Christmas is synonymous with the chiming of bells. Chiming watches – also known as striking watches – combine exquisite craftsmanship with the elegance of sound. They use gongs – hammers – to produce exceptional examples of auditory beauty. However, creating a loud, clear sound is a real challenge for even the most experienced watchamakers. That’s why only the best luxury watch brands are capable of producing them. With their complex mechanical movements and intricate mechanism they offer a rare fusion of artistry, engineering, and auditory beauty. Their melodic tones evoke the festive spirit of Christmas and the chimes of churches signalling Christmas celebrations.
PATEK PHILIPPE REF. 6301P GRANDE AND PETITE SONNERIE, MINUTE REPEATER
The latest watch to showcase the maison’s pre-eminence in chiming watches. A magnum opus with a case fashioned from platinum, a metal known for its excellence in resonance. The ref. 6301P combines a grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie and minute repeater. The proprietary new mechanical hand-wound movement features three classic gongs and was granted two patents for the strike work mechanism and one for the jumping seconds. On the grand feu black enamel dial there are white gold Breguet numerals. The watch is supplied with humidity- and dust-protecting interchangeable solid and sapphire crystal casebacks. Learn more about this watch, HERE.
VACHERON CONSTANTIN LES CABINOTIERS MINUTE REPEATER TOURBILLON – TRIBUTE TO ARABESQUE
The brand’s specialist workshop continues to go from strength to strength with a tour de force watch that features highly intricate engraving work on the dial – the result of three months of painstaking and extremely meticulous craftsmanship – fashioned after the arabesque and floral motifs in the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. The watch is powered by the Geneva hallmarked in-house calibre 2755 TMR featuring a tourbillon and a minute repeater. All contained in a 44mm 18kt white-gold case fitted with an alligator leather strap, secured by a white gold folding clasp engraved with an arabesque pattern. More about Les Cabinotiers Tribute to Arabesque, HERE.
GREUBEL FORSEY GRANDE SONNERIE
A highly complex chiming watch that took 11 years of research and development, achieving two patents in the process. The mechanism is contained within an acoustic resonance cage made of titanium that enhances the crystalline strike of the grande sonnerie gongs. A minute repeater “chime on demand” activates via a crown-mounted pusher and the striking modes are selected by a second pusher that delineates between grande and petite sonnerie, or silence. An inclined 24-second tourbillon escapement completes the timepiece. More about the Greubel Forsey Grande Sonnerie, HERE.
AUDEMARS ROYAL OAK MINUTE REPEATER SUPERSONNERIE
With its all-titanium construction and smoked grey “grande tapisserie” dial, this watch looks for all intents and purposes like an ordinary Royal Oak, except for the slide on the left of the case. Audemars Piguet has invested a great deal of research into repeaters, and the results show. Its patented Supersonnerie technology, introduced in 2015 in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, involves a newly developed case construction that boosts amplification, with the gongs attached to a new device that acts as a soundboard, transmitting the notes directly. Read further about the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie, HERE.
IWC PORTUGIESER MINUTE REPEATER
An astounding example of traditional aesthetics for a minute repeater watch. Highly accomplished in its simplicity. The on-demand chimes are triggered by depressing the slide on the side of the case, which makes the delicate strike train sound the time out in hours, quarters and minutes. Housed in a 44mm 18kt 5N rose-gold case, with a manual-wind movement, on a brown alligator leather strap. Limited edition of 500 pieces. Further details about the IWC Portugieser Minute Repeater, HERE.
BULGARI OCTO ROMA GRANDE SONNERIE TOURBILLON
Created in collaboration with the Italian-Swiss conductor Lorenzo Viotti, Bulgari’s new chiming watch stands out because of its creative and disruptive take on the tonal scale. Its quarter-hour chimes are executed by four unfamiliar notes. The theme for this new sonnerie is a tritone – a musical interval of three steps – dividing the octave in half and requiring the redefinition of the triggering hammers. Independent pushers allow the user to select between grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie and the on-demand minute repeater. A limited edition of five in an updated titanium Roma case. More about the Bulgari Octo collection, HERE.
Author: Andrew Hildreth
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