 1990 is electro-plated with an NAC treatment in a dark anthracite colour creating a mirror-polished effect. On the dial side the movement displays its modern architecture with sharply cut bridges tempered by a sunburst satin finish and Geneva stripes. The back presents a more conventional look, finished with Geneva stripes making an elegant counterpoint to the contemporary face of this unparalleled watch in the Vacheron Constantin collection. The painstaking work of chamfering all the angles took more than 130 hours!!

The indications are shown on two dials that partially cover the baseplate so as to reveal the outlines and contemporary finish of the movement. On the right, the retrograde minutes and hours hands describe a semicircle over a sunburst satin finish punctuated by applied white-gold hour markers and a black minutes scale. Placed symmetrically, the tourbillon carriage carries the seconds pointer around a scale on a silvered disc.





Four patents are pending for the Calibre 1990

1. The instantaneous retrograde system
The minutes cam alone determines when the hands for the minutes and the hours fly back. The retrograde action of both hands is thus synchronised at noon and at midnight.

2. The collet
The collet fixing the spring to the balance staff is made in lightweight titanium to improve the isochronism of the balance. Titanium’s weight and volume match those of the other materials in the regulating organ, making the collet ideal for use in a tourbillon.

3. The multi-carriage tourbillon
The tourbillion is made up of two carriages, one inside the other. As they rotate they form a Maltese Cross every 15 seconds. The tourbillon has a Vacheron escapement and sprung balance. The escape wheel is made of silicon with a diamond-like coating, while the diamond pallet stones have a very low coefficient of friction.

4. The lever
The silicon lever can be fitted with movable pallet stones so that the watchmaker can adjust them as in a conventional pallet lever. The diamond coating of the lever makes it stronger and more resistant to wear, while the friction between the fork and impulse pin is markedly reduced.






------- ДОБАВЛЕНО ЧЕРЕЗ 26 МИН --------

Уже Hodinkee откомментировали изделие в своей статье:

The Vacheron Constantin Maître Cabinotier Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon, The First Use Of A Mechanism From The Reference 57260 Super Complication
It was perhaps the biggest news of 2015, in more ways than one. Vacheron Constantin showed us a watch that redefined complicated watchmaking: the pocket watch known as the Reference 57260, the most complicated watch of any kind ever made. That sort of statement usually comes with some qualifications, of course – what is and is not a complication, and how they should be counted, is a matter of spirited, ongoing, and often incomprehensible debate. But what's not open to debate is the sheer scope and inventiveness of reference 57260. It was a breathtaking accomplishment, in other words, and of course, many of us wondered when, if ever, any of its complications might find their way into a wristwatch. The answer, as it turns out, is right now, and the watch is the Vacheron Constantin Maître Cabinotier Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon.
Let's look back at where this watch comes from. As you'll recall from our previous coverage of the reference 57260, among its 57 complications one in particular functioned as the visual anchor – as well as something of a philosophical statement – for the watch: its so-called "armillary" tourbillon, a triple-axis tourbillon with a design intended to reference an armillary sphere. An armillary sphere is a physical representation of the celestial sphere – the arrangement of the heavenly bodies as seen from Earth, projected onto a sphere surrounding the Earth.
The armillary sphere, as a phyical representation of the heavens, seemed especially apt for reference 57260 given its emphasis on calendrical, and astronomical indications. These included not only a perpetual calendar, indication of sidereal time, and the equation of time, but also something really unusual: an Hebraic perpetual calendar, which is extremely difficult to construct as the gearing has to account for the complex interaction of both lunar and solar cycles.
Above is the exceedingly complex mainplate of the reference 57260. The mainplate carries the tourbillon itself as well as the going train for the tourbillon, the gongs and hammers for the striking trains, and, up top, the mainspring barrel and barrel for the sonnerie.
Seen up close, the original tourbillon with its carriage and accompanying mechanism are really breathtaking; Vacheron obviously spared no expense or effort and it really shows. I think there are more sharp inner corners on display in the train bridges on the right and left hand side of the tourbillon than in any 10 other high end watches I've ever seen and of course the finish on the tourbillon cage itself is to the same standard. I don't know who did the polishing but they've got the touch of a Chantilly lacemaker and the patience of a saint (maybe two saints).
So, how does such a superlatively crafted mechanism look, when you transplant it from a monumentally sized case that is portable more de jure than de facto, and place it in a wristwatch? Based on the images we've seen from Vacheron, the answer is, pretty darned fantastic. This newest timepiece, like the reference 57260, was created by Ateliers Cabinotiers, under the direction of Dominique Bernaz.
Unlike the triple axis armillary sphere tourbillon in the reference 57260, the tourbillon in the Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon is a double-axis tourbillon. There are several very interesting aspects to its construction. The escape wheel and lever are both in silicon, but unusually, the diamond pallets are installed onto the lever separately, which allows a watchmaker to control the depth of engagement of the stones with the escape wheel; the precision of the Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon according to Vacheron, "greatly exceeds the requirements of the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC)." Such precision is also a challenge thanks to the other complication from 57260 that is present in the Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon: double retrograde hands for the hour and minute indication. In the 57260 the double retrograde hands are part of the "detached" rattrapante chronograph; here they function as time indications. There are no fewer than four patents for the Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon's movement, caliber 1990.
The first, and perhaps most interesting purely from a chronometric standpoint, is for the pallet lever. It's a side-lever configuration, which is typical for a tourbillon; the lever is a single piece of silicon, but with slots for the diamond pallet stones that have curved blades inside; these curved blades act as elastic clamps to retain the pallet stones in position, and allow them to be adjusted (in a conventional lever, the stones are held in place with shellac, which is softened on a warming iron to allow the stones to be moved if necessary). The second patent is for the tourbillon carriage (the inner and outer cage rotate to form a Maltese cross once every 15 seconds) and the third is for titanium collet – a collet is a collar that fits over the balance staff and holds the inner end of the balance spring in place; the Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon uses a spherical balance spring. The fourth patent is for the double retrograde indication for the hours and minutes. I'm not sure if this is a unique complication, but I can't recall any other watch with two retrograde hands for the hours and minutes with both hands on a single axis. To coordinate their action, the return of both hands is governed by the cam for the minute hand, and the entire mechanism is visible on the dial side of the watch.
The movement is very traditional in most aspects of its finish, both front and back; the bridges for the retrograde mechanism show the same level of attention to detail, for example, seen in the bridgework of the reference 57260 pocket watch, with all the sharp inner corners you could possibly want, as well as a very elegant interplay of curved shapes, polished steel, and NAC coated components (NAC stands for nano-amorphous carbon). In fact, the layering of finishes and shapes in the works for the double retrograde complication comes very close to upstaging the tourbillon, and makes me wonder very much what the watch looks like in the metal.
Alas, it's very likely that neither I nor anyone else other than a very few friends of the owner will see this watch; it's a unique piece, it's already sold, and both owner and price are confidential per Vacheron Constantin. The secrecy naturally invites speculation, though, and given the nature of this watch as a derivative in many key respects of the reference 57260, as well as the relatively close timing of its release with the announcement of the 57260, it seems a reasonable hypothesis that the owner of the wristwatch might be the same individual who commissioned reference 57260 nearly a decade ago. After all, spectacular as reference 57260 is, it's not the most easily portable timepiece and though nominally a pocket watch, one struggles to imagine a waistcoat with an ample enough pocket to contain it (if it were me I'd have one made just to be able to carry the supercomplication – after all, in for a dime, in for a dollar). This way, the owner will be able to carry a token of his or her possession of the world's most complicated pocket watch on their wrist – assuming the hypothesis is correct. Even if the owner of the Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon is not the owner of the 57260, they've still got a unique, and very uniquely beautiful, complicated wristwatch.

The Vacheron Constantin Maître Cabinotier Retrograde Armillary Tourbillon, reference 91990/000G-9882. Movement, caliber 1990, hand wound, 35 mm x 10 mm (15 3/4 lignes), 65-hour power reserve, 18,000 vph. Instantaneous retrograde hours and minutes, small seconds on the tourbillon carriage. Case, 18k white gold, 45.7 mm x 20.6 mm, sapphire crystals front and back, pressure tested to 3 atmospheres/30 meters; Geneva Hallmark.

Сама ссылка с дополнительными фото по теме:
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/th...e-of-a-mechani

[serg70]

И туда же в тему:
материал из Watchuseek

http://www.watchuseek.com/vacheron-c...ary-tourbillon

[probe]

Етишкин пистолет!
Мда, сделали таки! Для наручных часов!

[Ilsingore]

Нет слов!
Просто потрясающе!
Хотя выпуклый купол под турбийон с боковым окном напомнил было о Girard Perregaux Tri-Axial tourbillon)))

[serg70]

Дополню еще описанием патентов - более подробным...

Four patents are pending for the calibre 1990 inventive features

1. The instantaneous retrograde system
The minutes cam alone determines when the hands for the minutes and the hours fly back. The retrograde action of both hands is thus synchronised at noon and at midnight.

N° 706 767

(54) Device governing the mechanism for a retrograde indication

(57) This invention concerns the control mechanism for a retrograde indication meant for a horological movement. The device consists of a first cam (2) and a second cam (5) as well as a first rack (3) and a second rack (6), the first rack (3) being held against the first cam (2) and the second rack (6) held against the second cam (5). The first cam (2) is set so as to free the first rack (3) at a first predetermined time to allow the first rack (3) to rotate through a first defined arc; the second cam (5) is likewise set so as to free the second rack (6) at a second predetermined time, allowing the second rack (6) to travel through a second defined arc. The device includes a release mechanism (7) governed by the first rack (3) and acting upon the second rack (6) so that at the first predetermined time when the first cam (2) releases the first rack (3), the second rack (6) is released simultaneously. This invention also concerns a horological mechanism incorporating such a device.”




2. The collet

The collet fixing the spring to the balance staff is made in lightweight titanium to improve the isochronism of the balance. Titanium’s weight and volume match those of the other materials in the regulating organ, making the collet ideal for use in a tourbillon.



N° 706 846



(54) Collet for a balance-and-spring regulating organ



(57) The invention is of a collet (4) for a balance-and-spring regulating organ to be fitted in a mechanical watch movement. The collet (4) is made to be set onto the balance staff of the regulating organ and hold the inside end of the balance-spring. The collet is wholly or in part made either of titanium or an alloy thereof or of aluminium or alloy thereof. The collet has flat planes (12, 13) on either side along its axis. The collet made thus has a lower weight than a conven tional collet and can be beneficially mounted on the regulating organ in a tourbillon carriage.




3. The multi-carriage tourbillon

The tourbillion is made up of two carriages, one inside the other. As they rotate they form a Maltese Cross every 15 seconds. The tourbillon has a Vacheron escapement and sprung balance. The escape wheel is made of silicon with a diamond-like coating, while the diamond pallet stones have a very low coefficient of friction.



N° 2 741 150

(54) Multi-carriage tourbillon, horological movement and timepiece comprising the multi-carriage tourbillon.

(57) The invention is of a timepiece comprising a multi-carriage tourbillon in an horological movement, the multi-carriage tourbillon consisting of an outside carriage (7) and an inside carriage (6) that pivots within the outside carriage (7). The outer carriage (7) has at least one distinctive part (18) and the inner carriage (6) also has at least one distinctive part. In at least one relative position of the inside carriage (6) and the outside carriage (7) one distinctive part of the outer carriage combines with a distinctive part (15) of the inner carriage to periodically form a particular shape visible from the outside of the timepiece.





4. The lever

The silicon lever can be fitted with movable pallet stones so that the watchmaker can adjust them as in a conventional pallet lever. The diamond coating of the lever makes it stronger and more resistant to wear, while the friction between the fork and impulse pin is markedly reduced.



N° de publication 706 756

(54) The lever for a horological escapement

(57) This invention involves a pallet lever (2) for an horological escapement consisting of a fork (25), two arms (21), each with a seating (27) for a pallet stone (22). The lever (2) also has a securing device on each of the two arms (21) consisting of an elastic structure (50) that is arranged to press against the pallet stone (22) when it is in its seating (27). The pallet stone (22) can thus be adjusted and fixed in a chosen position in its seating.





TECHNICAL DATA



Maître Cabinotier retrograde armillary tourbillon

Reference 91990/000G-9882

Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Caliber 1990

Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin

Mechanical, manual-winding

35 mm (15’’’ ¾) diameter, 10 mm thick

Approximately 65 hours of power reserve

2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations/hour)

299 components

45 jewels

NAC treatment

Indications Instantaneous retrograde hours

Instantaneous retrograde minutes

Small seconds at 9 o’clock on tourbillon carriage

2-axis armillary tourbillon

Case 18K white gold

45.7 mm diameter, 20.06 mm thick

Transparent sapphire crystal caseback

Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 3 bar (approx. 30 meters)

Dials Hours/minutes dial: silver-colored, sun satin-finished, 18K white gold applied hour-markers, painted minute-track

Seconds dial: silver-colored, sun satin-finished, painted minute track

Hands: titanium

Strap Black Mississippiensis alligator leather with alligator leather inner shell, hand-stitched, saddle-finish, large square scales

Clasp 18K white gold triple-blade folding clasp

Polished half Maltese cross-shaped

Unique timepiece
"Pièce Unique" engraved on caseback

[Ilsingore]

Нашлась пара живых фотографий, видимо из чьих-то инстаграммов:



На втором фото слева - вроде бы прототип: