Press release
During each day, a separate time for yourself
Imagine a window of time, arranged each day at a different time, a sort of time-out that you can reserve just for you, an exclusive time.
Only you would know how to employ this time that is reserved for yourself. It is a strategic time, a way to step back, an indispensable time of reflection before taking an action. It is a necessary retreat to then better move forward to reach a goal.
Watchmaking and astronomy, as we know, has been related since the dawn of time.
Among all the calendars conceived by humanity, there is one, dating back 3,000 years, which is still followed by hundreds of millions of people around the world. It is the Indian calendar called Panchang. It is divided into long eras, then in cycles of 60 years (like in 60 minutes), then in 12 lunar months, which are in turn divided into weeks of seven days, and days into 24 hours. Indian astronomers/ mathematicians took these seven 24-hour periods and then divided them again into two 12-hour periods, with a special period lasting from sunrise to sunset—conventionally fixed between 6 o'clock in the morning and 6 o'clock at night. This 12-hour daytime period was then further divided into segments of 90 minutes. Among the day's 90-minute periods, one is special, and they called it Rahu Kaal (the time of Rahu). This period is intended for thought and reflection rather than action. It is an intimate time, a private time. It is not a social time. It is a time that should be reserved for oneself, every day. We might call it the Strategic Period.
These temporal periods, judiciously arranged, correspond perfectly to the strategic periods of reflection, which are necessary in the daily whirlwind of time. They represent an essential step back, one too often ignored, by stressed executives during the day. These personal times are used for examining options or making choices and decisions, to avoid having to undo and redo what was badly designed or done in a hurry. In terms of management, for example, doesn't reaching our goal require a time of reflection to observe the world around us, to understand its structures, to predict changes and to plan our courses of action? Isn't time itself our primary resource that we must both tame and respect in order to use it in the best possible way?
Now, for the first time ever, the Swiss watch brand Borgeaud has created a mechanical complication to remind us of these special daily moments. It is called the Septagraph.
The Septagraph, a new watchmaking complication
A unique solution was found by Borgeaud, which designed and constructed a new, totally original, and patented watch complication, that it named the Septagraph (from the Latin ‘septua' meaning ‘seven' and the ancient Greek ‘graphein' for ‘to write'). Over a weekly cycle, where each day has a different reserved time, the Septagraph activates a countdown mechanism that runs for 90 minutes.
The time of the specific time period—of this Strategic Period as BorgeauD calls it—varies from day to day, and is indicated in a counter placed between 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock. At midnight, the jumping hand of the counter automatically moves to the day that has just started. Every day, at the appointed time for the activation of the Strategic Period, a large arrow positioned between 3 o'clock and 5 o'clock instantaneously fills with colour, thus signalling the beginning of the period and its countdown. At the same time, a circle at the top of the arrow (engraved with an ‘SP' for Strategic Period), also fills with colour. As the 90 minutes count down, the colour gradually leaves the arrow until it is again white after the period ends.
Up to now, there is no other complication comparable to the Septagraph in time-keeping. It is not only a new indicator whose activation varies from day to day, but it is also original in that it does not signal a remaining energy level or time that has passed, but rather it shows the accumulated intimate time that we will give ourselves. This is not a time that closes behind us but rather a time that opens before us.
A spectacular feminine version
The third calibre, the BRG Q1051, is a quartz movement reserved for the ladies' versions of the Septagraph. A unique feature of this quartz movement is that it drives a mechanical complication using a rotational disc to colour the three hollowed out petals of the principal lotus flower. In the ladies' Septagraph, it is this lotus flower that poetically counts down the Strategic Period.
Underneath the lotus, held in place by a ruby at its centre, a coloured disc appears instantly at the predetermined time, and colours three petals each counting 30 minutes. During the countdown, the colour flows slowly from petal to petal until it disappears altogether.
The lotus flower Septagraph, delicately set with diamonds in pink gold when the lattice is in white gold, or white gold when the lattice is in pink gold, seems to be the grand finale of a finely worked lattice in the form of flowers of increasing size. The lattice is very subtly hammered then polished, creating a superb play on the reflections of light.
A symbol of the Borgeaud brand, this timepiece is endowed with a mechanical ‘aesthetic complication' called The Manège. Patented and independent from the movement, it is the only one of its kind. In place of each of the ten visible hour markers, a diamond is placed in a mobile seat. With each movement of the wearer's wrist, these diamond markers begin to pivot on themselves. Technically, these specialty-cut round diamonds are held by three settings attached to an axis located at the centre of a small light shaft with hammered and polished sides. This axis is connected by a pinion to an oscillating crown situated behind the dial. As it rotates with each movement of the wrist, due to its unbalance, the crown engages the diamonds that pivot rapidly on themselves, offering a delicate performance symbolizing the roundness of the hours in the furious rhythm of time.
The pink or white 40-mm gold case of the ladies' model offers the ideal proportions of the men's models, so a couple can have a perfectly matched set.
As a small additional sophistication, in all the versions, the engraved B on the crown is set with diamonds. In the most decorated version, the Borgeaud model 8795 has a mother-of-pearl dial and diamond-set bezel.
Last but not least, the back of this very elegant feminine model has a smoked sapphire crystal that can easily be decorated with initials or other personalization at the choice of the owner.
All of Borgeaud's watches are produced and assembled in Switzerland, using a network of qualified suppliers known for their savoir-faire, thus guaranteeing their excellence, irreproachable quality and duration of the brand's after-sales service.
