Watches whose aesthetic, technological and for-the-good-of-humankind breakthroughs still resonate today. The unquestioned cornerstones of modern watchmaking. The unusual crown position, at 9 o’clock at the opposite of the chronograph pushers, is a signature feature of the movement.At some point on my watch journey, I made a resolution to resist all the shiny new things that get paraded in front of us daily and just start collecting the icons. This movement has a bi-compax display, with a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock and a 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock – no running seconds sub-dial. Manufactured by Dépraz, the lever chronograph module is assembled on the backside of the base movement. Beating at 19,800 vibrations per hour, it boasted 42 hours of power reserve. This modular architecture implies first a base movement, a micro-rotor automatic calibre made by Büren, in charge of the timekeeping part. The Calibre 11 is a 17-jewel modular chronograph measuring 31mm x 7.7mm. Since then, the automatic chronograph has remained one of the most popular complications. But the controversy about who came first doesn’t really matter anymore… what is important is the impact that these movements had on watchmaking history. What’s more, El Primero was not the first to hit the market. There are endless debates about which was the first automatic chronograph, as both the Seiko and the Chronomatic movements were announced later the same year. It was presented during a press conference in January 1969 and christened El Primero (“the first” in Spanish). Zenith’s automatic chronograph was the first to be unveiled to the world. And later by other brands such as Bulova, Kelek, Zodiac, Elgin, Stowa… With the practicality and comfort of automatic winding, the chronograph becomes a staple of motorsport… the Calibre 11 is used to power iconic watches by Heuer (Carrera, Monaco, Autavia), Breitling (Chrono-Matic) and Hamilton (Fontainebleau). A month later, the three brands present their first chronographs at the 1969 Basel fair. On March 3rd 1969, the movement is officially presented, simultaneously in New York and Geneva. At the end of 1968, about 100 pre-production movements are assembled in prevision of the 1969 Basel fair. A patent application for the Calibre 11 is filed in September 1967. Three brands – Heuer, Breitling and Hamilton (who acquired Buren during the development process) – will fit the movement inside their watches. They plan to have Dépraz develop and manufacture the chronograph mechanism to equip this calibre.īüren is in charge of the base calibre. They have an exclusive right to use this calibre. to build the blanks and the automatic movement of an automatic chronograph, the basic execution of which is designated by calibre No. The convention signed on February 2, 1966, between Dépraz & Co., Heuer-Léonidas SA and Léon Breitling SA. For confidentiality purposes, the development is code-named Project 99. The four-party Chronomatic consortium is born, including two rival brands teaming up to develop their own automatic chronograph. On February 2nd, 1966, an agreement is signed. In need of commercial partners, they manage to convince first Jack Heuer and then Willy Breitling to support the project. Dubois contacts Hans Kocher of Büren Watch Co. As Büren had pioneered the production of micro-rotor movements, Gérald Dubois (of Dépraz & Co., a chronograph specialist) figured out that these would be thin enough to be the base for a modular chronograph movement. The history of the Calibre 11 starts at the end of 1965.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |