accurately, but without the penalties to effi- ciency, precision or running time that a high frequency would normally entail. In other words, it’s a fundamentally better
mechanism, in theory and in practice, and like Omega’s co-axial device is likely to be rolled out over time to the wider Rolex collection. Will any of that make the slightest difference to the wearer? Hardly, but as a reinforcement of brand supremacy it is fundamental. But it goes further: to the horologically in-
clined, the Dynapulse contains deeper layers of fascination, since its architecture and concept – two side-by-side escape wheels instead of one, impulsed by a pivoting cen- tral element rocking between them – in fact
Right and below: With its Double Impulse
Chronometer, Charles Frodsham made Dr George Daniels’ double wheel
escapement workable in a wristwatch
and Daniels, even if (crucially) it is the only one to do it at scale. A handful of notable interpretations have
Above and right: Bernhard Lederer’s Central Impulse Chronometer is historic escapements
share the essential blueprint of Breguet’s natural escapement. Had Abraham-Louis had machine learning and deep reactive ion etching available to him in 1789, ‘Dynapulse’ is what he might have come up with.
T
hat the world’s most powerful watch brand has used the most advanced re- search and engineering available to it
in the 21st century to arrive at fundamentals hashed out in the 18th is, of course, thor- oughly charming, and the perfect demon- stration of horology’s core paradox: its promise of innovation and intrigue within a
technology that is, in essence, timeless. On the other hand, there’s a further paradox – if you ask me – in this appearing in a watch as gauche (and gauchely named) as the Land-Dweller. It is, for all its intrigue, not a watch-lover’s watch, but a strange mishmash of nostalgia and novelty that, I think, will appeal to those looking for boxes to tick other than the Patek Philippe Nautilus and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. From the horological connoisseur’s per-
spective, Rolex is not the only brand to cre- ate a mechanism with a lineage from the natural escapement experiments of Breguet
emerged from smaller, more specialised makers, who press that paradoxical button with scholarly reverence and artisanal beau- ty. Charles Frodsham, Britain’s oldest contin- uously operating clockmaker, developed its lovely Double Impulse Chronometer a decade ago, having put almost 20 years of secretive work into making Daniels’ double wheel es- capement (his perfecting of Breguet’s inven- tion) workable in a wristwatch. It is the only wristwatch the firm makes, and it is a master- piece of philosophical purity and manufac- turing finesse. Phillips New York auctioned one of these incredibly rare birds for $330,000 (£245,000), around three times its retail price were you to commission one anew. Bernhard Lederer, a veteran of Switzer-
land’s independent horological scene, pro- duces another evolution of the concept. His Central Impulse Chronometer has one of the most dazzling movements in all of watch- making, and is the first step in a planned series investigating historic escapements. Pinnacle-tier boutique makers Laurent Fer- rier, Kari Voutilainen and FP Journe have also been inspired to produce variations on Breguet’s concept. Acquiring a watch simply for its escape- ment may well be as niche as it gets. But it’s the heart of the watch, and therefore the heart of the story of watchmaking itself.
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