The Rolex Oyster “Perpetual” is the most accurate series-produced wrist chronometer that winds itself automatically.

It offers unprecedented convenience. You wear it on your wrist; after winding it by the crown and setting it to the second just like any other watch, you don’t have to worry about it any more. The slightest movement, the slightest change of position of the arm will activate the patented rotor which turns in both directions, silently, without any shock, without any vibration. It is enough to wear it on the wrist for a few hours to wind it completely, so that the watch continues to run through the night, on the table, with the utmost precision.

It also offers unprecedented precision. The perfect running smoothness is a technical phenomenon resulting from the constant spring tension and a truly superior quality of workmanship.

The Rolex Oyster-Perpetual chronometer is regularly accompanied by its official running bulletin.

It is characterised by its permanent water-resistance. Enclosed in the “Oyster” case, the most permanently water-resistant case in existence, and thus protected against external influences such as water, sweat, sand, snow, etc., this is the ideal chronometer. Each Rolex-Oyster watch has been subjected to a pressure of 6 atmospheres.

Traduced from Spanish with Deepl.

The word “Movado” means “always on the move” and has proved to be a multifaceted name for a company dedicated to innovation in design and technology in watchmaking since 1881.

Achille Ditisheim, at the age of 19, founded his own watch factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the metropolis of Swiss watchmaking. His family supported him, as he was soon joined by two of his brothers, Leopold and Isidore.

The first advertisements for the Ditesheim watch factory bore undeniably stylish names: Ultra, Apogee, Noblesse and Belgravia. At that time, they were also taking part in rigorous tests at the Neuchátel observatory to obtain official recognition of the Swiss Chronometer Certificate, the Swiss chronometer certificate, for their pocket watches. These high-quality, technically precise chronometers for railway employees also bore memorable brand names, such as Chronometre du Train and Chemin de Fer International, signalling their growing activity in the national and international markets.

In 1905 Isaac, a third brother of Achille, joined as a partner with his own capital, and the family introduced a new name for the company: Movado, which means “always on the move” in Esperanto. Esperanto was very popular in cosmopolitan circles all over Europe, which gives an interesting insight into the Ditesheims’ vision of enterprise.

INVENTIONS AND PATENTS

A new factory was built, the most modern of its time, and Movado was awarded a diploma and a silver medal at the Paris World Exhibition. In the same year, at the Liège World Exhibition, he won the gold medal with the grand diploma of honour. Movado shines in the firmament of the Brussels Universal Exhibition and obtains the highest award, the Grand Prix diploma with congratulations from the Jury.

In the early years of the 20th century, Movado distinguished himself with an impressive series of inventions and patents.

In the first decade of the last century, when the market was still oriented towards pocket watches, Movado made progress in the development of wristwatch mechanisms. A Movado catalogue illustrated 740 different wristwatch models.

It was in 1912 that Movado revolutionised the industry with the Polyplan watch. With its avant-garde conception, design and construction, Polyplan housed one of the first patented “form” mechanisms, which consisted of three curved pianos inside a curved case that fitted the natural contours of the wrist. The challenge was to match an extremely elongated and curved wristwatch with a mechanism that would accommodate that curve. Movado’s engineers devised an ingenious three-plane mechanism, placing the ends of the mechanism plate downwards at a 25-degree angle.

Decades in advance, it inspired the curved cases produced by many other watch manufacturers years later.

The “Polyplan” is distinguished both by its slenderness and highly curved shape, and by the unique position of the winding crown at 12 o’clock. Over the years, the original Polyplan is highly sought after by collectors and fetches the highest prices at auction.

The 1920s proved to be another important period for the company (opening the first office in the United States of America) and highly creative for Movado with the Valentino, Art Deco and Ermeto models. Always receptive to design trends, the Art Deco era inspired Movado to produce some extraordinary timepieces. Elegant and unusual shapes, intricately decorated cases, many of them hand-enamelled using the champlevé technique.

But undoubtedly the most brilliant moment of the era was the launch of a daring new watch design in 1926: the “Ermeto”. With a resounding success that lasted until the 1960s. Similar to the Polyplan, the “Ermeto” was heralded with great pomp as the watch that “inaugurated the third era in the history of watchmaking”. Indeed, in the history of Movado, “Ermeto” is a milestone.

One of the most original watches of all time, this unique pillow-shaped pocket watch housed a mechanism invented by the Huguenin Fréres company in Le Locle, Switzerland. Initially, the watch was patented for manual winding, but in 1927, without replacing this traditional winding method, it was supplemented by an automatic winding mechanism driven by the opening and closing of the case. The two sections opened like curtains, revealing the dial. A single opening of the case supplied enough winding for four hours to the mainspring, so that six openings of the case were enough to run the watch for a whole day. The hope of success was so great that the Swiss businessman César de Trey bought all the marketing rights for this model for France, England, Spain and Italy at a price of 250,000 sFr. De Trey founded in 1928 in Lausanne, Switzerland a limited company under the name Hermetique which was exclusively dedicated to this model.

We can also mention that Mr. de Trey founded around 1930 another company called “Société Spécialités Horlogéres” dedicated to the no less famous Jaeger-LeCoultre model “Reverso” which undoubtedly had a great interest and a great intuition for new technologies.

This model also aroused the interest of major companies in the market such as: Bucherer, Cartier, Tiffany $ Co., Hermes, etc…

SEALED OR AIRTIGHT

The name “Ermeto” is derived from a Greek word and means “sealed or airtight”. Although it was not was neither waterproof nor vacuum-sealed, the term suggests protection against shock, dust and temperature changes. Originally conceived as a chain watch, Movado was able to see a much more ambitious marketing potential than expected and presented it in four different sizes ranging from the Pullman, named after the new American express train and intended as a travel watch, to the Ermeto Baby.

There was a style for every occasion: elegant and fashionable or sporty and rugged, loose in the pocket or attached by a chain. Ermeto became known as the only watch suitable for both men and women. A new concept for the time.

The shell-shaped Ermeto outer case offered endless design possibilities and came in plain or engraved gold or silver, covered with crocodile, lizard, ostrich, shark and snake skin or painted with enamel or Chinese lacquer with inlaid precious stones. Many of them were considered precious pieces of Art Deco jewellery. The Movado Ermeto won the Grand Prix at the World Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929 and is still considered today as the prototype of all “hermetic” and portfolio watches. A stunning success, the Movado original has been imitated many times, but never equalled.

A collision at Cleveand, Ohio, on 19 April 1891 between two trains travelling in opposite directions on the same stretch of single track resulted in nine deaths. The subsequent investigation revealed that one of the train drivers had thought he had a clear track because of his watch, which was five minutes ahead. This accelerated the adoption in the United States of an ad hoc regulation, which laid down strict conditions for an official railway clock, the essential criterion of which was to require a running deviation of less than +30 seconds per week, i.e. stopwatch accuracy. When the railway companies decided to equip their employees with these precision timepieces around the turn of the century, OMEGA already had almost 50 years of experience in watch production and was a logical choice as a supplier to many of the railway companies, a relationship of trust which would continue well into the 20th century.

Thus, in the same year as the launch of the now legendary “Speedmaster” chronograph and the special model for divers “Seamaster 300” (1957), and for the reasons mentioned above, the “Railmaster” – the legitimate successor to the 1953 model created for the British Royal Air Force – was presented.

Starting production with the reference “2914”, set like a chronometer in four positions. But it is not only the high-precision mechanism that makes it a treasure for today’s collector’s world. Much more interesting is its double case. The outer case was made of water-repellent Staybrite stainless steel, with a bevelled and burnished bezel and solid, also burnished, wrap-around lugs. The inner case made of “mumetal”, a protective sheet metal and a snap ring (soft iron) formed a screen in any position against any magnetic field up to 900+ Oersted, instead of 60 for a normal anti-magnetic watch.

This design has been especially predestined for scientists, technicians and electricians, railway workers or other people of any trade who work in close proximity to high power electrical currents. Its crystal is reinforced and the case back is screwed down with an O-ring to ensure water-resistance to 6 ATM or 60 meters. The diameter of the case is 38 mm, without measuring the “Naiad” type submersible crown. The special 1 mm thick dial (instead of the 0.4 mm of a standard dial), matt black, is made of oxidised soft iron. It has the central inscription “Railmaster” with a minute circle, Arabic numerals in 4/4 and arrowhead-shaped (radium) markers.

In 1928, the Neuchâtel engineer Jean-Léon Reutter, who was only 29 years old, filed a patent for a motor, the principle of which was based on pressure variations. The previous year Reutter had created two prototypes, one of which can be seen in the museum of watchmaking in Geneva and the other in the museum of the Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture in Le Sentier in the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland. The movement of this high-precision watch draws its energy for its operation from the air in the atmosphere, in other words, from variations in temperature. Every time the ambient temperature rises or falls by one degree Celsius, the barrel spring engages a sufficient amount of energy to guarantee a running autonomy of forty-eight hours. Its secret: inside a hermetically sealed capsule is a gaseous mixture which expands when the temperature rises and contracts when it falls. The capsule, which is connected to the spiral spring, acts like the bellows of an accordion and constantly winds the clock movement – between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius, a temperature fluctuation of one degree is enough to guarantee the table clock a running time of about two days – and the spring that winds the pendulum, which winds the clock mechanism continuously with each movement.

The principle of near-perpetual motion is based on this ingenious invention. The construction of this unique pendulum, which has been constantly refined over the past decades, requires extreme precision. In order to limit energy consumption and reduce wear factors, the movement operates without lubricants. The friction of a lubricant on the pinions would be enough to stop the mechanism. 

The “Atmos” uses barely 240th of the energy used by a normal wristwatch. To cite another telling example, it would take no less than 60 million “Atmos” to equal the energy consumption of a single, weak 15-watt light bulb. 

Traduced from spanish with “Deepl”.

In 1958, Breitling presented the “TransOcean automatic”, which was the company’s first chronometer. It was a particularly flat, newly designed automatic watch. This special design therefore only existed in the company’s own collection. The two models developed by the company, “TransOcean automatic” and “Transocean calendar-automatic”, had the same height – 9.3 mm -, a 25-jewel movement, calibre B 125, an unbreakable spring and an anti-shock, anti-magnetic and self-compensating system. As the automatic block was completely independent of the machine, repair was economical and quick. The large, powerful rotor of the automatic block was supported by a particularly robust rotating shaft. It was fitted with a sturdy metal rim, which provided absolute winding security. The tuning of the “TransOcean” is extremely precise thanks to the diameter of the Glucydur handwheel.

Notably, the “TransOcean” dial is a registered Breitling design, as is the signature “TransOcean” case. The timepieces are in gold on all models – steel, gold cap or gold chronometer. In addition, the “TransOcean” is super waterproof, thanks to a keyless water-resistant system (the reason for the elegance of the case) and guaranteed by the “O’ring” gasket. The same mechanism is applied to all models, with or without a calendar, including steel case, gold cover or gold chronometer.

GOLD CHRONOMETER

The “TransOcean” is a piece full of richness, the result of the super-production of Breitling quality; it is therefore a faithful testimony to the fact that the brand belongs to the world of aviation. The officially verified chronometer execution is reserved for the “TransOcean” made of 18-carat gold. It is an unusual and highly valuable timepiece. In this case, chronometers in steel or with a gold cover are not produced.

It comes with a genuine leather strap or a metal bracelet (steel and gold-plated) or gold bracelet. The buckles on the bracelet bear the same acronym as the case back, in homage to the world of aeroplanes.

To house the “TransOcean”, a special collection of elegant cases was created. The chronometer was delivered in a luxurious gift box that could be used as a jewellery box or a cigarette case. Over time, its luxury was scaled up.

The gold “TransOcean” is always produced in the chronometer version. In the past, it was delivered with its precision bulletin issued by the “Swiss official watch control offices”. 

A label of origin, illustrated with the brand’s initials, testified that the “TransOcean” was a piece of exceptional value. 

The execution of models with a stopwatch function have been produced in very limited numbers, which is why it is an extremely expensive watch today. 

Traduced from spanish with “Deepl”.

On the globe, as we all know, the time changes from one place to another: when it is daytime in our country, it is nighttime in many places on another continent, as the solar system imposes it on us.

The “EDOX-Geoscope” clock was the first true world time clock, as it automatically indicated the exact local time and at the same time the time in the most important cities of the world, and was therefore designed for the modern man, for businessmen, pilots, sailors or renowned artists who are called to perform every night in a different place.

THE GEOSCOPE DIAL

The “Geoscope” sphere is a faithful representation of the globe seen from the South Pole to the 70th parallel of North latitude. The Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand are clearly delimited. Like the Earth, the “Geoscope” sphere describes a complete revolution on its axis in 24 hours, in which the most important cities of the world are represented by red dots.

As the day has 24 hours, the globe is divided into 24 time zones, most of the boundaries of which run along seas and oceans. On the dial of an “EDOX-Geoscope” the time zones are represented by light blue and dark blue stripes on the surface of the oceans. On land, each country sets its time zones arbitrarily or according to political boundaries. Some countries have an unchanging official time and their territories are therefore displayed in white or light brown, depending on the corresponding time zones (Western Europe, for example, has adopted Central European Time, which means that there is a difference of 60 minutes between GMT and Central and Western European time). In several countries whose territories are split between two time zones, the difference is half an hour. On the EDOX-Geoscope dial, these countries are coloured green.

OPERATION

The arrangement of the dial of an EDOX-Geoscope makes it possible to determine the exact time in the user’s location or anywhere else in the world.7. People as diverse as our beloved J.A. Camacho, Spanish footballer, coach and national team coach, the popular magistrate Baltasar Garzón and the star of “Ana y los siete” were born together, and IWC presented the “1150A” and “S83A” models, which feature an ingenious new concept of the Swiss automatic watch with 21 jewels and an anti-magnetic balance wheel and balance spring, although the new automatic is of a robust design, it is distinguished by its elegant shape.

1. Pull out the crown in front of 10 o’clock (or 2 o’clock, depending on the model) to set the local time on the ring of 12 time divisions, then push the crown back to its normal position.

2. By turning the crown at 8 o’clock (or opposite 4 o’clock, depending on the model), the ring with 24 time divisions (the white segment indicates the hours of the day and the black segment indicates the hours of the night) is set to the local time and the time zone for the user’s location. The world map with its division into time zones is also automatically positioned, thus determining the exact time for each location with great precision. 

3. In the case of countries which have adopted an official summer time, the ring of 24 time divisions must be left in the position corresponding to world time.

MECHANISM AND CASE

The “Edox-Geoscope” has an ultra-modern high-frequency automatic mechanism (4 Hertz = 28 800 oscillations) with precision regulator. Its absolutely waterproof case is carved out of a block of stainless steel. To make it easier to read the figures, the dial is coated with special anti-reflective and virtually scratchproof glass. It should be noted that cases are available with the crowns on the right and left-hand side.

GMT TIME AND SUN POSITION

Of particular importance is the GMT (Greenwich Mean Time or zero meridian time) display, which is represented on the dial by a red line and the initials GMT. Opposite the GMT line is the International Date Line (in white). When you cross this line from America to Asia you move from one day to the next: in the opposite direction, i.e. from Asia to America, you move from one day to the day before.

On the ring of 24 time divisions there is a symbol of the sun whose position will in many cases serve as a useful point of reference.

Traduced from spanish with “Deepl”.

1. While Spain joins the UN, which means the definitive international recognition of Franco’s regime, and Federal Germany regains full sovereignty and joins NATO, Juvenia presents its latest creation, the mysterious “Trigone”, a pleasure that is continually renewed. Evocative and multifaceted: star at six o’clock, pyramid at noon. It attracts curiosity.

2. The first SEAT factory appears at the same time as the Audemars Piguet manufacture, founded in Le Brassus (Vallée de Joux), presents an ultra-thin model, created by true specialist artists. Audemars Piguet watches achieve an admirable perfection of form, elegance and precision, a masterpiece of the watchmaker’s art.

3. Juan Manuel Fangio is consecrated as a master (champion) of the Formula 1 world, just as Vacheron & Constantin creates a new and masterful confirmation of mastery, the “Chronometer Royal”, an impressive model with automatic movement and Geneva hallmark, which is a true title of nobility and guarantees this so-called “Geneva” quality.

4. It is “2 centuries of precision watches”, and to mark the bicentenary event, V&C presents “the ultra-thin watch”.

5. and 6. On the initiative of the French sports newspaper L’Equipe, together with the leading European football clubs, the European League Champions Cup is created, and Movado, based on the “Ermeto” model already invented 25 years ago, creates the “Calendermeto”, for the elegant woman and the man with good taste, with a full calendar and moon phase, which receives the admiration of the watchmaking world. Models available were the “Standard”, “Automatic”, “Baby Automatic”, “Luxe Automatic” and finally the “Ermeto Calendrier Automatic” which displays the time and calendar.

7. People as diverse as our beloved J.A. Camacho, Spanish footballer, coach and national team coach, the popular magistrate Baltasar Garzón and the star of “Ana y los siete” were born together, and IWC presented the “1150A” and “S83A” models, which feature an ingenious new concept of the Swiss automatic watch with 21 jewels and an anti-magnetic balance wheel and balance spring, although the new automatic is of a robust design, it is distinguished by its elegant shape.

The axis of the winding carriage, on its ruby cushions, is mounted on springs, so that this elastic suspension cushions all the shocks and jolts suffered by the watch. The same brand at the same time inaugurates the reference “348 AD” in solid 18k gold or stainless steel, the automatic movement also with 21 jewels but with date, the model, which is already reminiscent of the famous “Ingenieur” watch which will appear soon.

8. Chuck Berry delights us with “Maybellene” and Patek Phillipe presents a model of great importance, the 2nd” generation of the ref. “2526”, with enamel dial and automatic movement of the already legendary calibre 12″” 600 AT, with bi-directional solid gold rotor. PPC produced 7,100 pieces of this calibre up to the 1960s.

9. One of the legends of jazz, Charlie Parker, dies in New York, and Zenith becomes a legend, delivering its chronometers to the Neuchâtel observatory. For the fifth time in 5 years, Zenith wins a new prodigious victory, occupying the top 4 places in the wristwatch category and also winning the first prize in the series for the four best wristwatches.

10. The Soviet Union launches the hydrogen bomb in Siberia, opening another chapter in the arms race of the world powers, and Omega launches the “Constellation de Luxe” model, each example of which – without exception – is awarded a chronometer certificate of excellence: “particularly good results”. This year, for the first time in the history of the wristwatch, the two observatories (at Neuchâtel and Geneva) have attributed victory in all tests to Omega, which thus achieved its seventh victory in 10 years in Geneva and set a new precision record in Neuchâtel. Its water-resistant case is made of 18-carat gold and the dial, together with the faceted and lapidated hour-markers, is also made of solid gold. To complete the luxury of wearing this Omega model, it is delivered in a silver case with a carved lid.

Traduced from spanish with “Deepl”.

1. On its 25th anniversary, the Watch Fair in Basel is celebrating a unique event in the history of watchmaking together with Rolex. Rolex had produced the 250,000th chronometer – a “Datejust” – the Swiss manufacture is once again writing a new chapter in the history of time measurement”.

2. In July 1955, Vacheron & Constantin in Geneva produced 4 special watches. During the Geneva conference, a group of Geneva citizens presented these 4 watches to the “Big Four” and their foreign ministers, including US General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Around the same time, in the South of America, hard times were being experienced by the Argentinians, which ended in a revolution”.

3 . At the Basel Fair, Doxa launched a sensational novelty, the watch with “instant seconds”. The second hand of the new Reference 15000 shows 1 beat instead of 5 beats per second. When the crown is pulled out, the central seconds hand stops, making it very easy to set the exact time with a time signal. Accuracy to the second not only offers advantages in terms of readability, but also in medicine, sport and the military, where seconds are of great importance. 

4. Universal Genève presents a sensational new watch, the “Polarouter Automatic”, adapted by SAS for the Royal Viking Flights over the North Pole, which is prepared to withstand any climate, any weather under all latitudes, from the Pole to the Equator…. Its 17-jewel, high-precision, shock-protected, anti-magnetic mechanism is embedded in a patented tension ring, which excludes any influence of humidity and dust.

5. In the same year that celebrities such as Kevin Costner, John Grisham, Bill Gates, etc. were born, the Key Watch company in St.-Blaise unveiled its latest invention for the motorist who always wants to know the exact time. A simple screw is all it takes to attach the watch to the ignition key. The Ref. 690 has an automatic movement with Rotor Bydinator.

6. Disneyland opens its doors for the first time and Record Watch in Geneva achieves a sensational combination: its “Tridatic” model, an automatic watch with rotor and power reserve. This company, always at the forefront of progress, has just achieved the technical mastery of adapting the two perfections, the calendar and the power reserve, on the same machine.

7. At the time of the signing of the Warsaw Pact in May 1955, Pierce, in Bienne, presented a major innovation: the “Pierce Correctomatic” watch (patented system). Although tuned in the factory or by the retailer with the utmost precision, the watches are subject to variations in rate when they are used for everyday wear. These variations depend on the person wearing it, the conditions in which it is used, the more or less frequent or violent movements of the wearer, the resting position during the night, the climate, changes in temperature or season, the thickening of the oil, etc… The “Pierce Correctomatic” system allows everyone to set their watch to the exact time (to the minute and second) by simply pressing a push-button when a time signal is heard. Without having to go to the watchmaker and without opening the watch, it can be corrected very precisely to suit the wearer’s working conditions. This instantaneous adjustment is achieved by simply setting the watch to the correct time using the push-piece, thus automatically correcting any possible variation in the rate.

8. Algeria rebels against France and Montilier Watch launches a watch with a 24-hour dial. The timetables of military orders, transport companies, astronomical yearbooks, programmes, etc. all number the hours from 1 to 24. Thus the wearer of an ordinary watch is constantly forced to mentally transform the reading of the time to adapt it to the old way of dividing time into 12 sections. The watch with a 24-hour dial responds to the desire expressed by transport and industry to avoid giving its owner the inconvenience of having to solve a tedious and error-prone problem at every moment.

9. Roamer Watch, in Soleure, inaugurates a wrist alarm clock with a central seconds hand and machinery with two real springs (one for the clock and one for the alarm clock). The technicians of Roamer Watch have spent several years developing this watch. The alarm clock on the wrist produces a discreet noise to remind the wearer of a certain time. Placed on the table it sounds loud, just like an ordinary alarm clock.

10. Coinciding with the year of the deaths of Albert Einstein (18 April) and James Dean (30 October), Glycine en Bienne presents the “Airman” model for aviators. Water-resistant steel case, 24-hour rotating bezel, central seconds, calendar, 23-jewel automatic movement. 

Traduced from spanish with “Deepl”.