Dans l'industrie horlogère, il existe peu de noms emblématiques. Les contemporains comme Philippe Dufour ou François-Paul Journe, mais surtout des noms anciens mais très célèbres comme Abraham-Louis Breguet. Un autre pourrait être un peu moins connu, mais sa vie professionnelle a également conduit à de vraies innovations et à plusieurs chefs-d'œuvre: Ferdinand Berthoud. Ce nom oublié depuis longtemps est sur le point de vivre à nouveau, comme Chopard Group (qui le possède depuis quelques années maintenant) a simplement décidé de ressusciter le concept et la production de montres de marque "Ferdinand Berthoud", avec une première pièce impressionnante, le Chronomètre FB1. Vue d'ensemble.
En ce qui concerne l'utilisation d'anciens noms dans l'horlogerie moderne, nous avons tendance à être d'abord sceptiques. Nous avons vu tant de noms intéressants, loués par des collectionneurs de montres vintage, déchirée du passé avec des résultats qui ont tendance à être ... discutables. L'utilisation d'un nom ou d'une marque célèbre, juste pour des raisons de marketing, avec des montres bon marché à quartz est malheureusement assez courante. Cependant, de temps en temps, les anciens noms célèbres sont utilisés avec beaucoup de soin et imprimés sur le cadran des montres intéressantes. Prenez par exemple Pierre Jaquet-Droz, ressuscité par Swatch Group avec les montres Jaquet Droz modernes. Même pour John Arnold, un nom qui subit une nouvelle vie avec les montres Arnold et Son compliquées et superbement finies. Cela pourrait également fonctionner pour Breguet,
With these examples in mind, we are in front of two situations: historical names too often used by indelicate people with no respect of traditions and history or, a few success that show the importance of being faithful to a rich past. This is why, when Choaprd Group announced the re-birth of a great name such as Ferdinand Berthoud, we were full of doubts – and this, even if we have a huge respect for the production of Chopard and especially the L.U.C collection. It could well be a total success or a pure fail. But that’s going to be the second part of this article, when we’ll have a closer look at the Ferdinand Berthoud FB1 Chronomètre. First, we need to understand who was Berthoud and what are his achievements.
A look at the history of Ferdinand Berthoud
Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807) really became famous in 1753, when he officially earned the title of Master Clockmaker – probably the pinnacle of his career. Ferdinand Berthoud was born in Val-de-Travers (in the actual Neuchâtel canton, Switzerland) but he quickly moved to Paris, France, at the age of 18, to study clockmaking and horology. After several years of training and scholarship, he was recognize as a truly talented watchmaker. in 1752, he presented to the Academy a longcase equation clock, considered highly ingenious. This was the starting point of his career as a researcher. At the age of 26, in 1753, the French King ordered that he be named a maître (master), a title that allowed him to open his own workshop in Paris.
En 1754, Ferdinand Berthoud a de nouveau soumis ses inventions à l'Académie. L'un était son premier projet d'horloge marine. Les autres, examinés et approuvés par les universitaires, étaient également des systèmes d'équations. Berthoud avait des intentions claires. Non seulement il voulait être un inventeur et un horloger, mais il avait aussi le désir d'être un scientifique avec le souhait de transmettre ses idées. Il a écrit plusieurs essais, traités et livres, certains étant certains ayant un désir de popularisation (comme L'Art de regler de et conduire les Pendules et les A l'usage Montres de Ceux qui ne ont d'horlogerie Aucune Connaissance -. La Art de l'exploitation et de l'ajustement des horloges et des montres. Utilisé par ceux qui ne connaissent pas l'horlogerie).
Alongside this scholar and research life, Ferdinand Berthoud also continued to create clocks and pocket watches. He created several Marine Clocks (marine chronometers N° 6 and N° 8) that achieved in measuring longitudes to within less than half a degree, on board of several French boats. After successful sea trials of the marine chronometers N° 6 and N° 8, Ferdinand Berthoud was commissioned as “Horloger Mécanicien du Roi et de la Marine” – Horologist-mechanic to the King and the Navy – and received a royal command for 20 marine chronometers for the French admiralty.
Marine clock M.M. n° 6, dated 1777 and kept in the Chopard L.U.CEUM museum in Fleurier (that you can see on the photo above) was the staring point for the resurrection of the name “Ferdinand Berthoud” and a great source of inspiration for the further collection to come (and for the Chronomètre FB1). This renewal of the name is the initiative of Chopard’s co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, who acquired the name in 2006. However, it took some time to the team of Chopard Group to launch this name again, as the Scheufele family (owner of Chopard since 1963) wanted to stay close to the original spirit and to respect the history and heritage of such a name. With the new collection, the goal was to imagine the watches that Berthoud could have conceived in 2015 and not to recreate the same clocks / watches again. However, such a speech is quite usual – we’ve heard so many brands saying that they introduce a collection that an old name could have created with modern tools or as if the person was still alive… The questions are first to see what the new Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud FB1 looks like and then to know if it is worthy of the name that hides behind the brand?
A closer look at the Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud FB1
At first sight, the Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud FB1 is properly surprising. An octagonal shape, a large diameter, a blend of antique and modern design clues. However, the initiative behind it is slightly more complex and quite well thought. Of course, there is some designer’s work or some marketing behind the watch (the reality is simple: they have to be sold…) but not only. It transpires that Chopard Group – in fact Mister Scheufele and a small dedicated team – took the time to conceive something coherent and appropriate – and the result is a complex watch, with a nice (to say the least) movement and some interesting features.
Let’s first talk about this design – why this large octagonal case with a round dial? As stamped with the name Berthoud on the dial, this Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud FB1 clearly had to be inspired by Marine chronometers (this is the case for the movement and the display) as well as Marine in general (for the overall idea and the design). Two inspirations can be seen. The first one seems natural (and already head at PP or AP, not to name them…): portholes (the openings on the sides of a military ship). The second one is more subtle but directly refers to the work of Berthoud. The FB1 is inspired by the marine chronometers developed by the Swiss master-watchmaker, and in particular their gimbal suspension system typical of ship’s chronometers, where the movement-container is hold in place by an anti-shock / anti-move device that had (depending on the clocks) a round or an octagonal shape.
Dans le Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud FB1, le mouvement et le cadran sont d'abord encastrés dans un récipient imperméable central. Ensuite, plusieurs modules sont ajoutés, comme deux éléments d'or vissés sur les flancs et les morceaux au milieu des pattes, pour aboutir à cette forme octogonale. Ces côtés octogonaux s'ouvrent sur quatre hublots latéraux de saphir (vous avez la deuxième inspiration maintenant) qui permettent une vue sur plusieurs parties du mouvement.
The Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud FB1 measures a large 44mm x 13mm. It is available in two editions, one in 18k pink gold, with black dial and black ceramic inserts between the lugs or in 18k white gold, with ruthenium grey dial and titanium inserts between the lugs. Despite the dimensions, the FB1 is easy on the wrist and never felt huge or intrusive while I had it with me. The integration of the lugs and the placement of the strap helps to balance it on the wrist. The second surprising aspect is the fact that this octagonal shape becomes secondary once on the wrist, as the round bezel predominates. It is certainly a bold and unusual watch, with a huge presence and some character, but on the other hand it remains subtle enough.
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