Petermann Bédat is an independent luxury Swiss watch brand co-founded by Gaël Petermann and Florian Bédat. The brand’s debut watch model is 1967, a hand-wound mechanical watch equipped with the dead beat seconds function.

Graduates of the same watchmaking school in Geneva, both Gaël and Florian had been working with various haute-horlogerie manufactures before they jointly decided to establish their own venture.

They have selected the Swiss town of Renens as their operational base. The reason behind choosing this place was the proximity of the horological workshop of world renowned master watchmaker Dominique Renaud. In November 2017, the duo incorporated the company Petermann Bédat Sàrl.

Also in 2017, with the help of Dominique Renaud, the company created a 3 hand mechanical watch movement featuring the rarely used dead beat second complication. This hand-wound movement is the engine of the Petermann Bédat 1967 watch. In 2018, in collaboration with a specialized partner, they created the brand’s first timepiece.

The final design of the 1967 watch was carried out in collaboration with Barth Nussbaumer of Barth.Studio. Petermann Bédat unveiled the brand’s first in-house creation in 2019.

The first ever timepiece from the Petermann Bédat brand reflects the most classic expression of time but with a twist, a dead beat second.

Christened 1967, this classic three-hands mechanical watch draws our attention to a radical technological shift in the field of timekeeping. It was in 1967 the first working prototype of a quartz movement was created in Switzerland.

Usually, the seconds hand in an analogue quartz watch jumps from one second to another while performing its revolution. However, in most of the mechanical watches, the second hand follows a smooth sweeping motion.

In mechanical watching, the jumping seconds motion strikingly resembling to that of a quartz watch can be orchestrated by incorporating the dead-beat seconds mechanism. Although a historical mechanism with its roots trace back to the 18th-century clock making, the dead beat seconds has been rarely used in traditional watchmaking due to its complexity.

With their in-house developed Calibre 171, Petermann Bédat revisits this iconic complication.

For their dead beat second complication, Gaël and Florian took inspiration from the Gafner system. It is an independent seconds system envisaged by Rober Gafner, an instructor of the Watchmaking School of La Chaux-de-Fonds. The Gafner system demands the most exemplary craftsmanship to adjust while offering great room for creativity.

The anchor of second is the most complex component to manufacture in the system. Carefully adjusted by experienced hands to the hundredth of a millimeter, the complex construction of such mechanisms needs the watchmaker’s exceptional skill.

This complex mechanical movement features a large balance wheel with a diameter of 11.5 millimeters. It beats at 18’000 vibrations per hour and regulated by a swan-neck regulator.

The Gafner system also allowed the watchmakers to use and revive traditional techniques such as the deep matte finish of the dead beat second bridge. Achieved with “poudre du levant” mixed with olive oil, this historical technique was traditionally used on grande sonnerie pocket watches but has since then nearly been forgotten.

Every detail of the movement is made with the same desire for perfection. Breguet’s spiral spring, black polished, polished bevels, everything is finished by hand with the same care.

The watch boasts a balanced design by blending 19th century technical and aesthetic influences, some mid-20th century design codes for the body and a contemporary passion. Made from 18 carat rose gold or white gold, the 39mm diameter case of the watch judiciously follows the classic watch designs of the 1960s.

The eye-catching dial of this fine horology creation was made by Comblémine SA, the dial making company owned by master watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. The semi-open dial highlights the outstanding craftsmanship and also represents the new design language of the brand.

The central plate cut-outs are designed to frame the nicely sized rubies, as they are one of the vital elements of the movement. A significant attraction of the dial design, its seconds track graphic plays with the same ideas of cut lines. These breaks visually emphasize and enhance the idea of jumping from one second to another.

All the hands of the 1967 watch are hand-made. The white gold model features blued hands whereas the rose gold version has rose gold colored hands. The hands are highlighted with ancestral techniques, such as bevelling, black polish and ‘berçage’. The hour and minute hands boast a unique form that seamlessly combines the shapes of the dauphine hand and a 19th-century hand.

Technical details

Case
18 Carat Rose gold or white gold
Diameter: 39mm
Thickness: 10.70mm
Glass: Sapphire crystal, convex and AR coating

Dial
Made by Comblémine SA
Sapphire, sand-blasted, hand-polished bevels
Hour, minute and seconds hands finished by hand

Strap
Hand-sewn suede
18 carat gold buckle

Movement
Caliber 171 in house movement with dead beat mechanism
German silver bridges and main plate
Breguet coil balance spring
Diameter: 30mm
Frequency: 18 000 vph
Number of jewels: 29
Number of parts: 160

Decorations
Cotes de Genève on the bridges with hand polished chamfers
Sun graining and Perlage on the main plate
Steel parts beveled, polished and black polished surface all by hand
Circular graining on the wheels with hand beveled and polished arms
Circular graining on the balance
Sun graining on the barrel ad Perlage inside
Snail graining on the ratchet wheel

Limited editions
10 pieces in rose gold
10 pieces in white gold

Retail price
CHF 59 800 (Ex VAT)