Chronometry Prize

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Chronometry Prize - Ferdinand Berthoud
2 minutes read
The brand receives that prize for the second consecutive year.

After being tested for 12 months at sea in 1768-1769, Ferdinand Berthoud’s Marine Clocks No. 6 and No. 8 still served to calculate longitude to within a mere 1/8° margin of error.

From then on, the time-measuring instruments created by Ferdinand Berthoud became benchmarks in terms of reliability and precision, leading him to be granted the role of "Clockmaker-Mechanic by appointment to the French King and Navy" in the spring of 1770.

The Chronometry prize for the second consecutive year

Two hundred and fifty years later, inspired by Ferdinand Berthoud's Marine Clock No. 6, the FB 2RE collection is in turn rewarded for the ingenuity and performance of its original movement, combining a remontoir d’égalité mechanism with fusee-and-chain transmission. Already honoured with the title of "Best Complication" prize by Revolution magazine, the Chronometry prize awarded at the 2020 edition of the GPHG now adds to the list of honours garnered by the Chronomètre FB 2RE.  This collection redefines the modern conception of a chronometer, in accordance with the most demanding criteria of quality and precision that have guided the Manufacture's choices since its beginnings.

The Chronometry prize for the second consecutive year

Since its launch in August 2020, the FB 2RE collection has elicited considerable enthusiasm among collectors and watchmaking professionals. Five years after the unveiling of the first FB 1 collection, the Chronomètre FB 2RE stands out on both aesthetic and technical levels. Its round case houses an original movement combining the emblematic fusee-and-chain transmission with a one-second remontoir d’égalité, serving to provide a natural deadbeat seconds display on a Grand Feu enamel dial.

"We wanted to develop a genuine wrist chronometer," says Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, President of Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud. "Above and beyond the design, embodying a contemporary expression of Ferdinand Berthoud's Marine Clock No. 6, the technique is unprecedented: it is an authentic feat and the combination of fusee-and-chain transmission with a remontoir d’égalité really improves precision."

Prix de Chronométrie pour la deuxième année consécutive

Tested by two independent laboratories – first for 15 days at the COSC and then, once cased-up, for 50 hours on the Fleuritest simulator –, the Chronomètre FB 2RE achieves outstanding chronometric performance, while operating at a low frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz). Throughout the power reserve, the readings taken deviate by less than 0.5 seconds on average from the optical reference measurement of the GPS clock. The FB 2RE model therefore shows very little difference between its respective first and last minutes of operation under test conditions, reproducing the movements of a watch on the wrist during the course of a typical day.

Prix de Chronométrie pour la deuxième année consécutive

"We wish to offer demanding collectors the very best by introducing modern timepieces acknowledged for their reliability and accuracy," comments Karl-Friedrich Scheufele. "In the space of five years, we have received no less than ten international awards, including three at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. This represents recognition for the work accomplished so far by all our teams. It allows us to establish ourselves in the field of Chronometry in a sustainable manner and encourages us to persevere along this path."

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Ferdinand Berthoud