In 1872, the Classe d’Industrie et de Commerce de la Société des Arts entrusted the Geneva Observatory with supervising the chronometer rating competition. Badollet won the first edition of the Concours de l’Observatoire, intended to reward the accuracy of the best chronometer, with its pocket-watches sweeping the first three places.
Badollet, having played an active part in the watchmaking adventure from the 18th to the 20th centuries, wished to create a series of models linking the brand’s rich past to its current renewal and reflecting its respect for time-honoured values.
These Instruments of Time, named “Observatoire 1872”, combine a classic case with a shape evoking that of pocket-watches, and movements boasting a resolutely contemporary technical sophistication.
This Instrument of Time features a round 44 mm-diameter case with gentle shapes in 18-carat gold. Water-resistant to 30 metres, it is enhanced by a glareproofed sapphire crystal glass and case-back.
The Observatoire 1872 Minute Repeater, like all Badollet Instruments of Time, can be interpreted and customised according to personal wishes within the boundaries of technical feasibility.
Clearly visible through the transparent case-back and dial opening, the meticulous finishing – bevelling, circular graining and Côtes de Genève – cleverly reveal the added value inherent to this Haute Horlogerie creation. The hammer, gongs and inertial flywheel of the minute repeater mechanism can be admired on the bridge side.
At the heart of the timepiece beats Calibre BAD1655, a mechanical hand-wound movement with tourbillon type Swiss lever escapement that combines the flying tourbillon and the minute repeater - which is triggered by a dedicated sliding bolt at 9 o’clock.
The hammers sound the hours on the low-pitched gong, quarters by alternating between the low- and high-pitched gongs, and minutes on the high-pitched gong.
The Observatoire 1872 Minute Repeater is an instrument of time inspired by respect for the Badollet know-how and traditions. The personalised nature of the exterior, the technical sophistication of the movement and the excepitonally limpid tone of its gong nonetheless make it a resolutely contemporary instrument of time.
