minute repeater

The minute repeater is a great example of sophisticated complications that can be achieved through the highest level of watchmaking art. It is therefore no surprise that it is a complication that fascinates many watch lovers beyond measure. This article is all about the minute repeater, how it works and its history, as well as the best repeater watches the market has to offer.

The Art of Watchmaking: How the Minute Repeater Works

If you want to understand how the minute repeater works, you have to take the time to understand the mechanics behind the challenging complication. The term basically refers to the function of a watch to acoustically display the time. The acoustic reproduction of the time using tones of different pitches is ideally carried out with the utmost precision and can sometimes be individually adjusted. For example, with some models it is possible to limit the acoustic signals to the whole, half or quarter hour, to have them sound every 5 minutes or to hear them every minute in the classic minute repeater.

The minute repeater explained in detail

Watches with minute repeaters date back to the 18th century, when Abraham Louis Breguet invented the tourbillon. The mechanism behind it has been virtually perfected since the end of the 19th century and has only been slightly developed since then. We will now delve deeper into the subject and see how watchmakers manage to equip timepieces with the complicated repetition using a repeater mechanism.

hourly scale and hourly calculation

The way repeater watches work is based on the exact synchronization of the position of the hands and the cadrature. The hands are therefore usually integrated by the watchmaker at the very end and adjusted to the striking mechanism. For the repeater, the movement and striking mechanism work hand in hand. Cam wheels transmit the time from the movement to the repeater mechanism - a mechanism that requires precise manual work to install.

The striking of the full hours is carried out in the repeater mechanism by the hour scale and hour rack. The hour scale is a snail-shaped part with twelve steps - one for each hour -, while the hour rack is a complex rack with twelve spaces between them. If the repeater clock is to strike seven o'clock, for example, we are on the seventh step. A so-called drop lever enters the seventh space of the rack, which moves and raises the hammer lifting shaft. As a result, a hammer strikes the gong spring and the desired note sounds. Triggered by the fall of the hammer, an additional spring mechanism is tensioned at the same time, which raises the hammer again before it falls to the next note.

Typically, models work with tones at different pitches, with the full hour usually indicated by a low tone.

quarter-hour relay and incident

A modern wristwatch with a minute repeater indicates hours, quarter hours and minutes acoustically, which is why the hour counter and the hour scale are only part of the whole. The quarter hour is usually sounded with a double strike, for which the hammer approaches the gongs twice in quick succession. This is initiated by the quarter hour scale. This has three double cams, i.e. one double cam each for the first, second and third quarter hours of a full hour. The fourth quarter falls on the completion of the hour and is therefore indicated by the low hour tone and not the quarter hour double tone.

To ensure maximum reliability of repeater watches, the so-called protrusion is installed. This refers to a delicate slide plate that sits under the minute scale - which we will come to shortly. Its job is to jump forward after the tone of the first minute and thus enlarge the associated scanning area. The result is a chime with greater precision.

quarter-hour repeater and five-minute repeater

Which brings us to the minute scale. As the name suggests, this element in the striking mechanism is responsible for the individual minutes. The minute scale is star-shaped and consists of four arms, each with 14 teeth. Each tooth symbolizes a minute between the quarter hours. The minute scale follows the rotation of the integrated minute tube and is the last of the components to emit its sound.

Some quarter-repeater watches are available without a minute scale, namely when the complication of the repeater is limited to the quarter hours. Another version of the repeater watch is the time indicator with 5-minute repeater. This produces either a sound for full hours, quarter hours and every fifth minute, or just for full hours and every fifth minute. Less frequently, the pitches also differ at tens of minutes, for example at minutes ten, twenty and forty.

minute repeater

In its perfected form, the repeater strike mechanism sets hours, quarter hours and minutes to music. The latter are then not "just" given as an acoustic time signal every five minutes, but every minute. If this option is available for watches with repeaters, they are equipped with the coveted complication of minute repeater.

The History of the Minute Repeater: A Journey Through the Art of Watchmaking

The manufacture of repeating watches is, in a way, the pinnacle of watchmaking. After all, the mechanism behind minute repeaters usually consists of well over a hundred individual parts that have to be painstakingly assembled. As described at the beginning, we now assume that we have a certain Abraham Louis Breguet to thank for the basic principle of minute repeater watches as we know them. The French watchmaker undoubtedly had a great deal of inventiveness, as he created not only the tourbillon and minute repeater, but also the first dials with a decentralized hour ring. His influence on the further development of watches could hardly have been greater.

In the past, striking clocks were built with bells to fulfil a very simple purpose: the clocks were supposed to reliably inform their wearers of the time even in the dark. Edward Barlow and Daniel Quare - clockmakers from London - independently developed the first clock models with a repeater mechanism at the end of the 17th century. Finally, in the middle of the 18th century, Breguet was the first to come up with the idea of ​​using hammers and gongs instead of bells, which - as we now know - was to prevail in the long term.

A few decades later, the first wristwatch with a gong repeater came onto the market. This was developed in 1892 by Audemars Piguet - a milestone in the history of watches of this type. From around 1910, wristwatches and pocket watches with the complicated minute repeater were available. At that time, their striking mechanisms essentially worked exactly as is usual in today's minute repeaters.

The best minute repeater watches on the market

Due to the challenges in production and the associated huge amount of time and effort, as well as the high demands on the skills of the watchmakers, watches with minute repeaters are not included in the range of every watch brand. Nevertheless, if you are specifically looking for models with such a striking mechanism, you will find them primarily at well-known brands such as Patek Philippe , Lange & Söhne , Audemars Piguet or IWC . Three of the best timepieces with minute repeaters are presented in more detail below:

Patek Philippe reference 5078

Perpetual calendars, tourbillons, astronomical clocks and of course minute repeaters: there are hardly any complications that are not represented in Patek Philippe 's product range. A wonderful example of a model with a rack striking mechanism from Patek Philippe is the reference 5078. The sophisticated repeater movement is located on the left side of the case and can be seen thanks to the sapphire glass back.

The elegant timepiece with the 38 mm case is characterized by its first-class movement and its incredibly exquisite design. Available with a case made of platinum, white gold or rose gold and optionally with Breguet or feuille hands, the Patek Philippe reference 5078 is a classic through and through - a real eye-catcher. The wristwatch is rounded off by a high-quality enamel dial that fits perfectly into the authentic overall appearance of the watch.

Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater

The traditional company Lange & Söhne has come up with the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater collection, which will amaze watch lovers with a penchant for minute repeaters. The special feature: The collection includes, among other things, the first mechanical wristwatch with a jumping numeral display and decimal minute repeater. The mechanism can be activated manually using a pusher, after which the timepiece - unlike many competing products - does not announce the quarter hour, but the tens of minutes acoustically.

One look at the Zweitwerk watch is enough to see that this is the epitome of a luxury product. The case is made of platinum and has a dial with a harmoniously integrated small second hand and a practical power reserve indicator. Another highlight are the cleverly integrated recesses in the dial, through which you can admire the hammers striking the gong.

IWC Portuguese minute repeater

A striking mechanism made up of around 250 parts, a movement with a detailed finish and a characteristic railway minute track on the edge of the dial: the Portuguese Minute Repeater model from IWC impresses with a large number of impressively sophisticated elements. With straightforward feuille hands, a discreetly With its small second hand embedded in a dot and Arabic numerals, IWC clearly focuses on tradition and classicism and has created a luxurious watch that represents the pinnacle of watchmaking with utmost dignity.

If you want to see how the hammers work together with the slides and gongs to produce sounds, you can do so through the sapphire crystal caseback of the IWC model. You can't help but notice the attention to detail, which is particularly evident in the finished movement. with perlage and Geneva stripes.

Why a minute repeater watch is unique

A clock that sounds hours, quarter hours and minutes is always a unique product. Even if several clocks are made with the same slider, the same gongs and other elements and from exactly the same materials, the tones of the final products never sound exactly the same. This means that two clocks that have the same striking mechanism and in which the same parts are built are still not exactly the same.

This is mainly due to the great complexity of minute repeater watches. Due to the use of several hundred parts and the complex mechanism, a sound analysis always reveals at least subtle differences between two timepieces made of the same material and construction. A minute repeater watch thus has its own personal fingerprint in the form of its own sound.

The Value of a Minute Repeater Watch: Why It's a Worthwhile Investment

Anyone who wants to own a repeater watch often does so out of sheer fascination for the technical masterpiece behind it and the almost incomprehensible complexity of the movements. Many collectors who are able to fulfill their dream of owning a minute repeater watch never think about selling their new piece of jewelry again. On the other hand, these special products are also of interest to those who plan to resell them from the start and who see the watch with "sound time" primarily as an investment.

Basically, you always have to expect relatively high prices for a repeater timepiece. The amount of work that goes into the models and the large number of delicate parts alone drive the costs up. The reference 5078 from Patek Philippe presented in this article, for example, costs over €300,000, while the "more affordable" model from IWC is still more than €60,000. Minute repeater watches are therefore definitely not something you can just pay for out of pocket. Quite the opposite: buying one represents a significant investment that should be carefully considered and is not something everyone can afford.

In many cases, repeater watches are a wonderful investment. This is because they are products of the finest watchmaking, whose technology is sophisticated and which therefore - at least in terms of the striking mechanism - remain "up to date" for years and decades. Due to the complicated, complex production of the watches, they are often produced in very limited numbers. This also means that the demand for the noble models is often significantly greater than the supply of available products. As a result, the masterpieces have a very high value stability on average, so that they can be resold without any problems and often at a profit.

Conclusion - An acoustic masterpiece: The minute repeater

Repeater timepieces are a symbol of the technical feats that talented watchmakers can achieve and are admired by watch lovers around the world. The wristwatches, which indicate the time acoustically using different tones, have sophisticated striking mechanisms and work with a complex mechanism that is nothing short of astonishing. It is therefore not surprising that the minute repeater is still one of the most sought-after and fascinating complications that a watch can have.