BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
This year brings the return of Only Watch, the bi-annual charity watch auction where the proceeds go to research towards eradicating Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Famed watchmaker Girard-Perregaux has submitted watches for the auction before, and this year’s one is a special one indeed.
The Neo Constant Escapement Only Watch piece stands out from the rest even on the Only Watch website. It might look like a bronze timepiece, but this special piece is actually made of 18k pink gold in the case and dial which has been sandblasted. It’s an unusual choice for this material, given that brushing and polishing are traditional, but it works.
You may be wondering what the blue assembly on the dial is for. This is Girard-Perregaux’s constant force system. Mechanical watches are powered by springs and, as we know, springs don’t deliver power in a linear fashion, instead they like to try and give all their power at once if possible. Even though the balance wheel and escapement slow that delivery, there are still points where the spring barrel is pushing harder because it has more stored energy. The constant force system uses the blue ring-shaped silicone spring and a 14-micron thick silicone blade across the middle to assist in providing a more even flow of power across the 7-day power reserve. Look, this is a short article, so I’ve skipped a lot of details, but it’s a fascinating mechanism.
Estimates for this watch are set between 140,000 and 220,000 CHF and I think this will match that.
