Complication
Minute Repeater
Chimes the time on demand, to the minute.
What it does
A slide in the case activates hammers that strike tuned gongs: a low tone for each hour, a double tone for each quarter, and a high tone for each minute past the quarter. It exists because before electric light, you could not read a watch in the dark.
How to read it
Push the slide fully and count the sequence. Three low tones, two double tones and four high tones means 3:34. Never activate it while setting the time, and never interrupt the slide mid-travel.
Impact on value
Very high — the hardest classical complication to execute. Case acoustics, gong tuning and hammer regulation are done by hand, and prices reflect it.
Keep reading
- Complication
Small Seconds
A seconds hand on its own sub-dial.
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Jumping Hour
The hour snaps into a window instead of sweeping.
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Split-Seconds (Rattrapante)
Times two events at once with stacked seconds hands.
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Built to be legible and watertight deep underwater.
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Maximum legibility for the cockpit.