Audemars Piguet Calibre 2910 Instructions for use manual - page 8
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The Minute Repeater
Watchmakers in the Vallée de Joux have always nurtured
a great passion and an innate talent for striking
mechanisms. Perhaps because, amid the silence of the
mountains and the hushed serenity of long snowbound
winters, the crystal-clear sound of these miniature
musical marvels strikes an even deeper, more meaningful
chord. Or possibly because such a complex mechanism
was bound to stir their legendary inventive spirit.
How does a minute repeater work?
The str iking mechanism is activated by a well-
protected sliding bolt built into the left side of the
case-middle. Two, highly-polished hammers tap out a
controlled rhythm on two gongs of different lengths
to produce a high-pitched note and a low-pitched
note.
The Millenary Minute Repeater with Audemars Piguet
escapement strikes on demand with a low tone for each
hour, a double, high-and-low tone for each quarter hour
and a high tone for each minute elapsed since the last
quarter.
This called for a particularly sophisticated mechanism
as the watch hammers must be tuned like a musical
instrument and the movement must also “know” at any
given time how many notes it must strike.
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