Usually, the minute repeater complication is associated with other high-end specialities such as tourbillons and perpetual calendars. As an expert on the subject, Christophe Claret has chosen more simple and useful additional indications for the Allegro.
Yet, the Allegro does what has made the brand and eponymous manufacture famous : it tells time with sound. The calibre ALG 589 is first and foremost capable of chiming, on demand, enunciating minutes, quarters and hours with notes struck on two circular gongs. The latter are exceptionally long, like the transept of a cathedral, or the exceptional resonance of a sound within one of these grand constructions. Whatever the exact origin of the word, they are named cathedral gongs and are meant to lengthen the sound the watch gives out.
This rare detail is not the Allegro's most distinctive feature, as it is one of Christophe Claret's specialities. The calibre's architecture has been entirely redesigned in order to imitate the style of a very specific era in watchmaking, that of 1820s French king Charles X. At that time, movement bridges were clearly separated, hollowed out and cantilevered. Such is the case for most of the Allegro's movement. The graphic effect of that three-dimensional construction is enhanced by red-gold plating on the bridges resting on a black mainplate. The ALG 589 calibre also features a brand new set of regulating organs. Its balance wheel possesses a unique shape, with four sets of regulating screws and is coupled with a new regulating system.
On top of that foundation, Christophe Claret has added two functions that have proved their usefulness in everyday life. Indeed, the Allegro is meant to be worn on a daily basis, not kept in a safe. It tells the date in a large window just above a GMT sub-dial seconded by a day/night indicator. These functions define the appearance of the Allegro's dial and with symmetry in mind, Claret has balanced the large date window with another, at 6 o'clock, which reveals the chiming mechanism.
The Allegro is available in two cases, both 45 x 14 mm in size. One is made of red gold and black PVD-treated titanium, the other in white gold and black PVD-treated titanium. They feature two dials: opaque or smoked sapphire, which either hide or reveal what lies underneath the surface. Each version is limited to 20 units.
