Patek Philippe 1 / 10th of a second monopusher chronograph

Patek Philippe 1 / 10th of a second monopusher chronograph

Patek Philippe yesterday presented its very first wrist chronograph

measuring tenths of a second; The watch is also powered by a new manual winding movement equipped with two independent chronograph mechanisms and two central hands, one of which indicates tenths of a second with extreme precision and legibility. This hi-tech high-frequency (5 Hz) caliber is housed in a decidedly sporty design watch, with a platinum case and blue dial punctuated by a few touches of red. Patek Philippe has a long and rich tradition of chronographs.fake Patek Philippe

In fact, since 1856, the manufacture has stood out for the excellence of its pocket chronographs, with or without split-seconds hand, often combined with grand complications such as the perpetual calendar and the minute repeater function. In 1930-1931, the house also developed a pocket watch with a 1 / 10th of a second chronograph, now on display at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. Since 2005, Patek Philippe has developed a complete range of chronograph movements, with or without additional functions (rattrapante, minute repeater, perpetual calendar, Annual Calendar, Universal Time), entirely designed and produced in its laboratories and offered today in about twenty variations. male and female.best replica watches

Patek Philippe decided to develop its first chronograph movement

that measures and indicates tenths of a second based on a movement launched in 2009, the caliber CH 29-535 PS. The first obstacle was to increase the frequency of the movement. With a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour, that is 8 “steps” per second for the gear train and the hand), the caliber would have measured only eighths of a second. For this reason, the caliber has a frequency of 5 Hz (36,000 vibrations per hour, therefore 10 “steps” per second), so as to be able to measure tenths of a second. However, the simple central hand of the classic chronograph coupled with a frequency of 5 Hz would not have been sufficient to display tenths of a second with the desired reading accuracy watch

There is no space on the face of a wristwatch for a microscopic scale that divides every second by ten. The designers therefore decided to equip the caliber with two independent chronograph mechanisms, one for the seconds and the instant 30-minute counter, the other exclusively dedicated to measuring and accurately indicating tenths of a second. Patek Philippe relied on the criterion of legibility: the dial had to allow the indications of tenths of a second, seconds and chronograph minutes to be read in the simplest, fastest and most reliable way possible. The designers came up with a patented system for indicating concentric seconds and fractions of a second.

The watch is equipped with two central chronograph hands, each of which is driven by one of the independent mechanisms. One hand (which rotates in one minute) allows you to read the seconds in the traditional way, while the other hand (red lacquered) rotates the dial in 12 seconds, which is five times faster than a central second hand traditional, covering 12 sectors divided into tenths. In this way the lucky owner of this chronograph can read with a single glance the number of seconds elapsed on the pearly minute track, the number of tenths of a second elapsed (since the last subdivision in red) on the external “chemin de fer” scale as well, if necessary, to the number of minutes elapsed inside the instant 30-minute counter positioned at 3 o’clock.

Patek Philippe, as usual, wanted the new caliber to meet the highest standards. The watch had not only to measure and indicate tenths of a second with extreme precision, but also to maintain this precision during the 30 minutes of the chronograph’s activation. It was also necessary to give the caliber the most compact dimensions possible, keeping the diameter of the base caliber (29.6 mm), for a slightly greater thickness (6.96 mm instead of 5.35 mm), despite the presence of the two mechanisms chronographs and the total of 396 components.

The new movement, a feat of miniaturization, is thinner than that of the CHR 29-535 PS caliber with split-seconds hand (7.1 mm). In the new caliber, the 5 Hz frequency and the integration of a second chronograph mechanism with a hand that rotates at high speed require considerably higher energy requirements. To manage and limit this consumption, the engineers intervened at all possible levels of the movement. The search for precision was also a key theme that dominated the entire project, starting with the single barrel that must provide energy to the movement as a whole. Patek Philippe has reworked this organ and improved its performance so that the amplitude of the balance-spring group varies as little as possible and ensures optimum running stability.

To increase the available energy and power reserve (by about 48 hours), the engineers have reduced the diameter of the barrel shaft and increased the number of revolutions of the mainspring. A patented notch system, which reduces the stresses on the spring hook during winding, eliminates any risk of breakage resulting from these higher forces. To meet the triple objective of performance, reliability and precision, Patek Philippe has also chosen to use the Oscillomax set developed by the “Patek Philippe Advanced Research” technical department. This high-tech regulating organ, presented in 2011 and combined with 17 patents in that year, brings together three innovative components that exploit all the benefits of Silinvar technology, a silicon derivative that stands out for its unparalleled physical and mechanical qualities ( lightness, hardness, non-magnetic, etc.).

The set includes the Spiromax spiral with patented final curve and internal bulge (patent of 2017), the Pulsomax escapement with revised anchor and escape wheel geometries and the Gyromax balance wheel in Silinvar with gold inserts. It is the first time that Patek Philippe introduces the Oscillomax in the current collection, since the limited edition of the perpetual calendar “Patek Philippe Advanced Research Ref. 5550P” in 2011, allowing to retain all the precision that requires the Patek Philippe Seal, with a maximum gear shift of –3 / + 2 seconds per day, despite the significantly increased energy requirement. One of the other great challenges related to the development of the caliber concerned the quality of the indication, in particular for tenths of a second. The two indications of the chronograph had to remain perfectly synchronized.Patek Philippe 1 / 10th of a second monopusher chronograph