The Cutting Edge of Sound: Carl F. Bucherer Introduces Manero Minute Repeater Symphony


Since launching its first proprietary caliber, with its innovative peripherally mounted winding rotor, in the Manero Peripheral timepiece back in 2008, Carl F. Bucherer has adopted “peripheral” design as its technical stock-in-trade. In 2018, the Lucerne-based watchmaker launched a timepiece with a world’s-first “floating” peripheral tourbillon, and this year it takes the concept to its highest horological execution to date in the new Manero Minute Repeater Symphony.

As you may have gleaned from its name, the watch features a minute repeater with a peripherally anchored regulator, another watchmaking world-first. What may not be as evident until a closer look is that its new movement, Caliber MR3000, also includes the peripheral rotor introduced in the original Caliber A1000 (and upgraded in the successor Caliber A2000) and the peripheral tourbillon of 2018’s Caliber T3000. As with the tourbillon cage of the latter caliber, the mechanism that regulates the beat of the repeater’s chimes is mounted peripherally on three low-friction ceramic ball bearings that ensure stability. This patented mechanism is designed to be visible from the watch’s dial side through a window above 6 o’clock. Furthermore, the repeater’s striking hammers are also on full display, through complementary dial openings at 5 and 7 o’clock.

The repeater also incorporates a protective mechanism that prevents inadvertent activation: a small aperture at 9 o’clock displays the current mode of the watch, with a blue dot indicating that the crown is pulled out for winding or setting or a musical note that alerts the wearer that the chiming function is activated. Additionally, the crown cannot be pulled out when the repeating function is active, and when the crown is pulled out, the repeater mechanism is locked. In the manner of a stop-seconds function, withdrawing the crown also stops the motion of the floating tourbillon cage, in a large aperture at 12 o’clock, allowing for precise re-setting of the watch. Automatic Caliber MR3000, the finely finished, micro-mechanical engine at the heart of this harmoniously designed “Triple Peripheral” timekeeper, is visible through a sapphire caseback, storing a power reserve of 65 hours and boasting COSC-certified chronometric timekeeping.

The case is made of 18k rose gold, measures 43.8 mm in diameter, and is distinguished from predecessors in the Manero collection by its openworked, spoke-shaped lugs, which reduce the mass of the watch and this amplify its chimes. The dial, also made of 18k gold, has an electroplated, fine grainé texture and the Manero family’s elegantly formed, finely edged golden hands and appliqués. At 6 o’clock on the dial can be found an engraved numeral marking the watch as one of only 88 numbered pieces. Mounted on a hand-stitched brown alligator strap with a gold folding clasp, the Manero Minute Repeater Symphony is packaged in a luxury box with a specially designed resonator meant to allow owners to share the watch’s sounds with a roomful of friends. Crafted from Swiss Jura Mountain spruce, renowned as a “tone wood” and used in the construction of guitars, violins, and other stringed instruments, the resonator amplifies the watch’s harmonious notes by double. The watch is offered at retail for $399,000.

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