Swiss Watches
Steinway & Sons Luxury Swiss Watches has introduced a limited edition version of the famous Steinway & Sons Seconde Metronomique watch that features a unique metronome second hand complication. Besides the flashy complication, the watch also features a rather unusually shaped stainless steel body, which is not only peculiarly shaped, but is also quite thin thanks to a hand-wound Swiss made caliber that powers the gadget.
Steinway & Sons, which is ahem mostly known for they high-end pianos, dived into the watch business only two years ago. To create their first collection, they hired a Swiss-based industrial designer Fabrizio Cavalca, who, inspired by the sensual curves of the musical instrument, created the easily recognizable case for the new luxury timekeepers.
At this time Steinway & Sons Luxury Swiss Watches offers three collections, all of them featuring the same elegant and simple body.
While the “M Collection” model with its 12 strings on the dial looks the most original, the C Seconde Metronomique Collection series is the most interesting from the technical point of view.
Unfortunately, I failed to find any reliable information regarding the “Steinway caliber C60” that powers the watch. However, judging by the official description of the caliber (it is built on 19 rubies, beats at 21,600 vph, is manual-wound and has a power reserve of 38 hours) I can assume that it is a pretty old ETA 2512 base caliber with Steinway’s metronome seconds complication.
By the way, the complication is the main reason to buy this watch. What’s interesting about this thing, is that it was long deemed technically impossible to create a retrograde second hand that would beat at a frequency of 60hz: the complication would demand just too much power to throw the hand back and forth and back again.
To overcome this problem, the Swiss master watchmaker Jean-Marc Wiederrecht (the one who, together with Roger Dubuis, invented and patented the retrograde indicator complication, which is now widely used throughout the industry) decided to use an optical illusion. He took a pair of three-armed second hands, put them on the same axis and forced them to rotate in opposite directions –one clockwise and the other — counterclockwise– with the same speed.
Since the rotation of hands is visible only through a tiny display window at 6 o’clock, there is a perfect illusion of the same second hand moving every second to and fro, like a tiny metronome. Perfect!
As usual, the watch will be issued as a limited edition. There will be only three hundred pieces: a 100 in rose gold, a 100 in yellow gold and a 100 in white gold.
Photos: Steinway & Sons
See also: Baume & Mercier William Baume Jumping Hour (ref. M0A08857)
Steinway & Sons Seconde Metronomique Limited Edition watch specification
Price range: TBD
Movement: Caliber C 60, hand-wound, 19 jewels, 21,600 vph, Swiss Made
Complications: Metronome second hand
Power reserve: 38 hours
Case material: 18-carat Rose gold, Yellow gold, or White gold
Bezel material: 18-carat Rose gold, Yellow gold, or White gold
Bezel shape: Tonneau
Case size: 43.7 x 26.0 mm
Case height: 10.0 mm
Dial: White gold, black or white enameled
Numerals: Arabic
Hands: Gold
Water resistance: 30 m
Strap: Calibrated Louisiana alligator leather strap with custom solid buckle complimenting case shape
Crystal: Sapphire, domed
Case back: Sapphire