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Nominated for the GPHG 2020 Awards!

A watch in a class of its own, one that contributes a foundational technical breakthrough to the great history of watchmaking, a pure timekeeper with a movement of exceptional complexity, the result of unimaginable research and development efforts.

The Central Impulse Chronometer is of exceptional precision. Its natural escapement, completed by two 10-second constant-force remontoires, is quite simply the inescapable progression of the natural escapement, the ingenious invention conceived by Louis-Abraham Breguet 200 years ago.

Drawing on more than 40 years of experience, notably with historic watches, and several years devoted to escapements, Bernhard Lederer – incidentally one of the first members of the AHCI (Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants) – in his workshop in St Blaise near Neuchâtel succeeded in entirely resolving the mechanical challenges of the natural escapement, completing the work of George Daniels who himself had carried the torch lit by Breguet's work.

Bernhard Lederer said: “I would like to thank the GPHG Academy for nominating the Central Impulse Chronometer in the ‘Chronometry’ category. It presents a foundational achievement, which I hope will be recognized as such by the Jury. The Central Impulse Chronometer is dedicated in particular to George Daniels, who encouraged me on this path and for whom I have the deepest admiration. I have felt his guidance throughout all these years of research and effort.”

The Central Impulse Chronometer escapement is the ultimate, reliable and stable embodiment in a wristwatch of the mechanical movement’s counting and regulating system designed by George Daniels, considered to be the finest horologist in the world during his lifetime, and indeed, the past 250 years. It is composed of two escapement wheels operating in alternation and connected to an anchor that is absolutely one of a kind.

It’s profile, rubies, angles of lift, even the way it comes into contact with all the components it guides, make this an exceptional creation. Not least because the contacts are so light and gentle that the escapement is remarkably quiet, emitting a unique sound every 5 seconds each time one of the two alternating constant force remontoires springs into action.

To achieve the precision of his Caliber 9012, Bernhard Lederer installed these two escapement wheels at the end of two separate gear trains, each with its own barrel and its own 10-second constant force remontoire. In finely balancing out the driving force, optimizing the geometry of the escapement parts, paring down the weight of these energy-intensive components, and reducing the internal friction of the escapement to a minimum, Bernhard Lederer has achieved an extraordinary degree of watchmaking perfection. It is a work deeply rooted in respect for the noblest traditions of horology, with a level of finishing matching.

Indeed, this is the most remarkable feature of the Central Impulse Chronometer: the manner in which it manages the moment and the contact surface of the impulse on the balance wheel. The impulse is direct and in alignment from the escapement wheel to the balance wheel, therefore theoretically perfect.

In particular, Bernhard Lederer has added a minutely small ruby, with a concave cut in the center, which advances the moment of contact between the escapement wheel tooth and the balance wheel impulse pallet.

One must also consider that the escapement is a system that spends most of its time at a standstill. Whilst the balance wheel is in perpetual rotation, it only activates the anchor at the end of each oscillation: when it has the highest velocity, i.e. the greatest force, and thus the best capacity to drive the mechanism. The anchor and anchor wheels are in a constant stop and go mode, accelerated and decelerated, which consumes energy and impairs isochronism and therefore precision.

The concrete effect of Bernhard Lederer’s ingenious arrangement: fewer shocks between the components, smoother transfers of energy. These ever so slight impacts have been further mitigated to a degree that the Caliber 9012 is surprisingly quiet. George Daniels, an expert in vintage automobiles and an avowed petrol head, would have appreciated how the movement purrs like a well-tuned engine. This ‘engine’ is so well tuned that one hardly hears it.

The Central Impulse Chronometer, a work deeply rooted in respect for the noblest traditions of watchmaking, with a level of finishing to match, has been nominated by the Academy of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for the GPHG 2020 Awards in the “Chronometry” category.

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