Minute repeater. From essential to watchmaking masterpiece
Ten famous minute repeaters and chiming clocks.
First, let's understand what a repeater is.
Repeater(from French répéter to repeat) is a device in a watch, by means of which, when the spring is pressed, the time shown by them is beaten off. The repeater is an additional device of the watch mechanism, which allows the watch to report the current time with a melodic chime of different tones.
The minute repeater is one of the most complex complications in a wristwatch. It transforms a watch from a simple timekeeping device into a music box. Below we present 10 minute repeaters that are more than just a bell.
1. One of the latest models A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Striking Time, presented at this year's SIHH, has a gold case and hands and a silver dial. Unlike other repeaters, this watch can be programmed. Also, if you want the clock not to disturb you, then the repeater function can be turned off by pressing the button near the number 4.
2. Audemars Piguet Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph. The repeater watch is available in a very limited edition, only 10 pieces for two versions, in rose gold and titanium. According to the company, the titanium model is ideal for watches with complications and specifically for the minute repeater, which impresses with the sound of a gong. Many do not know, but the sound emitted by a repeater largely depends on the material from which the watch case is made. The large watch case (47mm diameter of this watch) and lighter and harder alloys are best suited to maximize the volume of the sound produced by the hammers, allowing acoustic waves to propagate inside the watch case.
3 Breguet Ref. 7800 Classique “La Musicale. This repeater watch is reminiscent of a music box. By pressing the button located at 10 o'clock, the clock starts playing Bach's "Joke". A disc is used with pegs that strike 15 paddles on the keyboard. The membrane is made of Liquidmetal Swatch and is located under the mechanism, amplifying the sound. So are the watches.
4. Bulgari Brighella. This is the first watch in the "Commedia del' Arte" series equipped with a church gong - a minute repeater (controlled by a button at around 10 o'clock). When the clock chimes, the symbols on the dial begin to move in the choreography of ballet movements. The watch case is made of white gold. Magsonic alloy was developed to amplify the sound of the repeater.
5. Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon. This watch is the eleventh creation of Hybris Mechanica in the brand's collection and the first ultra-thin model. Minute repeater, only 7.9mm. The watch is also equipped with an original tourbillon, a peripheral winding system, a high-performance new balance spring. The minute repeater is equipped with a TimeLapse recovery system.
6. Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater. The button on the watch starts the miniature repeater. And each, half an hour and a quarter of an hour, the birds on the dial seem to come to life.
7. Piaget Emperador Coussin Automatic Minute Repeater. Piaget introduced its first ever minute repeater in 2013. In order to preserve the purity of the watch's sound, the Caliber 1290P is equipped with a flywheel regulator that controls the rhythm between start and finish.
8. Tutima Hommage Minute Repeater. This is the first minute repeater in the history of the company. The watch company, which began in 1920, has been developing the Hommage Caliber 800 movement for three years. On the back of the watch, you can see the Tutima engraving. Through the glass, you can see the percussion mechanism itself and the mechanism that activates the tiny hammers of the repeater.
9 Ulysse Nardin Stranger. Wristwatch that plays Frank Senatra's iconic 1966 song "Strangers in the Night" every hour or on demand. The watch mechanism was developed over 5 years. Through the glass of the watch, you can see the mechanism that activates the repeater. The owner of the watch can turn off the repeater if he wants not to be disturbed.
10. Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine Ultra-Thin Caliber 1731. The watch was presented at an exhibition in Hong Kong. The repeater watch has a very thin Caliber 1731 movement, only 3.9mm. The watch has a power reserve of 65 hours. To ensure the purest sound possible, the hammers are stacked and connected to the middle of the watch case. Thus, the mechanism is made as one piece with the watch case. The case is made without seams, which allows the watch to achieve the ideal amplitude of the sound.
Repeater watch
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Ten famous minute repeaters and chiming clocks. First, let's understand what a repeater is. A repeater (from the French répéter to repeat) is a device in a watch, by means of which, when the spring is pressed, the time shown by them is beaten off. The repeater is an additional device of the watch mechanism, which allows the watch to announce the current time with a melodious chime of different tonality.
A typical day somewhere in the late 1600s. You are one of the close associates of the king, so for you constant meetings with him are a common thing. The endless talks of the ruler about his new crown, which he ordered from an overseas jeweler, about the export of cotton, tea and other foods have already become part of your routine and even become a little tiring. But, bearing in mind the irritable nature of the monarch, you cannot just look at your pocket watch to make sure that you still have time to see the young ladies - this will offend his majesty. And then don't blow your head off. So for your own safety, you press the slider on the side of the watch. After some time, the clock begins to buzz lightly - this is a kind of signal that lets you know how much time is approximately left. At that very moment, you were using a prototype minute repeater that would only be remembered a century later.
According to Patek Philippe, the earliest time repeaters (aka minute repeaters) were used to "carefully check the time at tedious royal gatherings so as not to offend the monarch." But the minute repeater helped not only court intriguers. Before the invention of artificial lighting and the appearance of bright iPhone screens at night, only with the help of a minute repeater people could find out what time it was. In addition, this mechanism has become a salvation for visually impaired people who were guided by the vibrations and sound of the watch. The earliest versions of the repeater were imperfect: it was enough for a maximum of an hour of work. During this time, the clock vibrated nine times, but at different intervals: whether it was 9:01 or 9:59 - the difference could be one minute or a quarter of an hour.
Abraham-Louis Breguet, one of the main masters of watchmaking, by the end of the 18th century created an improved minute repeater with a sound signal. This repeater became the most advanced form of sophisticated watch mechanism. The action of his repeater was accompanied by a series of bells that indicated the hour, quarter of an hour, and finally the minutes. Breguet even replaced the outdated bells in the mechanism with a thin metal rim around the walls of the clock: in shape and sound, the resulting design resembled a gong.
This is how the Bvlgari Daniel Roth Carillon Tourbillon Minute-Repeater sounds
Centuries later, the minute repeater is still considered the pinnacle of watchmaking. Jean-Claude Biver, head of Tag Heuer, compared the invention of the repeater to climbing Everest in an interview with the Financial Times. Patek Philippe writes on its official website that an average watchmaker spends between 200 and 300 hours assembling a repeater. This mechanism is not like a wall clock, which measures equal intervals of time. The owner of the repeater manages it himself: he pushes back the slider, which tightens the spring mechanism inside the watch. This activates two hammers that strike the gong. The original sound depends on the thickness and shape of the metal. Hours, quarters and minutes are distinguished by their sound: large time intervals sound low, like chimes, and short ones sound high, like your morning alarm clock.
The minute repeater serves as a reminder that even if your watch is from a major brand, it is the work of a true master watchmaker, not just an entire company. So, at Patek Philippe, the only person responsible for the final sound of each repeater is Thierry Stern, the head of the company's board of directors.
In all likelihood, the minute repeater lost its popularity in the 20th century due to the complex manufacturing and painstaking care that the movement required. Repeaters remained unchanged almost until the end of the last century, until Patek Philippe revived this technology in 1989 in honor of the company's 150th anniversary. In 1992, Vacheron Constantin launched their own minute repeater watch. And then they were joined by brands such as Breguet, Hublot, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Audemars Piguet.
Today, a watch that strikes the time has turned from a necessary attribute into a demonstration of watchmaking skills. Therefore, at the annual Geneva review of watch achievements, every self-respecting company presents its own repeater.
Minute repeaters are the most complex, expensive and prestigious watches. They are able to inform you about the current time through combat. When there was no electricity and even matches, these watches were very necessary. Now they are produced to preserve the traditions of high watchmaking art, and to demonstrate the greatest possibilities of their manufactory. In addition, they continue to fulfill the most important role of modern watches - to attract everyone's attention. That is why minute repeaters are in the lineup of every self-respecting house. Moreover, every year they become more perfect, more efficient and louder, as could be seen at the International Salon of Haute Horlogerie held in January in Geneva.
ROGER DUBUIS HOMMAGE MINUTE REPEATER
Roger Dubuis decided to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a skeletonized tourbillon minute repeater. The model was included in a special Hommage collection, watches for which are created by the master founder of the brand, Roger Dubuis. The automatic base RD104 in-house movement has two eccentric micro-rotors embedded in the platinum, as well as a flying tourbillon with a new cage that gives the balance wheel optimum moment of inertia, stability and stability. The repeater gongs are rectangular in shape, providing maximum contact with the hammers and a long, clear sound. The case is made of rose gold.
JAEGER-LECOULTRE MASTER GRANDE TRADITION GRANDE COMPLICATION
The most beautiful and complicated minute repeater watch was created by Jaeger-LeCouItre. This is an astronomical and zodiac calendar with an equation of time and an orbital flying tourbillon that completes a counter-clockwise revolution on the dial in 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. The position of the carriage shows sidereal time, not Earth time. The dial is a map of the northern hemisphere of the sky. It depicts familiar stars and constellations: Ursa Major, Polaris, Cassiopeia, as well as 12 zodiac constellations. The sun rotates along the edge of the sky, which makes a revolution in exactly 24 hours. With its position, it indicates the signs of the zodiac, months and days of the week, indicated on a circular scale. The minute repeater is equipped with cathedral gongs and specially designed hammers. The hand-wound Jaeger-LeCouItre caliber 945 has a silicon escapement, 527 parts and a 40-hour power reserve. Case 45 mm rose gold.
PARMIGIANI TORIC TECNICA ST.BASIL
In the collection of perfect Toric minute repeaters from Michel Parmigiani, two new models appeared at once - Toric Capitole Waves and Toric Tecnica St.Basil. The second one is of particular interest to us, since it was made specifically for the Russian market. This is generally one of the most complex models in the history of Parmigiani. The 45mm platinum case houses the minute repeater, tourbillon, perpetual calendar, chronograph and energy indicator. The hand-wound movement PF351 is semi-skeletonized, its plates are decorated with a CluesdeParis relief pattern, which is a pyramid of different sizes. The main platinum on the side of the back cover is covered with enamel depicting the domes of St. Basil's Cathedral.
CARTIER ROTONDE DE CARTIER GRANDE COMPLICATION SKELETON
The legendary Parisian watch and jewelery house presented the most complicated watches in its glorious history - a minute repeater, a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar in a 45 mm platinum case. Prior to this, Cartier already had watches with all the listed complications, but they came together for the first time. The most complex automatic movement Caliber 9406 MC of 578 parts has a height of 5.49 mm, which is very small for calibers of this class. Having skeletonized it, the masters complicated their task to the limit, but brilliantly coped with it, as evidenced by the sign of the highest watch quality - the Hallmark of Geneva. 50 copies will be produced for 520,000 euros each. The version in platinum case encrusted with 4-carat diamond baguettes costs 100 thousand more.
The independent house of Audemars Piguet succeeded in the seemingly impossible - to create the first wrist repeater, the beat of which can be heard without straining, even at some distance. The concept of the watch lies in the fact that it is an avant-garde skeleton with gongs made of a secret alloy, which must be forged in a special way at a strictly defined temperature. Work on the alloy recipe and gong production technology continued for eight years. Leading scientists from the Lausanne Institute of Technology took part in it. The Royal Oak case is made of steel and titanium, the best conductors of sound. The minute repeater module with silent centrifuge was mounted on the in-house base movement AP2937 with manual winding, tourbillon and chronograph. The new movement was named Caliber 2874SS. It consists of 460 parts and has an energy reserve of 40 hours.
A.LANGE & SOHNE ZEITWERK MINUTE REPEATER
When the manufactory from Glashütte introduced the Zeitwerk Striking Time, it was clear that this was the first step towards creating their own repeater. I had to wait three years, but it was worth it. The Zeitwerk Minute Repeater was the first repeater with a digital disk time indication, which made it very difficult to work. If the minutes indicator works during the battle, the repeater module will have to be sent for repair. I had to create a system for disconnecting the repeater module from the clock mechanism for the duration of the battle. Another feature is that this is a decimal repeater: that is, it strikes not quarters of hours, but ten-minute intervals. Serves the clock mechanism and the repeater module one drum, which independently turns off the battle function when less than 12 hours remain before the expiration of the winding spring energy. The repeater will be released in a platinum case with a diameter of 44.2 mm.
Today, to find out what time it is, it is not even necessary to have a watch at hand: just look at the screen of a mobile phone, which is easy to do even at night. However, until the beginning of the 20th century, this seemingly simple procedure was accompanied by certain difficulties. Before the ubiquitous distribution of electricity, at nightfall, the time on the clock was recognized in different ways. Some were guided by the clock with a fight, which beat the time strictly every hour, without asking the owner if he wanted to disturb his peace, say, during a night's sleep. (By the way, it was worth forgetting to start such a watch, as discord immediately set in in the mechanism, and it was necessary to contact the watchmaker to set it up). Those who did not have a clock with a strike lit candles, which was extremely troublesome, especially at a time when matches did not yet exist. Another way to determine the time was the tactile method. Until the end of the 16th century, watches with embossed marks on the dial were in use. At that time, the clock had only one hand - the hour, and until glasses appeared on the dials, it was quite possible to recognize the time by touch.
A real salvation for a man of the Middle Ages was the invention of watches that beat the time with sounds of different tonality, in modern terms - repeaters. Unlike clocks with a fight, repeaters sounded the time at the request of the owner and did not go astray if the clock stopped. Currently, there are minute, quarter and five-minute repeaters, which, in addition to the elapsed hours, also sound minute intervals, quarters of an hour, five-minute time periods. Somewhat less common are the half-quarter (7.5-minute time intervals), decimal (10-minute intervals) and half-hour repeaters. Regardless of the type of repeater, the principle of operation of a watch mechanism with acoustic indication is usually based on a combination of low and high pitch sounds, which are produced by special hammers that strike flexible, most often steel gongs located on the periphery of the mechanism.
In quarter repeaters, low-tone sounds indicate the number of hours, high-pitched sounds mark the elapsed quarters of an hour. So, if the owner of the watch presses the button at 22:37, he will first hear 10 beats in a low register, and then 2 more in a high one.
A five-minute repeater calls back 5-minute time segments with high sounds, and 15-minute intervals are sounded by a combination of high and low notes. The aforementioned 22:37 five-minute repeater will sound as follows: first 10 low sounds, then 2 double beats and, finally, 1 high tone beat.
In minute repeaters, the high tone is responsible for voicing the minutes. The same 22:37 in the case of a minute repeater will turn into a combination of 10 low-pitched strokes, 2 double ulars and 7 high-pitched strokes. The most complex minute repeaters use the automatic chime mechanism as an additional option, which can be of two types - Grande and Petite Sonnerie (large and small chimes). The fundamental difference between these mechanisms is that in the case of the Grande Sonnerie, before sounding every quarter of an hour, the mechanism repeats the number of hour strikes. In the case of Petite Sonnerie, there is no such repetition.
Even from the description of the varieties of repeaters, it is clear that we have a rather complex mechanism in front of us. Let's look at how the key elements of the system that turns time into music work.
The basis of the mechanism is located directly under the dial. Gongs take their place a little lower. They are located in such a way that there is always free space around them, which is necessary for the purity of the sound. The repeater has a separate mainspring, which is cocked every time the owner of the watch presses the corresponding button or slider (trigger). In the cocked state, the spring sets in motion the comb that controls the beat, after which, through the pallet system, the teeth of the comb transmit impulse to the hammers, which, striking the gongs, produce a sound. The so-called snail, which limits the movement of the comb and is directly connected to the switch mechanism, ensures that the comb turns at a strictly defined angle (the number of blows that the hammers will beat off depends on this). Each type of battle corresponds to its own in terms of the form of a pair of "comb-snail".
From the history of the repeater
The creation of the first mechanism that strikes the hours and quarters of the hour is attributed to the priest of the times of King James II of England, Edward Barlow (born Edward Booth), who provided the clock with a sound indication as early as 1676.
Barlow's invention made a lot of noise in the circles of London watchmakers and was used at first in interior, and later in portable clocks. True, here the question arises about authorship. In 1686, another watchmaker of James II, Daniel Quayre, received a patent for a portable watch with a quarter repeater. How could this happen?
Very simple. Both masters presented their inventions to the king, but James II preferred Quayre, perhaps because his design was a little more convenient. In Barlow watches, the repeater mechanism controls were located on both sides of the case, one was responsible for indicating hours, the other for quarters of an hour. In the version of Quayre, at the base of the case there was one pin, which controlled both the indication of hours and the sounding of quarter-hour intervals.
The first major modifications of the quarter repeaters were already in the next century. In 1710, Samuel Watson invented the five-minute repeater, and already in 1750 (according to other sources in 1715), the minute repeater invented by Thomas Mudge was born.
In the first watches with a repeater, the “hammer-bell” system was used as a sound indication mechanism. At the same time, the bells, which were attached in the recess of the back cover, were quite large and made the watch case quite massive, in other words, thick. In 1740, the watchmaker Julian Le Roy introduced a repeater in which a metal bar acted as an alternative to a bell. The watch case has become a little thinner, and the sound of the repeater is more muffled, which made it possible not to disturb others.
Not without the great Abraham-Louis Breguet in the improvement of repeaters. In 1783, the future inventor of the tourbillon created a repeater watch, in which, instead of traditional bells, he used flexible rods in the form of springs. At first, the springs were arranged crosswise on the platinum, but later they began to be twisted around the mechanism, which allowed not only to save space, but also to achieve a more harmonious sound.
Repeaters became a separate cultural phenomenon and gained great popularity in the highest circles of Europe. But this popularity did not last long. In the 30s of the 19th century, relatively safe phosphorus matches were invented, with the help of which it became convenient to light candles, and when gas and kerosene lamps appeared, interest in repeaters began to wane. Moreover, the invention of the British almost went to the dustbin of history, after the first light bulbs appeared at the beginning of the last century. Now it was convenient to look at the watch at any time of the day, and expensive models with sound mechanisms became mainly the lot of collectors. Nevertheless, for recognized masters of the watch industry, the complexity of the repeater design has always been a challenge, so the largest watch companies continued to produce "musical" watches in small series, thereby demonstrating their technical capabilities. Most often, these models were pocket.
Earlier than others, Audemars Piguet managed to make the repeater compact and present it in the form of a wristwatch and it happened back in 1892.
Further, until the end of the twentieth century, repeaters were produced not so much for commercial purposes, but to maintain prestige. After all, it is not enough just to create such a watch - in order to achieve perfectly coordinated work of all the details of the sound mechanism (and there are many of them), you need to spend at least 100 hours. In addition, an indispensable condition for the successful tuning of the repeater is the master's absolute pitch. This implies the consistently high cost of models with a repeater and the fact that such watches are most often made to order.
Repeaters of the 21st century: accuracy, loudness, clarity
How clear and loud the sound of the repeater will be depends on a number of parameters, one of which is the case material. If in ordinary watches the main task of the case is to protect the mechanism, then in watches with a repeater, the case also performs the function of a resonator, that is, it transmits and amplifies sound. This is best done by strong, but lightweight materials with not very high density, since high density dampens sound. Of the precious metals, rose gold is most often preferred (it is believed that it makes the sound warmer). From non-precious materials in favor - titanium. In particular, the body of the novelty of the Baselworld 2016 showroom, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater, is made of titanium.
The watch is positioned as the thinnest repeater in the world. With a case thickness of 6.85 mm, the thickness of the movement is 3.12 mm. Such figures contradict the very concept of a repeater watch, which requires leaving enough space so that the case can serve as a resonator. To maintain the desired purity and volume of sound, cuts were made in the titanium case of the watch, which simultaneously serve as hour markers. Another solution that works for sound quality is the mounting of gongs directly on the body.
Since we are talking about gongs, it should be noted that not only the material, but even the size and shape of the gongs dictate how the output sound will be.
Since the size of gongs is limited by the compact space of the body, manufacturers working on optimizing repeater mechanisms do so in the direction of the shape and material of the gongs. Most often, gongs are made of steel, less often - of gold. In the case of gold, the prestige of the material is taken into account rather than its physical properties. In addition, it is not very convenient to make gongs from gold for the simple reason that any gold is an alloy with a different percentage of a whole group of metals. Even if manufacturers manage to find the ideal alloy formula, the slightest change in composition will inevitably affect the sound quality.
As for the shape, in recent years, instead of traditional gongs with a round section, manufacturers are increasingly offering square gongs. There is an opinion that the square section increases the contact area of the hammer with the gong. For the first time, such a solution was proposed by JaegerLeCoultre. In 2005, the brand introduced the Master Minute Repeater watch, in which square gongs made of sapphire chimed. The bet here was made on the fact that in sapphire and the metal from which the gongs are made, the sound propagates at different speeds, which made it possible to achieve a particularly clear sound of the watch.
The same Jaeger LeCoultre was the first to change the very design of the parts, supplying its watches with trebuchet hammers. If an ordinary hammer is a monolithic structure, then a trebuchet hammer consists of two parts - a fixed handle and a head, connected by a movable articulation and working on the principle of a catapult. Due to the movable connection, the hammer head hits the gongs harder, extracting a more powerful sound, and bounces off them faster without extinguishing the extracted notes.
Jaeger LeCoultre Hybris Mechanica 11 Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon with Trebuchet Hammers
The original design of the gongs was proposed by Chopard. In the first minute repeater of the brand, called L.U.C Full Strike, the gongs form a single whole with the glass of the dial (glass and gongs are made from a single sapphire block). By striking the gong, the hammer creates a vibration that is transmitted to the glass of the dial, and the glass, in turn, acts as a resonating membrane, similar to that used in loudspeakers.
In addition to gongs, repeater watches have other parts that can make a sound. We are talking about the descent of the repeater, whose task is to control the speed of the battle and provide optimal pauses between sounds during the sound of the melody. The detail is certainly important, but very noisy. During the operation of the repeater, it is the escapement that creates a characteristic buzz, which can practically drown out the melody itself, depriving the watch owner of the pleasure of listening to the music of the time.
To eliminate this problem in repeaters of recent years (Chopard L.U.C Full Strike Minute Repeater, Cartier Rotonde De Cartier Minute Repeater Mysterious Double Tourbillon, Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater, Panerai Radiomir 1940 Minute Repeater Carillon Tourbillon GMT), many manufacturers use a noiseless regulator-governor, and Here Breguet for their Tradition 7087 Minute Repeater offered a completely unexpected solution, replacing the usual escapement with a magnetic regulator.
In the case of traditional mechanics, the entire filling of which is made of metal, such an approach would simply be impossible. However, given the fact that the most important functional parts of the mechanism (wheel and balance spring) in the Breguet Tradition 7087 Minute Repeater are made of silicon, the problem disappears by itself.
To enhance the sound, Breguet has also changed the way the gongs are attached. In this model, they are fixed not on the platinum, dial glass or case, but on the inner bezel (welt). In turn, the welt is fixed on the case with the help of 3 movable supports, due to which both the inner bezel and the glass of the dial vibrate along with the gongs. In this case, the case vibrates at the frequency of the minute gong, and the glass and the inner bezel at the frequency of the hour gong.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Supersonnerie. Hull design
The repeater mechanism, as a rule, consumes a lot of energy. In other words, if the owner of the watch is carried away by listening to a melody, and there is not enough power reserve left in the watch, then they can simply stop. For the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, A. Lange & Sohne has developed a special device that disables the sound module if the power reserve falls below 12 hours. Critical for the operation of the repeater 12 hours on the power reserve indicator are marked with a red dot.
Another safety mechanism in watches with audible indication is the all-or-nothing function. The watch will not make any sound if the repeater button or slider is not fully pressed.
More than three centuries have passed since the creation of the first repeater. And although all the problems that led to the appearance of watches with sound indication have long been eliminated, and the time can be viewed both on ordinary watches and on any of the modern gadgets, instead of sinking into oblivion, watches with a repeater are only gaining popularity. The sounding models are covered with a well-deserved halo of prestige, since only a few watch manufactories are engaged in the creation of repeaters today. And if there are watches with such complication in the asset of a particular brand, this fact alone confirms that you have a real virtuoso of watchmaking in front of you.
A good Swiss watch with a repeater is an expensive thing. But it's a real sign of status. The expression "watch with a repeater" must have been heard by many. But what is this watch? What is a repeater and why is it needed?
Repeater (or repeater)- This is a special device in the clock, which, with the help of sounds, informs the owner about the time. Such an explanation immediately evokes an association with a clock with a fight or with a cuckoo. Yes, they have the same principle. But at the same time, there is one fundamental difference - a watch with a repeater tells you the time only when you ask for it (by pressing a special button). Thus, the repeater does not force the owner to listen to a fight or other sounds every hour, which, with such frequent playback, will get bored very quickly. It is especially disgusting to be in the same room with a striking clock at night, because this mechanism will wake you up constantly. That is why watches with a rehearsal are valued much higher than their other counterparts.
Repeater in hours - what is it in terms of device?
Repeater in hours - what is it? We will not talk in detail with mechanical accuracy about the structure of the entire mechanism. Let's just say that the basis that drives the special hammers is a spring that is triggered by pressing a button. The repeater mechanism is still considered one of the most complex. That is why it is so rare to find a repeater in a small wristwatch. Similar watches exist, but they are very expensive. Much more popular repeater in wall or floor mechanisms.
The history of the repeater on the clock
The story begins in the seventeenth century. At that time, people already actively used mechanical watches, but they did not yet know what electricity was, they did not know how to use luminous paints and similar devices. Mechanical clocks did an excellent job of telling the time during the day. But in the dark, the hands and the dial were impossible to see. It was to solve this problem that the repeater watch was invented. Of course, when the watch repeater was invented, no one thought about ordinary citizens. This device was made specifically for sailors to save them from having to light a fire every time of the day in the dark to find out the time. Then hours with a rehearsal gradually became available to every person who has the means. This device was invented and patented by the English watchmaker Daniel Quayre in 1687. The convenience of this invention ensured it a very long life. Repeater watches are extremely popular to this day. Moreover, today you can find a repeater in a variety of watches with different sound design. Since the end of the seventeenth century, various types of repeaters have appeared that can tell the owner not only hours, but also minutes with different levels of accuracy.
Types of watches with a repeater
Most of the models that exist today make it possible, despite the dial, to find out the time to the nearest minute, although their simple device has not changed much since its creation. Repeaters are capable of producing only 2 types of sounds: low and high pitch. But even such limited possibilities make it easy to determine the exact time. So, what are the types of repeaters?
Quarter - the simplest variety and at the same time the least accurate. A low tone indicates the number of hours, high tones indicate quarters of an hour. Thus, if the clock is 12:38, the repeater will hit 12 low beats and 2 high ones.
Half-quarter - a little more accurate. A high tone beats out the number of half-quarters of an hour (that is, 7 minutes 30 seconds).
Decimal repeater - announces intervals of 10 minutes in a high tone. At 12:38 the mechanism will emit 12 low sounds and 3 high ones.
Five-minute mechanisms - a repeater of this type can already produce three types of sounds. Low indicates hours, high indicates intervals of 5 minutes. And there is also a double blow, which marks the quarters of an hour. Thus, at 12:38 the repeater will emit 12 low, 2 double and 1 high sound.
minute repeater- This is the most accurate repeater of all available models. Just like the five-minute one, it can indicate hours with low sounds, quarters of an hour with double sounds, but high sounds indicate not five-minute intervals, but minutes. At 12:38 you will hear 12 low beats, 2 doubles and 8 high beats.
The latter model is the most common today. It is worth saying a little more about it.
Minute repeater - what is it?
The principle of operation of such a repeater is discussed above. Interestingly, these varieties often provide additional functions. There is a minute repeater with a fight function. These watches are of two types:
Grande Sonnerie - This type strikes the hours and quarters mechanically, prefixing each quarter with a repetition of the hour-long chime.
Petite Sonnerie - strikes the hours and quarters in the same way, but without repeating the hour part.
Features of modern repeaters
Modern technology allows you to make repeaters with a much greater variety of sounds. In some, even not very complex melodies are built in. There are also jacquemarts - one of the most expensive varieties. On their dial there are figures that move in time with the battle. Today you will not find repeaters in every home. Such watches are expensive, they are now bought not for everyday use. This is a sign of high status.