The sound of time
SOUND is tied to time. We’re not qualified as physicists to make a proper explanation, but we think of the ways instead by which we use sound to both pass and mark time: alarms, music, the sound of voices in memory. A new piece by Patek Philippe, a project from their Advanced Research department, helps create a better memory of sound by making its minute repeater louder.
The minute repeater, a 17th-century innovation that marked time with chimes in small clocks and watches (as opposed to those on clocktowers that once did the same, albeit on a larger scale), is a frequent complication on luxury timepieces. The Patek Philip Ref. 5750P Advanced Research, nicknamed Fortissimo (it is telling that it is named after a term in music), borrows technology from early phonographs to create this innovation.
“Today, we are in a completely different domain: we are in the field of sound,” said Philip Barat, Head of Research and Development for Patek Philip during a press conference last month.
The minute repeater’s sound amplification system consists of a lever shaped like a tuning fork, and a sapphire crystal plate which vibrates and creates the soundwave that escapes from the four acoustic channels of a titanium ring. Thanks to its angular motion, this rigid and freely movable wafer provides clearly better sound propagation for the confined volume of a wristwatch. The transparency of the sapphire glass also preserves the unobstructed view of the movement through the case back. The other end of this sound lever that resembles a tuning fork features a flexible attachment with a thickness of 0.08 mm. When the hammers strike the gongs, their oscillations are transmitted to the sound lever which in a first phase amplifies them and transmits them to the rigid oscillating wafer where they are further amplified. The angular motion of the oscillating wafer excites the air layers above and beneath the sapphire glass, producing a noticeably louder sound.
“We wanted to amplify the sound of the minute repeater by transmitting the vibrations of the hammer to a vibrating plate. The use of a lever allowed us to amplify these vibrations. The sound therefore comes out louder while remaining pleasing to the ear,” said the company during the press conference, while this chime, the subject of so many hours of work and research, played, and was heard across the world from Switzerland (through computer speakers, alas).
The maximum duration of the time strike (32 strikes at 12:59) — it usually lasts 17 to 18 seconds — was extended to 20 to 21 seconds, allowing the gongs to fade somewhat longer.
“The fortissimo module attached in the case back allows the sound to be heard at a six-fold larger distance… a classic minute repeater on the wrist, at a distance of 10 meters, sounds as loud and clear as an amplified minute repeater at a distance of 60 meters,” said a company statement.
The Ref. 5750P Patek Philippe Advanced Research minute repeater comes in a sleek case with a slightly domed bezel. As with other innovations from the Advanced Research department, this movement will be available in a limited number of timepieces — in this case, 15.
It is inspired by the Ref. 5178 minute repeater with cathedral gongs, has the same diameter of 40 mm. However, with a height of 11.1 mm, it is 0.57 mm thicker.
To demonstrate the efficiency of the fortissimo system, the manufacture opted for the material that poses the greatest acoustic challenges — 950 platinum. In its center, the five-part elaborately constructed dial features an open worked motif inspired by the spoked wheels of vintage automobiles. It stands out against the black background with snailed spiraling lines. The subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock consists of a rotating disc with the same open worked motif against a black snailed background and a small marker that serves as a hand — a movable element which creates a unique, dynamic effect.
The time is indicated by flat Dauphine hands in white gold and applied kite-type hour markers in blackened white gold. The sapphire-crystal case back reveals the hammers and the classic gongs of the minute repeater as well as the sound lever in the shape of a tuning fork that carries the transparent oscillating wafer of the fortissimo amplifier system. A pierced Calatrava cross decorates the cover of the centrifugal governor that assures the regular rhythm of the time strikes.
This limited special edition is worn on a shiny orange alligator strap with black contrast seams and a platinum fold-over clasp. The watch’s lugs alone, apparently, represent six hours of work: the lugs had to be machined from a single piece of metal. — JL Garcia
