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If there is one complication traditionally associated with watchmaking workshops, it’s the regulator. This manner of displaying the minutes in the centre and of disconnecting the hours and seconds is a watchmaker’s nod to the pioneers’ expertise. In the old days, the regulator was in fact the reference clock or master clock that sat enthroned in every workshop and enabled watchmakers to accurately set to within the nearest minute each watch that they had just completed. Hence the necessity of giving pride of place to the minute hand, to the detriment of the hour hand.
In presenting the Piaget Emperador coussin regulator, the Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie Piaget did not wish to merely miniaturise this original configuration of the hands in order to adapt to the size of a wristwatch: instead, its master-watchmakers added an additional complication in the form of retrograde seconds. Mastery of the latter function is equalled only by its apparent simplicity, because retrograde seconds call for an impeccably reliable movement. The principle and the value of this function lie in the particular path followed by the seconds hand. Every 30 seconds, meaning 2,880 times a day, this hand jumps quickly and accurately from the 30 position to the 0 position before starting all over again. This naturally implies considerable tensions and forces in play, and means that developing such a mechanism calls for exceptional horological expertise.
At the heart of this Piaget Emperador coussin regulator model beats Calibre 835P, an ultra-thin mechanical hand-wound movement measuring 3.92 mm thick. Designed, developed and produced by the Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie Piaget, Calibre 835P is equipped with a large balance with screws and a large barrel providing a power reserve of around 65 hours. Like all movements by the Manufacture, this new Calibre 835P is graced with extremely meticulous finishes. The mainplate is circular-grained, bridges are bevelled, while the decorative elements such as circular Côtes de Genève and blued screws are in line with the brand’s aesthetic codes.
The Piaget Emperador coussin regulator is available in two 18-carat pink or white gold versions measuring 42.5 mm in diameter and fitted with a sapphire crystal case-back. A finely satin-brushed midnight blue or charcoal grey dial is guilloché-worked at 12 o’clock for the retrograde seconds, while the rim of the case-back is engraved with the year, the number of watches produced and the “Regulator” indication.
Source: TheWatchAvenue |
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