Superyacht timepieces

“Berthoud was an elegant engineer, and we wanted to

way to produce them in reasonable numbers at follow that spirit a reasonable price. As a talented watchmaker FERDINAND and engineer, he was a pioneer of the lever and that detail” BERTHOUD escapement that Mudge invented, which is the Nautical heritage forerunner of today’s Swiss Lever, but he is especially noted for his extremely accurate marine chronometers. Berthoud was n modern times Ferdinand instrumental in enabling France to vie with Berthoud is noted for one Britain for maritime supremacy. watch, the superb Scheufele’s 21st-Century vision is to I Chronometer Ferdinand develop a line of bold and technical timepieces, Berthoud FB 1, a classy- starting with the exciting and looking, award-winning design, of which only innovative new FB 1, which has 50 will be made. It is a highly sophisticated been imagined as if it were the tourbillon chronometer, a hand-wound watch continuation of Berthoud’s work, that pops with more than enough horological and created as a tribute to the interest to pique a connoisseur’s interest. Its great clockmaker. With a special distinctive white or rose gold octagonal case at the age of 26 he was team at Chopard’s LUC and movement comprising 1,120 components admitted as a Master Manufacture working exclusively are inspired by marine chronometers, Clockmaker on the orders of on the timepiece – including particularly the highly finished mechanisms of the French king. In 1754 he Chopard’s head of design, Guy Ferdinand Berthoud the person, and therein submitted his inventions to Bove – Scheufele set about lies the history of the brand. the French Royal Academy of researching Berthoud’s published Berthoud is almost the last of the great Sciences, including his first works and archives. “Berthoud 18th-Century watchmakers to have his name marine clock project. His reputation was built was an elegant engineer, and we brought back into use and the FB 1 is the first on his technical advances in the production of wanted to follow that spirit as well as the watch to reintroduce the name, which was chronometers, such as pioneering the use of detail,” says Scheufele. acquired in 2005 by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, jewelled bearings, and for his equation systems The bold octagonal shape of the 44mm the co-president of Chopard. Scheufele, who – equation clocks are mechanical clocks that case was inspired by the gimbal suspension oversees the horology side of the Chopard can read or calculate solar time. system typical of ship’s chronometers. The business, has a passion for anything He wrote extensively on these subjects and movement is constructed in the same way as mechanical, and had stumbled upon a piece by rose quickly in his profession, first appointed the original marine chronometers, with pillars Berthoud as he was looking for historical Clockmaker to the French Navy in 1762 and separating the plates, albeit using modern timepieces to exhibit in the Chopard L.U.Ceum later Clockmaker to the King in 1773. Aware of techniques and materials including titanium. museum. Chopard’s horology is based in Harrison’s life work in developing a marine Through the sapphire crystal case back and Fleurier and one of Fleurier’s most famous chronometer to help sailors calculate portholes around the outside you can see the sons is Berthoud himself. longitude, Berthoud was sent to London in intriguing regulating device: the central Right: Karl-Friedrich The heritage is important to the revival of 1763 to see what he could find out. He became seconds tourbillon comes with fusée-and- Scheufele, inspired by this marque as Berthoud was the first friends with the eminent clockmaker Thomas chain transmission that provides a constant Berthoud’s marine watchmaker to get close to the precision of Mudge who, perhaps inadvertently, revealed force. There are technical advances in the chronometers. John Harrison’s marine chronometers – and some of the secrets behind Harrison’s famous mechanism, such as the unique suspended Top: The octagonal case of the FB 1, priced this might have been the result, it has be H4, which was being examined at the time by mobile cone indicating power-reserve. The from around €220,000. suggested, of some early industrial espionage. the Board of Longitude. However Berthoud sophistication and engineering of the Inset: Berthoud’s Berthoud was born in 1727 near Fleurier and came by the information, it was to set him on timepiece honours one of the great names in Horologe de Marine 6 from 1777; Ferdinand was apprenticed locally before moving to Paris course to become one of the fathers of marine nautical watchmaking. Berthoud, with his in 1745 to further his studies. Eight years later chronometers, sharing the credit for devising a www.ferdinandberthoud.ch Légion d’Honneur. 48