In November, after the culmination of a global preview tour, the Only Watchauction for the benefit of the Monaco Association Against Muscular Dystrophy (AMM) will take place in Geneva. A total of 44 one-off timepieces will be auctioned off to support this important cause. (Click here to see some of the Only Watch participants we’ve already covered.)
At Only Watch 2015, Lucerne-based Carl F. Bucherer, will offer a unique version of its Manero ChronoPerpetual presented in a 42.5 mm by 14.3 mm white-gold case. The complexity of combining both a perpetual calendar and “complete” chronograph (i.e., with flyback) elevates this timepiece to the point where you could almost call it a “grand complication,” but not quite. Although there is no official definition of a grand complication, typically it must have a chronograph function, calendar function (such as moon-phases or perpetual calendar) and an audible function (such as a minute repeater).
The perpetual calendar displays the date, day, month, year, moon phase and leap year without requiring correction until the year 2100. The chronograph tallies hours, minutes and seconds, as well as offering a flyback function for instantaneous restarting of the chronograph seconds hand.
On this model, the dial is black with white-gold, luminous dauphine-shaped hour and minute hands, a straight seconds hand with arrow-shaped counterweight and faceted, arrow-shaped indices with luminous dots (no marker at 12, except two luminous dots). Moon phases are indicated between 3 and 4 o’clock; the date is displayed in the outer ring of the subdial at 12 o’clock, with small seconds on the inner part of the dial. The day appears in the outer ring of the subdial at 6 o’clock, with chronograph minutes on the inside. The month is indicated in the outer ring of the subdial at 9 o’clock, with chronograph minutes on the inner dial. Further, an the very center of the dial, is a third indication for leap year. Notably, the month “NOV” and the “15” from the minute counter are red, to symbolize November 2015, the date and year of the Only Watch auction.
Powering this one-of-a-kind version of the Manero ChronoPerpetual is a 49-jewel, in-house manufactured automatic movement, Caliber CFB 1904, which has a 50-hour power reserve.
A domed sapphire crystal with nonreflective coating on both sides protects the dial, with a sapphire crystal case back. Imprinted on the sapphire caseback is “Only Watch 2015 – Pièce unique – Fabriquée en Suisse.”
The bezel is fixed and has a satin-brushed finish as well as an engraved tachymeter scale. Both the top of the case and lugs also feature a satin-brushed finish, while the flanks, crown, pushers and caseback are fully polished. Carl F. Bucherer’s emblem is embossed on the push-in crown. Water-resistance is 30 meters.
On the left side of the case are two recessed pen-activated perpetual calendar corrector buttons. The Carl F. Bucherer Manero ChronoPerpetual timepiece (Ref. 00.10907.02.33.99) is finished with a hand-stitched Louisiana alligator brown leather strap and white-gold pin buckle.
