2023-12-11 23:05:15
A simple idea, but one that opened the way to multiple developments. With the Dual Wing, the technical source of the Duomètre collection, Jaeger-LeCoultre has truly advanced watchmaking and, in the forefront, the chronograph
A movement is a puzzle. Impossible to move a piece without altering the overall image. This is why Jaeger-LeCoultre’s solution is beautiful: if a good caliber is above all a matter of compromise, when we put two in the same watch, we reduce the trade-offs to be made – particularly between power and precision. This is how the Dual Wing concept was born: one watch, two (almost) independent movements.
A LONG WAY
Work on the factory began in 2005. We saw the first iteration completed in 2007. The Dual Wing concept was then implemented in a collection created especially to accommodate it: Duomètre. The first model to see the light of day, at SIHH 2007, is the Duomètre à Chronographe.
Its principle is quite simple to understand. The chronograph is a complication which, when activated, consumes energy. Its triggering causes a drop in torque, in other words a loss of amplitude. Until now, to avoid this loss of movement amplitude, it was designed more powerful, capable of absorbing the activation of a chronograph without altering the precision of hours, minutes and seconds.
Jaeger-LeCoultre had another very clever idea: creating two movements within the same watch. One is dedicated to the traditional time display. He is constantly on duty. The other is only dedicated to the chronograph. It is only triggered when the complication is activated. Two independent mechanisms, united by a single regulating body.
These two mechanisms work in perfect harmony to guarantee performance and precision, as demonstrated by the unusual 1/6th of a second indication. Each barrel has its own power reserve indicator, at 5 o’clock and 7 o’clock.
Duomètre Chronograph © Jaeger-LeCoultre
CREATION OF THE CALIBER 380
The first movement to use this new construction principle is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 380, whose major advantage is that it displays the time with the precision of a stopwatch. In accordance with the Dual Wing concept, a first train of gears is dedicated to the time function (hours, minutes, seconds), the second train of gears dedicated exclusively to the chronograph function, with a lightning seconds at 1/6th of a second.
Each of the two mechanisms is powered by its own barrel ensuring a power reserve of 50 hours (50 hours for the time, 50 hours for the chronograph). No energy transfer takes place on either side. The Caliber 380 makes this Duomètre the first chronograph watch without the use of a clutch to perform the starting and stopping functions. A single pusher ensures the synchronization of its five counters.
To simplify use and preserve the aesthetics of the watch, a single crown is used to wind the two barrels: turning the crown clockwise winds the time; counterclockwise, that of the chronograph.
Duomètre Chronograph © Jaeger-LeCoultre
A CONCEPT TO BE DECLINED
Offering the first iteration of the Dual Wing concept to a chronograph was a smart idea on the part of Jaeger-LeCoultre. It is the complication which, when engaged, most affects the smooth running of the movement. With this coup, the manufacture immediately demonstrated its ability to solve the most important problem of loss of amplitude, caused by the chronograph.
Jaeger-LeCoultre subsequently declined the Dual Wing concept in other complications such as the Moon Phase with the Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire (date and phases of the Moon, 2010) but also in the high complication with the Duomètre à Sphérotourbillon (2012) and the Duomètre à Grande Sonnerie (2009).
Duomètre Chronograph © Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre Chronograph
HOUSING: Pink or white gold, sapphire face and back, water resistant to 50 meters
DIMENSIONS : 42mm
MOVEMENT: mechanical with manual winding, Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 380, 445 components, 21,600 vibrations per hour, two independent barrels, each with 50 hours of power reserve
FUNCTIONS : hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph, lightning seconds, double power reserve
DIAL: opaline magnetite gray, gold appliques
BRACELET: matte chocolate leather, gold double folding clasp
LAUNCH YEAR: 2007
This year, GMT Magazine and WorldTempus embarked on the ambitious project of summarizing the chronograph since the year 2000 in The Millennium Watch Book – Chronographs, a large and beautiful, beautifully illustrated book. This article is an extract. The Millennium Watch Book – Chronographs is available in French and English ici.
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