D. Candaux 1740 Half Hunter Tourbillon
Unveiled at Baselworld 2018 watch exhibition, the new 1740 Half Hunter Tourbillon by the independent watchmaker David Candaux represents a contemporary reinterpretation of the classic half-hunter pocket watch.
To create this timepiece, the watch maker has drawn inspiration from forms found on antique captain’s watches, as well as many seafaring instruments such as compasses, wherein the viewing area, partially encased in metal, only allowed port-holes for viewing the required indications. In this manner, the half hunter form provided excellent protection of the dial glass, hands and movement from shocks under extreme conditions, anywhere they might be experienced.
The 1740 Half Hunter Tourbillon pays homage to the precision timepieces used by the explorers and master mariners of the 18th and 19th centuries.
A novelty of the time, these highly accurate timepieces allowed ship’s captains to literally and physically carry the time of their departure harbor with them, and therefore calculate the longitude of their location at sea easily without requiring star-gazing, ephemerides, astronomical tables and several hours of navigational calculations.
With this history at hand, the 1740 Half Hunter Tourbillon goes a step further, representing a more radical stylistic interpretation and technical advancement in comparison to the classic historical half- hunter concept; simultaneously it represents a more futuristic development to the first models of the present 1740 collection.
The watch proudly displays an incredibly finely executed, complex decoration of the front face of the case.
It has been given a handmade, engine-turned guilloche pattern named Pointe du Risoux that recalls the patterns of the local Risoux fir tree forest that surrounds the Candaux atelier as seen from the air. With a subtle and completely contemporary touch, this guilloche patterned front cover has been created in high palladium content 18K white gold.
Set into this magnificently adorned front cover of guilloche finished 18K white gold, the timekeeping indications and open view of the tourbillon have been placed under two tiny spherical, convex shaped portholes of specially machined sapphire glass, with the power reserve situated under a small, separate arch of sapphire glass at the top edge of the case front.
The hours and minutes are read on a spherical, convex micro-dial under the rightmost sapphire dome with its two curving hands of hand finished and blued steel that precisely follow the curving dial’s exact form.
The fully visible, twice-inclined flying tourbillon is situated under the sapphire dome on the left, providing running seconds via a blued index placed on the edge of the tourbillon cage. The mesmerizing beauty of the fully visible, patented and tilted tourbillon, echoes the display of the three dimensional hours and minutes window.
It perfectly and harmoniously balances the symmetry of the front, directly evoking the half hunter timepieces and marine compasses of previous centuries.
In addition to these details, the entre front of the 1740 Half Hunter Tourbillon has been gently and almost imperceptibly inclined; standing slightly higher in the case at the 12 o’clock position and lower towards 6 o’clock. This unusually positioned bezel comfortably enhances reading the time, thus providing an optimized field of view for the user.
Like the original 1740 model, the 1740 Half Hunter Tourbillon is also fitted at 6 o’clock with the unique retractable crown, for which David Candaux has received two patents.
The 60-seconds flying tourbillon has been designed using a ceramic ball bearing inclined at 3 degrees from the horizontal. Within another construction inside the tourbillon’s grade-5 titanium cage, the balance has been placed in a position with another 30 degrees inclination, hence the name ‘bi-plan’ flying tourbillon.
The result provides a definitive improvement on the standard, horizontally orientated tourbillon construction found in wristwatches today. The original tourbillon design, as used in pocket watches, was conceived for dealing with the forces of gravity from mainly vertical positions in breast pockets.
The situation today is totally different: as used in wristwatches, the tourbillon must adjust to the angles and movements of our contemporary lifestyle and daily life, as experienced on the human wrist and all of its tilted or angular positions – whilst sitting, reading, arms on the desk whilst behind the computer, or walking and running.
David Candaux’s bi-plan flying tourbillon was created in such a way as to ensure a continual change in position of the cage and of the regulating organ in relation to these types of wrist positions people normally use in daily life, thus optimizing its capacity to compensate the influence of gravity that could affect chronometric results.
Following the best practices possible, the curve of the spiral has been given a Breguet overcoil ending in a Phillips terminal curve, thus optimizing the balance spring’s poise and functionality, with a resultant lower friction on the balance staff in every vertical position.
The spiral extremity of the spring is maintained by a stud specially developed for this timepiece in order to guarantee reliable, long-term fixation. Details like these ensure the optimal long-term functioning of the movement and guarantee the quality of chronometric results.
With a view towards long-term perfection and durability, the Grade-5 Titanium metal is one of David’s favorites due to its superlative, high strength/hardness ratio, and its immutable characteristics combined with lightness.
The extreme tensile strength of titanium makes all the traditional milling process as well as hand finishing operations for the case and movement parts such as polishing, satin-finishing, brushing and anglage much more time consuming, costly and difficult to achieve.
Furthermore, the milling operations to create these parts must be executed using special multi-axis machines fitted with fire extinguishers, since the titanium debris created during the cutting process can become flammable.
The aerodynamically designed balance wheel in beryllium copper (CuBe2), is fitted with variable inertia adjustment thanks to four 18K gold screws and a load screw also in beryllium copper, which can be adjusted by the watchmaker during assembly and timing control.
The modification of the balance wheel’s inertia in this manner allows the watchmaker to speed up or slow down the balance wheel’s beat, and thus regulate the timepiece’s accurate running, as well as fixate its ideal parameters for long-term stability.
The use of variable inertia adjustment for the balance eliminates the need for a moveable index to adjust the balance spring, which can, under certain conditions, alter its position after the watch receives a shock or impact.
The 1740 Half Hunter Tourbillon caliber has been entirely designed in house by David Candaux. This innovative movement protected by several patents answers mechanically to the philosophy behind the 1740 collection with its asymmetrical approach to aesthetics and the art of chronometry. No detail has been spared exacting scrutiny.
For example, the technical imperatives linked to the secret, retractable crown, mean that the entre gear train and bridges have been inclined at 3 degrees in relation to the horizontal in order to accommodate it.
This reinterpretation of the standard principles of movement construction has impact on the position of the bridges in relation to each other.
Due to this variation, each of these bridges is inclined at 3 degrees. Thus, the view of the movement’s interior surface is no longer uniformly horizontal, but shows a cascading effect. As a result, this innovative constructional feature has the added benefit of accentuating the finishing of all the individual movement parts, amplifying each ray of light reflecting off its surface.
Furthermore, these sparkling reflections also highlight the Côtes du Solliat, a new type of decoration elaborated by David Candaux. Due to their notable width, and therefore demanding to create, each single band mastered by skilful hands gives the subtle impression of being composed of three separate bands.
All the 23 inner angles and edges of the tourbillon movement are hand finished with traditionally executed anglage, a typical trademark of the Vallée du Joux’s traditional watch making culture, thus making the perfect execution of the movement all the more difficult to achieve.
The escapement has also been fully developed and designed by David Candaux. His respect for history led him to use the old escapement centerings from the Vallée de Joux tradition.
This type of centering is based on non-equidistant points of axial reference, unlike those developed for contemporary or industrially produced escapements that are mainly based on equidistant points of reference. Such a non-equidistant geometry improves escapement efficiency and imparts a refined, aesthetic and practical shape to the anchor’s pallet jewels.
The different entrance and exit degrees of lift imparted by this system also guarantee the flow of optimal impulse energy to the balance wheel. Last but not least, a new, optimized geometry for the escapement wheel teeth also improve the global efficiency of the escapement mechanism.
In total, the movement of the David Candaux 1740 Half Hunter Tourbillon comprises 287 individual components, each of which is finished respecting the most demanding standards of traditional high-end watch making.
In this way, the wheels comply with the highest quality requirements and are chamfered, beveled and circular-grained on both sides. As for the pinions, they are polished on a wooden grinding wheel and given a groove just behind the pivot. This historical technique ensures that the lubricating oil remains in place.
In order to ensure the long-term continuity of the movement in the centuries to come, all the technical specifications required to restore or service the caliber have been micro-engraved on the flank of the grade-5 titanium base-plate for future generations.
The specifications of the regulating organ, its CGS number (height of the blade of the balance-spring), its inertia, the lift angle and the quality indicator can be found engraved in relief on the fixed second wheel. All these inscriptions are hand engraved and require more than 150 hours to complete.
Model: D. Candaux 1740 Half Hunter Tourbillon Watch
Functions
Hours and minutes on a separate, domed counter
Seconds hand via tourbillon cage at 9 o’clock
Bi-plan tourbillon
Power reserve indicator at 12 o’clock
Movement
Inclined, manual-winding tourbillon movement
Dimensions: 16 ¼ lignes (diameter 35 mm x 6.20 mm high)
Materials: Grade 5 titanium plate and bridges. Untreated titanium and blued titanium for the tourbillon cage
Going train, wheels and bridges inclined at 3 degrees to the horizontal (patent-pending design).
Double winding barrel with 55 hours power reserve
Stainless steel, mirror-polished power reserve bridge
Frequency: 21,600 vph (3Hz)
Number of jewels: 47, with polished sinks and gold chatons
Number of parts: 287
Finest traditional watch-making craft with hand-made chamfering and anglage, hand-polishing, flanks brushing and unique Côtes du Solliat effect
Escapement and Going Train
Single-axis, titanium bi-plan flying tourbillon at 9 o’clock: with cage inclined 3 degrees in relation to the horizontal, balance inclined at 30 degrees in relation to the cage
Variable inertia balance
Breguet overcoil spring with Philips terminal curve
Cascade effect-profiled titanium movement
Constant energy supply by double barrel
Power reserve indicator by conic camshaft system
Crown
Secret and retractable, unlocking via pressure
3 positions: neutral, reset, and winding
31 parts
Watch face
Semi-spherical hours and minutes dials
18K high palladium content white gold indexes chamfered and polished by hand
Grade 5 titanium decorated with engine-turned Pointe du Risoux
Hands
Hours and minutes: “syringe” shape, made of steel, shaped and polished by hand, flame-blued.
Central second: made of steel, shaped and polished by hand, flame-blued.
Power supply: inverted “syringe” shape, shaped and polished by hand, flame-blued.
Case
Asymmetric, bassinet-shaped
Grade-5 titanium
Diameter: 43 mm
Total thickness: 12.60 mm
2 semi-spherical sapphire windows and 1 ant-reflective glass; sapphire case back
Caseback with clipped olivete at 6 o’clock
Fine satin-finishing and hand executed polishing
Water resistant to 30 meters
Strap
Made of large scale alligator leather
Entirely hand-made
Pin buckle in stainless steel 316L and titanium
