A new technology project aimed at improving the sound of the minute repeater.
Patek Philippe’s “Advanced Research” department was established in 2005 to improve mechanical movements and provide innovative solutions in the areas of materials (such as silicon) and watchmaking technology. This applies to the launch of Silinvar (2005), Spiromax hairspring (2006), Pulsomax escapement (2008), Oscillomax ensemble (2011) and a further optimized version of Spiromax hairspring (2017). In 2017, the brand will focus on something different, that is, the compatibility mechanism for dual-time functions in Aquanaut. Today, after a year of self-ming watches, the brand continues to conduct research in the field of timekeeping, making major improvements to the minute repeater, and launching the new Patek Philippe Advanced Research 5750 minute repeater.
Technical solutions
The goal of the Advanced Research Department is to bring new solutions to innovate, or to improve existing mechanisms under current circumstances. In order to launch this new product, the team in charge has been working on making timepieces, which is the brand’s specialty, and its series includes multiple timepieces. The basis of this watch is the existing one, because the movement uses the classic Calibre R 27 launched by the brand in 1989. The idea of this new Advanced Research 5750 Minute Repeater is to “amplify the volume of the time signal in a purely mechanical way while maintaining excellent sound quality and the smallest possible size.” Maintaining the foundation of the existing movement, Patek Philippe’s watchmakers created A new module that works like a mechanical speaker.
Normally, sound amplification does rely on a flexible diaphragm, which is connected along its periphery like the skin of a drum. But here, Patek Philippe has created something different… Instead of a membrane, replica Patek Philippe has registered three patents for a system that has an oscillatory wafer made of synthetic sapphire with a thickness of 0.2 mm. Due to its angular movement, this rigid and freely movable chip provides significantly better sound transmission for the limited volume of the watch. In addition, this allows you to retain the sapphire caseback so that you can enjoy the movement.
In order to realize the sound transmission from the gong of the minute repeater to the sapphire glass swinging chip, engineers developed a system in which a steel tone rod is installed in the middle of the swinging chip. “This tuning fork-like tuning rod has a flexible attachment with a thickness of 0.08 mm at the other end. When the hammer strikes the gong, their vibration is transmitted to the tuning rod, and the tuning rod amplifies them in the first stage. They are transferred to the rigid oscillatory wafer, where they are further amplified. The angular movement of the oscillatory wafer excites the air layer above and below the sapphire glass, which produces a significantly louder sound,” the brand explains this so-called fortissimo “ff” Amplifier module. the best replica watches in the world
With Patek Philippe’s advanced research 5750 Minute Repeater, the brand is committed to the spread of sound in addition to amplifying the sound. In a classic minute repeater, the sound of a hammer hitting a gong will spread throughout the watch—all sides, back and crystals of the case. This is why the material chosen for the case is so important-as we all know, titanium and steel provide better sound than gold or platinum due to their lower density. Specifically, the latter is the most challenging for the minute repeater. In the minute repeater module with fortissimo, an insulating edge made of high-tech composite material acoustically separates the amplifier from the movement. The sound is transmitted to the tone rod first, then to the oscillating wafer, and then through the four openings in the titanium ring at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. Sound waves come out from the slit between the case back and the strap-there is a dust filter to protect the movement. Therefore, the material of the watch case no longer affects the sound of the watch. Therefore, even if this watch later uses gold, platinum or rose gold, its sound will be the same.
The Patek Philippe senior research team has also done some work on the loudness of the sound and the quality, richness and musicality of the minute repeater. For example, the length of the strike has been increased to make the decay time of the gong longer. Some improvements have also been made in materials. Traditionally, hammers are made of steel, but in this Advanced Research 5750 Minute Repeater, they are made of platinum-a patented solution to improve the quality of strikes. In addition, platinum micro-rotors replaced 22K gold micro-rotors with eccentric recesses. Due to the higher material density, it provides the same winding power in a thinner design.