Manufacture Tourbillon Moonphase Date 24 Silicium

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Geneva, June 2009 : Frédérique Constant is proud to introduce a World Premiere: a Tourbillon watch with Silicium Escapement Wheel and Lever moonphase Date 24. Based on its award-winning Heart Beat Manufacture Calibre, Frédérique Constant developed its Tourbillon fully in-house with a number of unique features:

· Silicium Escapement Wheel and lever
· Smart Weight Balancing
· Fast Oscillation at 28'800 BpH
· Tourbillon Cage individually numbered

Silicium Escapement Wheel

In 2007, Frédérique Constant introduced a limited edition Heart Beat Manufacture watch with a Silicium Escapement Wheel. We noted the following three main advantages:

Improvement Benefit

Lubricant-free running 1. Age-related thinning and drying of lubrication will no longer occur2. An escapement wheel without oiling avoids the risk that oil spreads to other parts of the movement. Very light (low inertia) The escapement wheel is accelerated andstopped at each tick and tock of the watch.The lower weight silicium escapement wheelhas lower inertia, increasing energy efficiency. Good friction properties Lower friction reduces loss of energy, hencethe energy requirement for the calibre is lower.

With its three main advantages compared to a regular escapement wheel, a Silicium escapement wheel is particularly useful in a Tourbillon mechanism.  In particular, the reduced weight of the Silicium escapement wheel and the better friction properties result in a substantially higher energy efficiency. As a result, the Frédérique Constant Tourbillon with Silicium escapement wheel has an amplitude of over 300 degrees in dial-up and dial-down positions. Even in the crown-down position, the is over 275 degrees, which is substantially better than the performance of other high-end tourbillons.

Smart Weight Balancing

The Frédérique Constant Tourbillon Cage consists of 80 parts. Each of these parts is produced to the highest possible tolerance, with a precision of 1-2 micron (0.001-0.002 mm). Many of the parts are produced on Frédérique Constant's ultra precise CNC machine in Plan-les-Ouates. This CNC machine of the latest custom-made generation has a tolerance of 1 micron on the X and Y axes and 2 micron on the Z axe. Even with such a high degree of precision, it is impossible to have a 100% equal distribution of weight in the individual parts; for a Tourbillon to run accurately, an equal distribution of weight is essential. Frédérique Constant solved this problem by a “Smart Screw” system on the outer edge of the Tourbillon cage. At first, the Tourbillon cage is constructed with a slight over-weight opposite the Smart Screw system on the main Cage Wheel. Thereafter, a highly skilled watchmaker is able to balance the weight into the center of the Tourbillon cage by adding or exchanging tiny metal rings under the two screws on the main cage wheel. Typically, 8 hours are required for a watchmaker to adjust the tiny rings and balance the weight perfectly for the entire Tourbillon cage. 

Fast Oscillation

The Frédérique Constant Tourbillon runs at 4 Hertz whereby the balance wheel beats 28'800 times per hour. Hence, in a Frédérique Constant Tourbillon, the balance wheel swings 28,800 times an hour and the gear train moves forward 691,200 times in 24 hours. In four years, this represents over one billion impulses.

Most competing Tourbillons run at 3 Hertz only. The higher ‘Beats per Hour' (BpH) enable a higher accuracy of the Tourbillon calibre. The higher oscillation also makes the calibre less susceptible to gyration effects.


Individually Numbered

Each Tourbillon cage is individually numbered to show the Limited Edition of 188 pieces. The minuscule top plate in the center of the Tourbillon cage is sequentially numbered during production on the Frédérique Constant CNC machine. The number on the cage will match the Limited Edition number on the case, making the combination of calibre and case unique.

Background

Gravity is one of the main causes of rate variations of the balance wheel in watches. The rate of the balance wheel should be perfectly constant to ensure accurate timekeeping of a watch. A Tourbillon mechanism eliminates errors of rate in the various vertical positions of a watch and therefore compensates for the effects of gravity on a watch.

The Frédérique Constant Tourbillon consists of a mobile cage, driven by the gear train, carrying the balance wheel and escapement. Every time the balance wheel receives an impulse, the cage rotates slightly with all the elements it contains. The cage turns co-axially and makes one revolution per minute, so that the error of rate will automatically be compensated while the Tourbillon cage travels through the opposite position.

Of all the delicate, complex mechanisms invented by watchmakers over
the centuries, the Tourbillon is one of the most complicated. A Tourbillon mechanism is extremely complex to manufacture due to the required accuracy of all the parts involved. The Tourbillon is also valued for its engineering and design principles. Only very few and only the very best watchmakers have the necessary skills to manufacture a Tourbillon watch successfully.

The Tourbillon is one of the most valued and sought-after complications by collectors and aficionados of premium timepieces alike. The Frédérique Constant Tourbillon design allows the tourbillon mechanism to be seen through a large aperture in the watch dial at six o'clock. In addition to enhancing the charm of the timepiece, the Tourbillon cage with its incorporated hand acts as a second indicator as it rotates once per minute.

The Frédérique Constant Tourbillon is equipped with an Incabloc shock absorber. In this device, the balance wheel ruby jewel in which the pivot turns is mounted in a conical setting, which itself is placed in a solid truncated cone in the center of the Tourbillon cage. When a lateral or axial shock occurs, the setting slides into the cone, thus allowing the pivot to transfer the shock to the frame.

Next to the Tourbillon mechanism, Frédérique Constant incorporated a Day-Night complication into the calibre.  Finally, great care has been taken in all the aesthetic details of the movement: Côtes de Genève and perlage decoration, anglage (chamfer) and rhodiage (rhodium plating) on all the bridges, as well as heated blued steel screws.