Piaget - Emperador Coussin Minute Repeater
This year, Piaget is making a bold statement among fellow high watchmaking brands at the SIHH. With the new and remarkable
Emperador Coussin Automatic Minute Repeater, this Geneva-based watchmaker announces that it is quite capable of venturing into the highest levels of mechanical complication. And in the process this venerable manufacture adds an additional skill for which it has become exceedingly famous in the last few years: ultra-thin has probably conquered its highest peak.
More than 500 years before the invention of the tourbillon so fashionable in our day, mechanisms capable of striking the hour were already a hit in Europe, though they did not yet have the capability to repeat or the form of a wristwatch. In 1309, a striking clock was installed in the church of St. Eustorgio in Milan, and the cathedral of Beauvais probably had a clock with a bell before 1324. Only around a decade later, in 1335, and according to an Italian chronicle, the church of St. Gothard in Milan had "a wonderful clock, with a very large clapper, which strikes a bell twenty-four times according to the twenty-four hours of the day and night and thus at the first hour of the night gives one sound, at the second two strokes…and so distinguishes one hour from another, which is of greatest use to men of every degree." These very first examples seem to have been the forefathers of the modern minute repeater, a very special kind of timepiece that this year seems to be taking the world of high watchmaking by storm. Proof that although its use and benefit may have vanished with the ages, its fascination has remained untouched.
To another levelFor the 23rd SIHH, Piaget has taken the beautiful and complicated mechanical architecture it introduced in the cushion-shaped Emperador Tourbillon of last year's SIHH and set the bar a couple of notches higher by revealing an exquisite minute repeater that will probably be one of the highlights of 2013. And, as we are all now slowly getting used to, Piaget had to add something more to an already marvelous achievement. As seen with the 2012 Emperador Tourbillon, which revealed a record-breaking case profile of only 10.4 mm in height, this year's minute repeater boasts a double record with both the slimmest case and movement in the world for a self-winding minute repeater. With only 9.4 and 4.8 mm respectively (the new caliber 1290P is even 0.7 mm slimmer than tourbillon caliber 1270P at 5.5 mm) Piaget has added its unique expertise in the field of ultra-thin to the most revered complication in high watchmaking.
The first minute repeater in the history of Piaget includes a number of additional features that sets it apart from similar creations. For example, the steel hammers of Caliber 1290P are positioned on the bridge side of the movement, and the gongs upon which they strike resonate throughout a hollowed-out movement that is secured to the case by four braces. The result is a clear and audible sound that is engineered under the demanding criteria of four main prerequisites: intensity, frequency, damping and richness. It therefore comes as no surprise that Piaget had to set up a special department at its manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates in order to fine tune the repeating device to the highest standard. Here, digital sound recording and analysis are considered indispensible watchmaking tools.
"Toujours faire mieux que necessaire"
Even the elegant 48 mm cushion shape case of the Emperador Minute Repeater was reworked in order to ensure a very unusual characteristic for this kind of complication: water resistance of up to 2 atm achieved through an ingenious mechanism placed beneath the bezel. The case, made out of 69 components, also reveals another interesting feature through the reversed repeater slide, which is pushed downward rather than upward. The high level of finishing applied by Piaget on this watch can be seen on the base plate side, where a sunburst guilloche motif marks the 60 division of time, or through the perfect alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces of the case.
For the first time Piaget has inscribed a seal on the dial side of the movement with the motto "Toujours faire mieux que necessaire - La Cote-aux-Fees" ("Always do better than necessary"). The 35th in-house caliber to be produced by Piaget places another star on the already bright firmament of the manufacture. One that will not only shine because of its attractive design and appearance, but will also make itself heard among other manufactures of haute horlogerie due to the remarkable engineering of its mechanism and particularly the high fidelity with which it marks the passing of another SIHH.
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