Ferdinand Berthoud

Reviving a legendary name from history

As an avid watch collector, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele has a particular passion for the work of Ferdinand Berthoud, which he took to the ultimate extreme by acquiring the rights to the name and deciding to revive it as a brand that produces watches that attempt to second-guess what Berthoud would produce were he still alive today. The results have been superlative examples derived from the marine chronometer with a movement whose complexity and finish is unparalleled.

The case of the FB1 chronometer recalls the octagonal forms of marine chronometer housings and consists of numerous parts. It is available in unusual metal combinations that include titanium and gold. The movement relies on the traditional fusee and chain technology to ensure a constant delivery of the force from the mainspring to power the watch, ensuring optimum accuracy. Small sapphire crystal windows in the side of the case give a view of the movement's construction, which is based on a pillar-type construction, while the dial remains sober in design. In a more recent version, with a titanium case, the sapphire crystal windows were removed but the lower bridges were realised in sapphire crystal, offering a unique view of the movement through the watch's sapphire crystal case back.

Unusual time display based on the heritage of the marine chronometer

Ferdinand Berthoud timepieces offer an unusual way of displaying the time that hails from the principles of the original marine chronometer. On the FB1 models the hours and minute are shown on a small subsidiary dial at 12 o'clock, while a central seconds hand ticks away from the centre of the watch, where an aperture in the dial that the extends to 6 o'clock shows the movement beneath. A small scale at 9 o'clock shows the remaining power reserve on the $200,000+ timepiece. Appropriately named the FB1, the brand's first watch was produced first in white gold (Chronométrie FB 1.1), then in rose gold (Chronométrie FB 1.2), then platinum (Chronométrie FB 1.3) and most recently in two titanium versions (Chronométrie FB 1.4-1 with a black dial and Chronométrie FB 1.4-2 with a silvered dial).

The fusee and chain at the heart of the movement

The fusee and chain mechanism used to power the watch has an unusual suspended construction. The chain consists of 474 individual steel links and 300 pins. It is 28 centimetres long and subjected to a maximum force of three kilogrammes once in place. This fusee and chain mechanism guarantees a power reserve of 53 hours.

After the marine chronometer, the regulator

The brand's second timepiece pays tribute to another measuring instrument that was significant in the history of timekeeping: the regulator. Again, the seconds emanate from the centre, while the subsidiary dial at 12 o'clock is reserved for the minutes and the hours are read off a sector disc between 1 and 2 o'clock. The power reserve is shown at 10 o'clock with the entire mechanism that drives the indicator hand visible. A series of limited editions of this piece, with the FB 1R5 designation (also referred to as the Edition 1785), was produced with stabilised aged-bronze cases. The FB-T.FC.R calibre used in this watch uses a suspended barrel and fusee, which is designed to save on thickness. This calibre is also unusual because the tourbillon does not indicate the seconds, since the aforementioned centre seconds hand (rare for a tourbillon) performs this function.