Girard-Perregaux Tip of the Week #37

Minute repeater watches were invented before electric lighting existed. These timekeepers allowed you to not only read time but to hear it as well.

Among the most complex watchmaking mechanisms, each piece is unique. A minute repeater watch, each component of which is meticulously assembled and decorated by hand, required som 500 hours work. The movement has a mechanical memory: a cam system synchronized with the hands. so, a monute repeater can be controlled to sound every hour, quarter-hour and minute by means of a hammer-striked on bells, which have been tuned by watchmakers just like a musical instrument.