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Parmigiani 20th Anniversary Watch-The Senfine Concept

Parmigiani Senfine Concept Watch hands on

Parmigiani has relased the new model which made for its 20th anniversary. The Senfine Concept watch use the Genequand system. The system inside, if successful in an industrialized environment, could lead to a major disruption in how we measure the performance of mechanical watches.

Even as the Parmigiani Senfine is now a concept watch, Parmigiani promises production in some way or another no later than 2018. The concept watch the system is housed in looks spacey and techie – a modern watch nerd’s dream incarnate, as it feels like a timepiece born out of a silicon motherboard. Parmigiani Senfine Concept Watch caseback
The Parmigiani Senfine’s regulation system consists of two major “monolithic” elements. These two “one-piece” components are the Senfine oscillator and the Senfine grasshopper escapement. Each of these parts is produced from single pieces of highly precision-cut silicon, and rely on the material’s special elastic properties, lack of needing lubrication, and being mostly impervious to the effects of temperature changes.

The first thing to know about the Parmigiani Senfine is that its oscillator has a dramatically reduced amplitude as compared to a traditional balance wheel. In mechanical watch terminology, amplitude is a measure of the “swing” of a balance wheel. The greater the amplitude the greater the “back-and-forth” motion as the wheel oscillates. Increased amplitude means a lot of things, but it also means greater room for error as well as more power required. Many watch makers today producing “traditionally romantic” watch movements prefer producing large, high amplitude balance wheels because they have a more elegant, and mesmerizing look to them. Performance wise, though, they often leave much to be desired.Parmigiani Senfine Concept Watch dial
Amplitude is measured in degrees, like the arc of a circle. Consider that most balance wheels have an amplitude of around 300 degrees. That is almost a complete turn each time the wheel goes around. Consider then that the Senfine oscillator has an amplitude of only 16 degrees. By comparison, this is an extremely short throw, requiring a lot less movement, with less opportunity for rate-error-producing deviations.

Connected to this short 16-degree amplitude is a non-traditional grasshopper escapement which, unlike the Swiss lever escapement, never actually leaves the oscillator disc. One piece is always touching the oscillator and this “direct impulse-style” system has been relied upon for years in some special clocks, but rarely, if ever, in a wristwatch.

Silicon offers the ability to have monolithic pieces which have flexible joints and bendable parts. Careful science, intense algorithms, and experimentation are required to get these parts’ shapes just right. The result, however – when successful – is, in this case, a scant few parts to produce an entire regulation system. A system which has some inherent shock-absorption qualities does not require lubrication due to its mostly frictionless operation and is, of course, not affected by magnetism.Parmigiani Senfine Concept Watch calibre
In addition to the scant 16-degree amplitude of the Parmigiani Senfine oscillator, the system operates at a frequency of 16Hz (115,200bph). Compare this to a standard mechanical oscillator which operates at 4hz. This four-time increase in frequency theoretically allows for even more accuracy in a system that, if properly designed, could increase accuracy to a rate deviation of just a few seconds per week. Right now, Parmigiani claims that the Senfine system operates within COSC Chronometer standards, but my guess is that potential accuracy is much greater than performance of the -4/+6 seconds per day that COSC certification requires.

And then there is the matter of power reserve. Once again, for this working concept watch, Parmigiani has not made impressive promises for the Senfine, but the system, when closer for prime-time use, should have an impressive power reserve offering. Will it be the 30 days or more that Parmigiani promised a couple years ago in 2014? That will be difficult to say, but the company does appear to be putting an enormous amount of effort into the system as being something they will fully industrialize sooner rather than later. None of this would presumably be happening if Senfine and the realization of the Genequand System were merely marginally better than traditional mechanical watch regulation systems.

There is, of course, the looming matter of “tradition.” The thorn in the Senfine’s side will be the system’s reliance on silicon – a material that the traditional Swiss watch industry continues to struggle with. Despite many of the clear mechanical and performance benefits of silicon, the material still has two major problems. Don’t forget that mechanical watches are purchased these days for their beauty, art, technique, and rarity. No one requires a mechanical watch to know the time. For strict chronometric measurements, you are always better offer with an electronic digital device.

Moreover, many traditional watch makers are threatened, if not simply concerned about silicon because, as a material, it requires special technology to product and cut. While silicon is a very common material, it is the technology industry which has all the machines and tools necessary to cut it. Watch makers have little to no ability to produce silicon parts one at a time if a repair is needed, and would be at the mercy of large suppliers or the availability of the right software plans in order to produce new parts.

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