JLC Duomètre a Quantième Lunaire - A Technical Feat

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire is one of those timepieces that is not only techically impressive but has the beauty to match too.

Since the launching of the Duomètre range, I've always admired the technical feat as well as the concept of separating isochronism from other functions like time and date display and even chronograph measurement. I'll come to that later...

In 2014, the manufacture in Le Sentier went one further and introduced the Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire with a Grand Feu Enamel dial. Limited to 200 pieces, the dial side is as beautiful as the movement.

The dial layout is simple yet breathtaking.

At the 9 o'clock (above) is the moonphase and date display. I would have thought that the blue hands were heat oxidized but they are painted. Still, they give a nice contrast to the milky white dial.

Adjacent at the 3 o'clock position (pictured above) is the time display. At certain angles, the hour and minute hands has a golden hue but at certain angles, grey. And right at the 6 o'clock (pictured below) is the display for the 1/6th second display - also known as Foudroyante.

The jumping seconds ensures the chronometry and one of the feature of this Duomètre is when you pull the crown. When you pull the crown at the first position, the Foudroyante hands returns to the zero mark and the seconds hand stops just like with the hacking seconds of a normal watch. But wait! When you pull the crown again to the second position, the seconds hand resets to zero too. Much is said about time setting accuracy and the Grand Maison has done a wonderful job of including the double zero resets in the Duomètre.

Now for the technical wonder in Calibre 381. The Calibre 381 is beautifully laid out and is made from German silver. German silver, also known as maillechort, is not actually silver and its composition of Zinc, Nickel and Copper gives it the slight golden hue. Movements made from German silver are said to be anti-magnetic and anti-corrosion making it a good material for movements. But it is also said that German silver is really hard to work with.

Duomètre comes with the "Dual Wing" power system. What this means is that the double barrel Duomètre has one barrel supplying power to the balance (right barrel in the picture above - regulateur) and one barrel supply power for the other functions like time and date display and in this case, the moonphase. Each barrel provides an impressive 50 hours power reserve.

Not only is Calibre 381 a magnificent movement, the finishing is also top notch. It stands up to close scrutiny. The anglage is beautifully done and the blued screws gives the movement a nice contrast.

The sunray decoration on the movement bridges are radiating from (or towards) the balance.

One of the key feature of the Dual Wing concept is the separation of the isochronism from the other functions. When we pull the crown to set the time, the escapement continues to oscillate which ensures that the amplitude is not lost during time setting. The balance beats at 21,600 vph.

And what about winding the timepiece? There are two power reserve indicators beside the Foudroyante sub-dial. The + indicates the power is at its max and when the power reserve runs down to zero, it will be at the - mark. One gives the power indication of the regulating organ (between 7 and 8 o'clock) while the other shows the power left on the other barrel for time/date and moonphase indication. Winding the clockwise direction powers up the escapement barrel while turning the crown anti-clockwise winds the functions barrel.

The Duomètre has always represented one of the best the Grand Maison has to offer. And now, they have released the new Doumètre Spherotourbillon... to die for really. But I am happy with what I have - the Duomètre a Quantième Lunaire with a Grand Feu Enamel dial.

Year End Fun with Microbrands and Dials - Part 2

For the definition of special dials, that's simple enough. Enamel, lacquer or any non-traditional dial materials will constitute a special dial.

What was surprising was the appearance of two Pascal Coyon Chronometer.

The first being a rose gold plated movement... with a white lacquer dial.

And the other, a red 12 lacquered dial. When Mr. Coyon launched the Chronometer, he made 60 examples - 20 each in rose glod plated, yellow gold plated and rhodium plated movement. And for those who recognise the movement, it is a UNITAS hand winding movement heavily modified by Mr. Coyon and hand finished by him to a very high standard.

But what was not surprising was the overwhelming presence of Seiko enamel dial timepieces.

Starting with the Seiko SARD007, the dial is made of enamel and has a simple yet modern design reflecting the philosophy of Riki Watanabe, a pioneer of modern Japanese design. This is the JDM version belonging to a huge Seiko collector friend.

Next up is the Shippo Enamel Presage - a blue enamel dial from Seiko. Lovely example.

Above is a special black Urushi (lacquer) dial. And below are two very special Seiko Enamel pieces. Do you know what's so special?

These are earlier year Seiko enamel dial timepieces (Limited Edition) with the red XII and missing the "Presage" model name.

We were talking about how Seiko brought enamel dial watches to the masses just like they brought quartz watches to the world. Up until then, we only knew of Swiss (or European) made enamelled dial which cost quite a fair bit. But honestly, the enamel dials of Seiko cannot be compared to the Grand Feu enamel dials made for the European brands.

The Ming 19.07 Blue has a special Guilloché dial.

While Felipe Pikullik was featured in the microbrand sector, his dial work here qualifies this to also be a special dial - engraved.

Featured here is a special Undone. Not only was the case back engraved with the name of the owner, his name also appears on the dial

Grand Seiko has been of late releasing new timepieces with special dials. Featured above is The Grand Seiko SLGH005 'White Birch' with the New Hi-Beat Caliber 9SA5. And below, the Grand Seiko lacquered dial SBGR261 automatic.

Hublot was also represented with a very special Hublot LABfusion SWC Limited Edition. This was made specially for the Singapore Watch Club and it has a woven dial.

Nobody does Grand Feu enamel like Jaquet Droz.

This is an early year Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde with a two-part two-toned dial. I guess it was too difficult to make and that was why later Grande Seconde with Grand Feu Enamel were "simpler".

And then there were those who did not get the memo... but still some timepiece to be cherished and admired. The Cartier Roadster (above) and the Nomos Glashutte Tangente (below).

All said and done, it was another fun get-together Zing by XiYan @ PLQ. Zing works with the Social Kitchen to support disadvantaged individuals by providing them with employment to sustain themselves. Food was good (as usual) and the service, impeccable. Now we start planning for the next GTG in 2023! May I take this opportunity to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May all your horological dreams come true in the coming year!

Year End Fun with Microbrands and Dials - Part 1

As with our other get-togethers, there is always a theme around our gtg. This time around, the two themes are - Microbrand and special dials. Simple enough right?

So what constitutes a microbrand? Any brand that is "independent" that has production of not more than 2,000 pieces per year can fit into this definition. And what a range of timepieces were on display last night!

And what a start for the microbrands... the C by Romain Gauthier, Titanium Edition Three! Wow, what a timepiece! What's so special about this 38 piece limited eidition you might ask? Well, the case and movement is made from Grade 5 Titanium and so is the dial. Now if that does not qualify as special, I don't know what does...

So what do you have after R. Gauthier? No less impressive is the De Bethune DB8 Monopusher Chronograph with a 45 minute counter - so appropriate for the current season while the World Cup is ongoing...

Rumour has it that the founders are soccer fans and that is the reason for the 45 minute counter as opposed to the "traditional" 30 minute counter. For those non-soccer fans, soccer is played over 2 halves and each half lasts 45 minutes.

Those blue hands and the lugs are the signature of early year De Bethune. Unfortunately, they also come (mostly) with closed case back.

On to something more recent with the release of the Baltic Micro Rotor salmon dial. A quick strap change and that transforms the timepiece altogether.

Another microbrand that has caught the eye of the collectors is Ophion Watches and featured here is a piece unique salmon coloured radial dial.

The next one is probably one you have not heard of - Atelier de Rijke also know as De Rijke & Co. They are a Dutch independent watch company that crafts timepieces for the drivers. And you will see why it's for the drivers...

This example is the Miffy Moonphase 1/25. I know, you wanted to check it out right? Sorry but this timepiece has long been sold out. For this timepiece, Miffy was etched out of brass, polished and silver plated. It is filled with blue paint and after that it is hand filled with Superluminova in the correct Dick Bruna colors. And the owner of this timepiece told me the customer engagement and customer service from De Rijke is top rate.

Another microbrand featured is Semper and Adhuc, a French outfit. This example is the l'Instantanée LIP Limited Edition with a slate green dial and a vintage manual winding movement.

Next up, Magrette Timepieces. They are a boutique dive and sport watch brand based in Auckland (City of Sails), New Zealand and the model name proudly says Moana Pacific Waterman Bronze. What I would love is to own one of their engraved Leoncino Creation.

Another brand in focus of late is Unimatic. In this case, it is the Unimatic Modello Uno U1-BTP (below) which is an exclusive collaboration with BIOTOP, the first store to carry the brand in Japan. This was launched on the occasion of the opening of their new store in Fukuoka, after the success in Tokyo and Osaka.

Then there is a homegrown, Singapore brand Movas Watches and this is their dive piece, the Oceaner II. Rated to 300m water resistance, the divers' watch is equally good on land as in the depth of the seas.

To round off the microbrand round up, the up and coming Felipe Pikullik. Already making waves, this is an earlier piece from him and for those who might not know, he has a wait list of about 3 years for his hand finished time pieces.

The young German watchmaker uses ETA and UNITAS base movements, modifies and skeletonises them before finishing by hand.

And he is now working on a moonphase timepiece that (hopefully) will be launched soon.

Microbrand or special dial, dinner at Zing by XiYan was an enjoyable affair. We got to handle timepieces we might never have had the opportunity to lay our hands on and the wide variety certainly gives you an idea of the type of collectors there are within the group. Stay tuned to Part 2 of the gathering as I feature "Special Dials" next.

Servicing Your Perpetual Calendar

I have been wanting to service my Roger Dubuis Sympathie Perpetual Bi-Retrograde Chronograph but I was wanting to do it outside of the manufacture. After much asking around, I found Drago Design Timepiece Servicing

Not an everyday name you would associate with watch servicing - having only recently heard of them. But what I am afraid of was quickly dismissed after speaking with Laurie Tang, the owner founder of Drago. His engineering background and the equipment and machinery he has speak volumes.

Such a complicated timepiece and I entrusted to Laurie and Renu. Laurie showed me under the electric microscope that the dial was somewhat oxidised due to our humid weather. He then explained that they will take apart the watch, cleaning the case, the dial and disassemble the movement for cleaning.

And he kept to his promise... see the proof above. Stellar job!

Clean and service they did - and a wonderful job at that! Back from the spa, the perpetual chronograph is ready to rock and roll.

If you want to contact Drago Design, you may do so at +65 9815 3157. Their office and service centre is located at 8 Kaki Bukit Ave 4, #04-47 (Office), Singapore 415875 (Enter by Gate 2). You may also write to them at laurie@dragodesign.com.sg

Thanks Laurie and Renu! Great job indeed.