Perrelet Louis-Frederic Split-Seconds Chronograph limited edition

The recently presented Perrelet Louis-Frederic Split-Seconds automatic chronograph watch is offered in two cases (one in pure white gold for the members of inconspicuous consumption club, and the other in a white gold / yellow gold mix) and is powered by a beautifully decorated in-house Perrelet P-241 skeletonized caliber.

Born in 1781, Louis-Frederic Perrelet worked with the legendary Abraham-Lois Breguet and was the official watchmaker to the courts of three successive kings of France. He also was the first to file a patent application for the chronograph split-second mechanism, aka Rattrapante.

Being a combination of two stopwatches, the complication allows to simultaneously measure two separate events occurring at the same time.

Although now you can get a Valjoux 7750-based split-seconds chronograph for a reasonable price, there is still a number of Manufactures capable of making their own in-house double-chronograph movements.

Of course, the timekeepers from the latter group are much more expensive and usually delivered in cases made of gold or even platinum.

The new Perrelet Louis-Frederic Split-Seconds Chronograph belongs to this smaller group of exclusive watches.

Powered by Perrelet’s own P-241 automatic caliber, the watch will be sold in two special edition models. The A1827-1 model will soon be available in a pink gold/white gold (750 ct.) combination and is limited to only 50 units, while the white gold A1827-2 model will be even more exclusive with total production limited to just 27 timepieces.

As you can see, both watches feature wholly skeletonized dial and a partly skeletonized caliber with nicely decorated rotor, barrel and bridges, rhodium-plated wheels, and blued screws.

Although the white gold model doesn’t look very legible to me (its steel clockwork is just not contrast enough for the white gold hour and minute hands), the A1827-1 with rose gold hands seems to solve this problem. And its chronograph seems to be completely usable, if you have good enough eyes to see the reading of the respective sub-dials.

Photos: Perrelet

Perrelet Louis-Frederic Split-Seconds Chronograph watch’s specification :

Price range: N/A but very expensive
Movement: In-house P-241, automatic chronograph movement, 28,800 vph, 25 jewels
Complications: Split-seconds chronograph (Rattrapante)
Power reserve: 46 hours
Case material: rose gold/white gold mix or pure white gold
Case dimensions: 43.5 mm
Case height: N/A
Dial: Skeletonized
Water resistance: 50 meters
Strap: Black rubber with steel deployment buckle and solid 18 carats rose gold or white gold cap depending on the model
Crystal: Sapphire, AR-coated