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 Not only is the watch Freak revolutionized the field of watch design - it was equipped with yet another stunning innovation: a double direct descent Ludwig Oechslin. Watches with him, a genuine work of art, and ushered in another revolution in the watch mechanics.
Before that there was a descent only in the old desktop clock that belonged to Oechslin. He says:
"The trigger for them not fit anywhere, and I replaced it with another, which became the prototype for my double direct descent from the two escape cogwheel type."
On implementation of this descent into production, he petitioned for several years, but Schnyder did not agree.
"I remember once he came into my office and proudly put it on the table are their watches - says Schnyder. - "So what?" - I ask. - "Yes you look inside. Look at the descend. " Descent looked really impressive. But triggers, we usually do not cause trouble: the anchor descent do not complain. While in conventional wristwatches it is still not clear. And then I decided it can do without it. Ludwig's great upset. But Pierre Gygax is that the descent was carried away and began to pick up material for the wheels, so it can be used in a wristwatch. "
When it came to developing Freak, Schnyder appreciated features of the invention of Oechslin:
"If the slope is where the ordinary watches of dial, it can be clearly seen. In addition, it actually points to a minute. And I thought, "Well, for those watches of this descent handy."
Meanwhile, the Basel exhibition to 2001 time was running out. Developers barely had time. "At some point I would like to say to them:" You can not bring to mind the double line descent - and do not have to: put the Swiss anchor, - says Schnyder. - But Pierre - well done: on the right. "
Pierre Gygax says: "At any regular business of watches, we would put such a descent, but when Louis decided to create Freak, we realized that here it fits perfectly. Here the gimmick looks so advantageous - it is better not think of. "
One of the most impressive advantages of watches Freak - simple, logical and well thought-out design. They are three-line haiku as Japanese, where the words a bit, and feelings of the author referred to the full. The same frugality is also evident in Freak, where the same parts are elements of the movement and at the same time indicate the time: minimalism at its best. Watch Freak designed as a carousel tourbillon with a week reserve. If conventional Tourbillon trigger every minute revolves around the axis of the balance wheel, then the carousel axis of the balance wheel does not coincide with the axis of rotation of the carriage. He therefore boring, that design looks like a carousel.
Imagine a roundabout, where the wooden horse at the edge of a circular platform - the balance, and you will understand what the carousel tourbillon. The adjusting device had not located at the center of rotation, and at the periphery. Freak-layer movement resembles a cake. The bottom layer - a massive mainspring. From one form of this potent muscle-hour breathtaking. Freak has something to be proud of today mainspring of this size there is no more at one o'clock. This giant spiral which diameter equals the diameter of the case, has such power that its efforts watch go without winding for a week. To make this monster gain strength enough to turn fourteen times the rear casing counterclockwise. In this case the levers at the back of the tribes rotate the winding drum and spiral shrinks to the center, like a cobra getting ready to attack.
The second layer of toppings - blue winding drum. This wide flat hat store energy mainspring, which animates the movement. This is the feature Freak: mainspring - the source of life for all of the case watch. Unwinding, it pushes the drum reinforced hour wheel counterclockwise. Teeth time the wheels are in gear track around the perimeter of the case and, thus, the entire drum is rotated in a clockwise direction. Thanks to the crafty comparing the torque spring, and the number of teeth in the wheels and tracks drum makes a complete revolution in twelve hours exactly. The drum has a golden hand: it does and serves as a pointer to an hour. The hour wheel perceptible blue color turns and central tribes, from which energy enters the mainspring wheel transmission movement related to the third layer of mechanical filling.
The third layer - this carousel tourbillon is situated in a place where normally attached needle. Tourbillon movement is enclosed in a fancy arrow-shaped bridge, which is produced in a special way: it Fraser, was treated for EDM to give clarity tricky inner corners, and then carefully adjusted by hand. At one end of the bridge is placed variable inertia balance, controlled by a proprietary invention – without lubricant double indirect descent. On opposite end is a wheel, the engagement with the track around the perimeter of watches, and connects them gear, located along the bridge-arrow. This bridge serves as a place where the eyes of the enchanted hours of the owner comes to life miniature mechanical world.
Here's how. The energy imparted to the central watch work wheel tribe shall, at the trigger of the bridge. Coupled toothed driving wheel, turning, set the pace unwinding spring. The spring produces energy, and regulates the balance of supply, the opening, then closing the channel it was received by their vibrations.
But as the power supply chassis springs on the balance wheel. From the winding drum it comes to the blue hour wheel, and with him - on timing of the tribes, which is the lower part of the central axis. Note that the hour wheel teeth mesh with the teeth and the tribe, and with teeth track around the perimeter of the housing. Then the energy is transferred from the main tribe in the first, the farthest wheel through this very track. The fact that the base plate rigidly fixed escapement bridge in the central tribe, tribes, and when turning, turning platinum with it, and the first wheel "repelled" from the track.
For clarity, the following comparison: according to the vehicle's engine power the wheels. Wheels also are repelled from the road surface and attach to the car. "Collected" in a way to track energy mainspring is transmitted by the bridge to trigger a trigger wheel, constantly under stress. From there it is a CVT finally comes to balance. Here some of the energy expended to ensure that the balance wheel and escapement unlocked received a further boost.
Between the second and third layers of the movement is inserted sapphire with Arabic numerals. It is situated midway between the hour hand on a rotating drum under the crystal and the hand-minute set on top of the first wheel escapement bridge. Length is exposed by turning the bezel. What happens here, will become clearer if a little deeper into the design of these amazing watches. Central axis of Freak consists of three parts. Bottom - the central tribes with pin, which rotates freely in Kamneva basis. If you look at the watch back, this stone, fastened with three screws, immediately catches the eye. The middle part of the axis - the very base plate and trigger the bridge. If the axis is a single rod, it would have pierced through one of the gear wheels, which, of course, in this case could not rotate.
The upper part - is also a journal that relies on the upper stone. This gem is tucked away in gold "chatons", located just outside the center of the sapphire crystal. When the ring is turned, rotated, and the top gear track on it, which includes the teeth of the first wheel on the trigger of the bridge. Thus, when you turn the bezel clockwise first wheel rotates the trigger, and with it the "minute hand" in the opposite direction. From this it is clear how much trouble producers of watches gives the axis: it must be flawless straight and well centered - and this despite the fact that it consists of three parts. To achieve this, we must align perfectly both Kamneva basis, even though they are the two most distant points of the case.
As the watch Freak rotation movement is directly related to unwinding mainspring, translation shooter to a certain extent affect the reserve. Turning the needle forward, you untwist the spring, and with each full rotation of the rim of the time is shortened by an hour, when you turn back as the shooter, on the contrary, for an watch increases. But as the reserve of a Freak is designed for seven days, the plus-minus hour - the time insignificant. While the movement of injury is not threatened, even when fully wound move the hand back.
The main difficulty in assembling Freak, in the words of Pierre Gygax - setting movement in the case.
"It is back," Freak "- two pins, one on top - between the bridge and trigger the crystal, the other below - between the drum and the rear cover - says Gygax. - At the last stage of assembly need to be precisely aligned on the same line. Otherwise, when the movement is put into the case, they are at the least you can be displaced from the center. "
Schnyder added: "The dream of many to get Freak: the demand is such that we can hardly cope. Issue is very limited: for the production of these watches need skill, which has not every artist. At the final stage of assembly required superhuman accuracy, but if you watch collection as it should, they will go perfectly. "
Yes, when you build watches watchmakers have a hard time. The movement should ideally be debugged before placing it into the case, because if you then need to extract it to reset the inertia balance wheel screws, then all the tremendous effort involved in setting movement in the case, go down the drain. Therefore, the trigger every watch pre-Freak debug using a special tool, which delivers torque to the central tribes. Only in this way a balance can be carefully adjusted, not collecting watches to finish.
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