WatchTime - August 2012

WATCHtalk
Chronograph
pusher
1/1000s of a second
display
Chronograph
balance wheel
Hour hand
Timekeeping
balance wheel
The Bi-Fréquence 1000 dial
idea for measuring 1/1,000s of a second.
Gomila’s concept was based on a childhood
toy – a simple hoop kept rolling
with regular taps from a stick. The result
is a chronograph with a unique system
for splitting seconds into ever-smaller
units, and an unusual way of displaying
those units.
Any discussion of the Bi-Fréquence
must begin with an overview of the dial
layout. At first glance, an observer might
note that Montblanc has failed to satisfy
its self-imposed legibility requirement. In
an interview, Montblanc’s managing director
of watches, Alexander Schmiedt,
acknowledged that the Bi-Fréquence is
“not an easy watch.” However, as we
learned firsthand, a brief orientation
yields an understanding of, and even an
appreciation for, the dial’s clarity.
As shown in the image above, the
22 WatchTime August 2012
time of day is displayed by the small,
white, center-mounted hour and minute
hands. The chronograph is a monopusher
design, with the start, stop and reset
functions controlled by the single pusher
located between the lugs at 12 o’clock.
The pusher’s location is a nod to the early
Minerva 1/100s-of-a-second stopwatches.
The chronograph elapsed seconds
and minutes are displayed co-axially at 6
o’clock. The longer, red-tipped hand displays
60 elapsed seconds on the white
outer track, and the shorter solid red
hand displays elapsed minutes on the red
inner track. The 1/100s of a second are
indicated by the center-mounted red hand
with arrow tip. This hand makes one trip
around the dial per second, displaying the
1/100s of a second increments clearly.
The 1/1,000s-of-a-second display is lo-
Chronograph 1/100s
of a second hand
Minute hand
Chronograph
seconds hand
Chronograph
power reserve
Chronograph
minutes hand
cated in a large, curved window at 12
o’clock. Inside the window, the letter
“N” and the numerals 0 to 9 indicate the
status of the display and denominate
1/1,000s of a second. When the chronograph
is running, the small, red, triangleshaped
indicator at the bottom of the
window remains motionless, pointing to
the red “N.” At the moment the chronograph
is stopped, the red arrow instantly
jumps to indicate the elapsed 1/1,000s of
a second. Putting all of these chronograph
indications together, in the image
above, the total elapsed time is 2 minutes
and 19.139 seconds.
The chronograph has its own mainspring
barrel, the power reserve of which
is visible on the dial at 3 o’clock. The
winding crown is bi-directional; turning
it one way winds the timekeeping mainspring
and the other winds the chrono-