Blancpain Grande Double Sonnerie rewrites the rule book of chiming watches

EVEN IN the world of complicated watches, a grande sonnerie is considered a unicorn. Few watchmakers attempt one, and even fewer succeed – and almost none would dream of reinventing it.

Don’t tell that to Blancpain though. Its new Grande Double Sonnerie is not just another entry into this rarefied complication; it opens an entirely new chapter. 

Eight years ago, Marc A Hayek, Blancpain’s president and chief executive officer, envisioned a grande sonnerie unlike anything that had been done before. Not louder. Not bigger. But more musical.

Most chiming watches use two notes: a high and a low. Blancpain decided to use four. More astonishingly, Hayek asked for something unheard of in the world of wristwatches: two different melodies, selectable at the push of a button. 

One is the classic Westminster chime, similar to that of the Big Ben. The other was left to Eric Singer, the drummer of the rock band KISS and avid watch collector, who is also a close friend of Hayek’s. Together with keyboardist Derek Sherinian, the “Blancpain melody” was composed within the strict limitation of just four notes (E, G, F, B).

With a column-wheel mechanism governing the selection pusher, switching between the two is as smooth as the gear change in a finely tuned sports car.

A full performance on the hour Traditional grande sonneries reserve their long sequences for the quarters. Blancpain’s version is more ambitious – at the top of each hour, it plays the full hour count and all four quarters – an extended musical performance unmatched by other grande sonneries.

This is made possible by a highly complex movement: 1,053 components, 21 new patents (13 integrated into the final construction of the watch), and two barrels – one to run the timekeeping, the other dedicated to the chiming.

The tempo and pitch has to be perfect as humans can sense timing variations as small as a tenth of a second. Hence, Blancpain uses a silent magnetic regulator to ensure absolute rhythmic precision.

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Even the gongs are laser-tested and micro-adjusted by hand until their frequencies match perfectly – much like a maestro tuning up an orchestra.

To enhance acoustics, Blancpain inserted a patented gold membrane inside the bezel, acting like the soundboard of a string instrument, ensuring clarity and resonance without needing extra volume.

A symphony of complications As if the double-melody sonnerie weren’t enough, Blancpain built the watch around an open-worked movement in 18K gold – an audacious choice, as the metal is softer and harder to finish than brass. 

The hand-finishing is museum-grade, and traditional hand-finishing including anglage (135 inward angles), perlage, mirror polishing, diamond milling and straight graining, are all executed by hand in Blancpain’s finishing workshop in Le Brassus.

Blancpain did not stop there: the Grande Double Sonnerie also incorporates a flying tourbillon, updated with a silicon balance spring and a higher 4 Hz frequency for better timekeeping.

This watch has a fully integrated retrograde perpetual calendar, redesigned so that nothing blocks the view of the chiming mechanism. The patented under-lug correctors were also redesigned to allow easy fingertip adjustment without tools.

Made for wearing Another of Hayek’s brief to his team was that the Grande Double Sonnerie must be a timepiece which the owner will want to put on his wrist and not just display or keep in his or her safe.

So despite all its complications, the watch is surprisingly wearable at only 47mm; and comes in a choice of red or white gold. Five safety systems are integrated into the movement to prevent damage from incorrect handling.

Only two pieces will be made each year. Each is assembled start to finish by a single master watchmaker, who also signs the gold plaque affixed to the movement

The Grande Double Sonnerie can also be custom-made according to the wishes of its owner, ensuring absolute exclusivity.

The presentation box itself continues the musical theme. Made of wood from the Risoud forest, famed for producing resonance spruce used in violins, it acts as a natural amplifier for the chimes of this watch.