GREUBEL FORSEY’S NEWEST CREATION: THE QP À ÉQUATION, AVAILABLE IN A MILLÉSIMÉ EDITION WITH A MULTI-LEVEL SILVERED GOLD DIAL
simé remains as easy to set as a simple calendar. Two faces to display 15 indications. The dial of the QP à Équation indicates leap years, the 24 hours of the day and night, the day of the week, the large date, the month, the hours, the minutes and the seconds; as well as the chronometric 72- hour power reserve. On the movement side, this timepiece displays the equation of time with the months, seasons, solstices and equinoxes, as well as the calendar year. The Ultimate Perpetual Calendar, Millésimé The timekeeping of this timepiece relies on Greubel Forsey’s third invention: the Tour- billon 24 Secondes, which uses a fast rotation speed and inclined angle to solve the problem of critical positions of the oscillator in relation to gravity. A 25° angle and the rapid revolution of the tourbillon cage significantly improve the chro- nometric performance of a system containing only one tourbillon, especially in stable positions. This new Millésime’s white gold case measures 43.5 mm by 16 mm thick and provides a simplified linear display. Herein lies the happy paradox of this piece: it is an ul- tra-complicated timepiece with its tourbillon and its complete equation of time perpetual calendar function, but it is as easy to use and adjust as a watch with three hands. This system is extremely easy to adjust in both di- rections without damaging the mechanism.
After seven years of research, the assembly of no fewer than 624 parts, three patents, and the com- bination of two inventions – Greubel Forsey revo- lutionizes one of the oldest watchmaking compli- cations, the perpetual calendar, by incorporating an equation of time. To create this watchmaking complication it was first necessary to develop a Mechanical Computer: this enabled ergonom- ics and readability of the various functions to be simplified, and for all corrections – in- cluding days – to be made rapidly by turn- At the heart of the QP à Équation lies Greubel Forsey’s seventh invention, the Me- chanical Computer, an entirely integrated 25- part component that brings a totally new in- terpretation to some of the calendar functions incorporated in age-old astronomical clocks. It is composed of a set of coding wheels superim- posed in a coaxial manner, along with removable fingers programmed by this ingenious system. Depending on their rotation speeds and number of teeth, these wheels provide a variety of information. The Mechanical Computer also directly drives a sys- tem of sapphire disks that displays the equation of time, i.e. the difference between the “real” solar time and civil time. Paramount to this was simplifying the way all the indications can be corrected by turning the bi-directional crown. Despite its multiple functions and displays, added to its combination of three patents and two inventions, Greubel Forsey’s QP à Équation Millé- ing the bi-directional crown. The Mechanical Computer
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