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Laurent Ferrier the Micro Rotor and an impromptu visit
Jun 14, 2012,05:34 AM
I recently stopped by the Laurent Ferrier ateliers in Geneva for a vist for someting special...but more of this later
I had the opportunity to see them working on the final assembly of new Micro Rotor model with a double direct impulse which were being cased and ready to ship out.
There are currently 6 watchmakers working at Ferrier each responsible of the finish of components, complete assembly, casing and testing of the timepiece he/she is working on (close to 4 weeks per watch is requested for the Micro Rotor)
On the way to the upper floors where the workshops are located a small area with some of the awards won by the brand.
The team working on the Micro-Rotors
Anglage
polishing of the angles
the assembled movement without the escapement. Love the original shape of the escapement bridge on the lower left hand side
The rotor is help by a gorgeously finished bridge, notice the pawl a top the rotor, this system supposedly maximizes the winding efficiency (which is an issue with micro rotors)
The 72 hour power reserve is obtained via one barrel
I'm a sucker for fine finish and the Micro Rotor finish is a sight for sore eyes!
perlage on the main plate
the balance bridge
the rotor holder
rotor ratchet
Silicon escapment
The escapement (which is a double impulse direct escapement) is really delicate and is assembled under a microscope. This is one of the more painstaking tasks as it requires great dexterity and may require the watchmaker to disassemble and reassemble to get the tolerances right.
Interestingly the brand needed to modify its Witchi timing machines whcih could not interpret the double impulses from the escapement!
The piece made for Only Watch ready to be delivered
White gold and slate grey dial
rose gold with slate grey dial
white gold with silver dial
white gold with black dial
one of each please!
Laurent Ferrier and his team