Hello friends, many of you have asked me what a so-called “minute repeater” watch replicas uk is. So I rolled up my shirt sleeves, did a lot of research on the internet but also in some very good watchmaking books in order to provide you with a complete but above all understandable article.
The origins of the minute repeater watch
The minute repeater is considered one of the most complex challenges in watchmaking. This complication requires incredible expertise and experience from master watchmakers. Indeed, the latter can take several weeks for a craftsman to assemble the numerous elements necessary to create a single minute repeater mechanism.
But then why created such a complication? Well the answer is relatively simple. At the end of the 17th century, radium and SuperLuminova simply did not exist, minute repeater watches first emerged in England for the needs of the nobility who wanted to know the exact time in the darkness. It was the watchmaker Daniel Quare who filed the first patent for a “quarter” repeater.
Subsequently, they appeared during the 18th century thanks to the creativity and know-how of Abraham Louis Breguet, famous watchmaker and inventor of the tourbillon. At first, it was a small hammer that struck a small bell fixed inside the back cover of the watch. These first “repeat watches” only indicated the hours on demand. Subsequently, with the evolution of the mechanism, “quarter” repeaters appeared, then “half-quarter” repeaters and finally repeaters which struck the hour to the nearest five minutes.
How does a minute repeater watch work?
Now that you understand the origins of minute repeater watches a little better, let’s take a closer look at how this type of watch complication works.
Watches with a minute repeater most often have a slide on the side of the case. Unlike a simple button, the slide prevents you from accidentally triggering the ringtone.
To activate the minute repeater, simply push the slide. Once engaged, the two small hammers are then engaged. The first hammer is the hour indicator, it hits a first circular blade which produces a deep sound. The second hammer hits the second circular blade which produces a much sharper sound. Between them, they tell the time to the minute.
But the energy in all this? How are these two hammers powered?
In fact, to function correctly, a minute repeater requires a lot of energy, enough to be able to operate the 2 small hammers that strike the hour. Most minute repeater watch models are equipped with a double barrel spring.
The first barrel supplies energy to the overall movement of the watch in order to operate the hours, minutes and seconds. The second barrel will only power the complication hammers which will strike the hour on request.
5 iconic minute repeater watches
Minute repeater watches have undergone a great evolution, however, by the end of the 19th century, their design was considered to be almost perfect. Since then, their construction has changed very little, testifying to the quality of their initial design. Here are some examples of very well-known minute repeater watches produced by exceptional watchmaking houses such as Patek Philippe Vacheron Constantin or Audemars Piguet.
The Patek Philippe Ref. 5531R-001: Minute Repeater at World Time
This watch is a concentrate of extraordinary complications. It combines two of the Patek Philippe complications: on the one hand the Worldtimer and on the other hand the famous minute repeater which, here, always sounds the local time displayed on the watch.
The watch has an entirely 18-karat rose gold case with a hand-guilloché “Clous de Paris” motif. The enamel dial depicts a landscape of Lavaux, on the shores of the emblematic Lake Geneva.
The Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Minute Repeater Tourbillon
Here too, the Vacheron Constantin manufacture offers an exceptional watch with this minute repeater tourbillon. The relatively imposing 44mm diameter case houses the Caliber 2755 TMR (Tourbillon Minute Repeater), a manually wound movement which powers the tourbillon and also the minute repeater.
A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater
On this A. Lange & Söhne model, the time is not indicated by hands but by two windows: one for the hours (jumping hour complication) and one for the minutes (jumping minute). In addition to a power reserve and a seconds hand, the watch also has a minute repeater which fits beautifully into this sober and refined dial.
The A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater has an entirely platinum case measuring 44.2mm in diameter. The latter contains the hand-wound manufacture caliber L043.5, finished by hand and comprising a total of 771 components.
The Patek Philippe 5078G Minute Repeater
This watch from Patek Philippe presents the minute repeater complication in its simplest form. A white gold case measuring 38mm in diameter, all enhanced by a cream-colored enamel dial. There are also applied Breguet indexes in white gold as well as a small seconds at 6 o’clock.
It is the self-winding Caliber R27PS that powers the watch as well as the minute repeater which is activated with the slide on the left side of the case.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Perpetual Minute Repeater
Finally, here is a pretty crazy piece that mixes minute repeater and perpetual calendar. This watch from Jaeger LeCoultre, limited to 30 pieces, has a white gold case measuring 43mm in diameter. The blue guilloche enamel dial indicates the day, date, month, year, moon phase and leap years.
The sapphire crystal watch back offers a view of the self-winding Jaeger LeCoultre 950 caliber. It offers 38 hours of power reserve and strikes the time on demand thanks to the minute repeater which engages via a slide located on the left side of the case.
To conclude on the minute repeater watch
So that’s it for this beautiful article covering the history and origins of the minute repeater. Minute repeater watches have a rich and fascinating history that goes back to the great man A.L.Breguet.
These watches have evolved over the centuries to become true works of art. Watchmaking companies have been able to work on and develop this complication, each with their own know-how and heritage because God knows that the operation of a minute repeater watch is based on a very complex mechanism.