«And The Winner is… Maximus!» : world record-holder for Kerbedanz Timepiece complications: the world’s largest tourbillon
Few brands are able to overcome the mother complications that are symbols of the quintessential in chronometry skills. Tourbillons, minute repeaters and even integration of functions from automaton science. Overview.
The time has come to collect awards, distinctions and even records. Kerbedanz is the Swiss watch brand that, from Neuchâtel, one of the historical birthplaces of Swiss watchmaking, is familiar with the most noble complications of mechanical horology: exclusively unique pieces or ultra-limited series. And the icon that embodies this truth is called Maximus, a name inspired by the greatest Roman circus. This is the largest Tourbillon in the world currently available as a wristwatch.
Maximus flying tourbillon, 27 mm diameter cage
This XXL KERBEDANZ complication allows the newcomer as well as the enthusiast to be immersed in the secret of this mechanism invented by Abraham Louis Breguet (17471823). At the heart of the KRB-08 mechanical handwound caliber, 415 components and 35 rubies, specific spiral-spring, the connoisseur will appreciate the particular configuration of the racquetry with its fine adjustment screws and its balance wheel. The cage of the giant flying tourbillon rotates every 6 minutes, not in 60 seconds as is often the case. To maintain its frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5Hz) and to guarantee a 54-hour power reserve with its own indicator, the winding recharges 4 barrels connected in parallel and transforms into a ritual gesture: from the bottom, thanks to a rotating key impacting a central wheel mounted on ball-bearings.
Polvs Arcticus, Double Tourbillon GMT
This piece is a limited creation made at the request of a collector. It is proof of Kerbedanz’s savoir-faire in complicated chronometry. This timepiece has two additional spheres in the relief of its dial that celebrate the scientists of the past: fascinating journeys through lands of astronomy, marine horizons and technical achievements. Incredible miniaturization prowesses elevates the Polvs Arcticus to the rank of a masterpiece. It is inhabited by the hand-wound GMT double tourbillon caliber KRB-07, one in the south, the other in the north, with a total of 341 components and 46 rubies, oscillating at 21,600 vibrations per hour (3Hz) and having a power reserve of 72 hours. Each tourbillon cage weighs 0.42 grams and consists of 80 components. The beauty of the finishes, particularly the bevelling and polishing variants so dear to master watchmakers, can be admired through a sapphire back placed on the back of an 18-carat solid white gold case 50 mm in diameter. To be noted, apart from the mechanism, the technical achievement of the dial detail: a translucent enamel layer with a thickness of 0.1mm!
Quintum Tourbillon, Minute Repeater and automaton animation
The unique piece concept is an integral part of the Kerbedanz brand DNA. And not only through the luxuriance of the dial and the craftsmanship that highlight the specific wishes of a discerning customers, but also from the perspective of the watchmaking caliber encased inside an exceptional watch. The two Kerbedanz Quintum Minute Repeaters, the two queens mothers of watchmaking complications, which were purchased by a passionate collector, also feature an automaton animation. A concentrate of extreme horological arts. To produce this incredible micromechanical structure, the socalled ultimate-brand turned to the Fabrique du Temps in Geneva and Concepto in La Chaux-deFonds, two of the most renowned movment manufacturers in Swiss haute horlogerie. Thus was born the 29 rubies hand-wound calibre KRB-05 movement, decorated with Côtes de Genève, which displays 100 hours of power reserve and oscillates at 21,600 vibrations per hour thanks to an escapement wheel and silicon pallets.
KERBEDANZ, symboles et légendes
An increasing number of seasoned collectors and MIPs (Most Important Personalities), a term applied to a distinctly separate category from the VIPs, are now turning to this watchmaking brand engaged in the pursuit of excellence. Operating out of Neuchâtel, the brand represents the art of complicated watchmaking at its pinnacle. It inherits from a long family tradition of several generations of jewellers, whose skills are visible in the extreme luxuriance of its dials decoration, transforming in the process its unique watches, or ultra-limited series, into fertile territory for its skilled craftsmen. A host of allegories and civilizational references to history, rich in symbolic allusions, lay themselves open to discovery. Kerbedanz is the only brand to boast a thorough mastery of the mysteries of symbolic reliefs thanks to an in-house symbolist, thanks to the expertise of an integrated 7 designers and constructors team.
An increasing number of seasoned collectors and MIPs (Most Important Personalities), a term applied to a distinctly separate category from the VIPs, are now turning to this watchmaking brand engaged in the pursuit of excellence. Operating out of Neuchâtel, the brand represents the art of complicated watchmaking at its pinnacle. It inherits from a long family tradition of several generations of jewellers, whose skills are visible in the extreme luxuriance of its dials decoration, transforming in the process its unique watches, or ultra-limited series, into fertile territory for its skilled craftsmen. A host of allegories and civilizational references to history, rich in symbolic allusions, lay themselves open to discovery. Kerbedanz is the only brand to boast a thorough mastery of the mysteries of symbolic reliefs thanks to an in-house symbolist, thanks to the expertise of an integrated 7 designers and constructors team.
Source: The Right Place, Presse & Relations, Productions
