Even today, the watchmaking world still feels the impact of this breakthrough.
We are at the end of the 18th century. Back then, each watch imposed its own little ritual: one had to take out a key, insert the stem into the case, and give it a few turns each morning to persuade time to start moving again.
Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Perrelet put an end to this daily chore by harnessing a free source of energy that we all expend without even thinking: the energy of our own movements…
A self-sufficient watch?
His invention aimed to capture a portion of the kinetic energy we expend with every movement. By moving, the wearer sets an oscillating weight—or rotor—into motion. This rotor drives the barrel, which compresses and stores the energy that will keep the hands turning for several dozen hours.
Originally, the rotor was a purely technical invention, hidden at the heart of the movement and invisible to the wearer. At Perrelet, it finally leaves the shadows and takes center stage: visible from the dial side, it transforms mechanics into a design element.
Double the energy!
In 1995, the Maison revived and perfected the concept: Perrelet unveiled the Double Rotor, a system with two oscillating weights—one on the back of the movement, the other on the dial side. This patented mechanism captures more energy and winds the mainspring faster, while ensuring greater winding stability.
The most fascinating part is the view: you can watch the winding happen in real time. The rotor’s rotation brings the dial to life in a perpetual, almost hypnotic motion. It is a true lesson in miniature mechanics, where you can see energy being born, transmitted, and transformed right before your eyes.
Cleopatra and Eleonore: Queens of Motion
This year, Perrelet applies this principle to two high-jewelry watches: Cleopatra and Eleonore. Two illustrious names for two feminine interpretations of the Double Rotor.
The first pays tribute to ancient Egypt: a fan of mother-of-pearl and diamonds that unfolds with the slightest movement. Cleopatra VII, who reigned in the 1st century BCE, inspires this luminous creation, where the central rotor—set with thirty diamonds—rotates above a sun-patterned dial.
The second evokes the elegance of the First Empire. Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of both France and England, lends her name to a watch whose diamond-set rotor forms sparkling rays, like a cascading flow of light in motion.
Both are housed in a Grade 5 titanium case, light yet durable, and offered with a palette of evocative dials: Perle du Nile, Azur de Thèbes, Rosée d'Alexandrie, Plume de Paon and Kohl Eternel for Cleopatra; Perle Royale, Bleu de Chartres, Rose d'Orient, Vert Noble and Noir Velour for Josephine.
Cleopatra captivated Caesar, Joséphine charmed Louis VII : at Perrelet, they conquer time.
