Watch Wiki

The Best Watches and Watch Brands

User Tools

Site Tools


high-beat
no way to compare when less than two revisions

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.


high-beat [03.07.2022 15:34] (current) – created - external edit 127.0.0.1
Line 1: Line 1:
 +====== High-beat ======
 +
 +{{wst>author|[[Foskett, Stephen|Stephen Foskett]] ([[https://grail-watch.com/|Grail Watch]])}}
 +
 +{{wst>image_cl|Zenith|El_Primero_Werk|Zenith's legendary automatic chronograph movement '[[El Primero]]', a **high-beat** movement with 36,000 A/h}}
 +
 +A **high-beat** movement is one with a faster-than-ordinary [[Vibrations per hour|oscillating]] wheel. Commonly, "high beat" is only used to describe movements oscillating faster than 28,800 A/h, though [[Seiko]] has used the derivative term "Hi Beat" to refer to 28,800 A/h movements.
 +
 +Most Swiss watches today beat at 21,600 or 28,800 A/h, giving 6 or 8 beats per second. This number is commonly divided by two to give cycles or Hertz, so these may be called 3 or 4 Hz movements, respectively. The oscillation rate of a movement puts an upper bounds on the [[precision]] at which it can be read, however. This is most obvious when used in a [[stopwatch]] or [[chronograph]], especially a [[rattrapante]] movement marked in units smaller than one second. Without special engineering, such a watch can only show increments of time equal to the beat rate.
 +
 +For this reason, manufacturers began to develop high-beat movements. One of the first was the [[1935]] introduction by [[Minerva]] of a 360,000 A/h movement, [[Minerva 19-42|Calibre number 42]]. This allowed the sweep second hand to complete one sweep each second with 1/100 second precision. [[Girard Perregaux]] introduced a 36,000 A/h movement in [[1966]].
 +
 +The [[Zenith El Primero]] was another famous high-beat movement. Introduced as the first [[automatic]] [[chronograph]] in [[1969]], this movement beat at 36,000 A/h, giving it the potential for 1/10 second precision. Later [[Zenith]] watches would feature "Striking 10th" capability, allowing the chronograph to exploit this capability.
 +
 +[[Seiko]] is also well known for marketing "Hi Beat" watches. Originally, Seiko used this term for anything faster than 21,600, including their 28,800 mechanical movements. Today, the company only uses it on their 36,000 A/h [[Grand Seiko]] models, though they did produce one 43,200 A/h "Super Hi-Beat" model in [[2008]], the $600k Credor GBBX998. The [[Spring Drive]] chronograph from Seiko could be considered the ultimate high-beat movement since it has no [[escapement]] and can thus measure any sub-second increment.
 +
 +[[Zodiac]] and [[Longines]] (Calibre 431) produced high-beat calibres in the 1960's and 1970's. [[Ulysse Nardin]] produces a high-beat 36,000 A/h version of the [[ETA 2824-2]] called UN calibre NB11QU.
 +
 +In [[2005]], [[TAG Heuer]] introduced [[TAG Heuer Calibre 360 Concept Chronograph|a dual-escapement chronograph]] featuring 360,000 A/h capability. In [[2011]], [[TAG Heuer]] introduced the [[TAG Heuer Mikrotimer Flying 1000|Mikrotimer Flying 1000]], oscillating at 3,600,000 A/h and capable of measuring 1/1000 second increments. They doubled this in [[2012]] with their [[TAG Heuer Mikrogirder|Mikrogirder]], which dispenses with a mechanical [[pendulum]] or [[escapement]] and uses electronic 1,000 Hz bladed oscillators, giving a frequency of 7,200,000 A/h. The chronograph hand sweeps the dial at a blinding rate of 1,200 revolutions per minute. TAG Heuer also introduced a high-beat [[tourbillon]] in 2012, the [[TAG Heuer MikrotourbillonS|MikrotourbillonS]]. It includes two tourbillons One is a one-minute design with a 4 Hz magnetic balance, while the other serves the chronograph, rotating every five seconds at 50 Hz.
 +
 +Chopard set a new mark in [[2012]], introducing Cal. [[L.U.C 01|L.U.C 01-06-L]], the first ever high-frequency [[COSC]]-certified [[chronometer]] with a speed of 57,600 A/h or 8 Hz.
 +
 +In [[2017]], [[Zenith]] introduced a [[silicon]] regulator with no [[balance wheel]], capable of incredibly high-frequency operation. This was commercialized with the [[2019]] [[Zenith Defy Inventor]], which operates at 18 Hz or 129,600 A/h thanks to an [[escape wheel]] with flexibly silicon teeth.
 +
 +===== See also =====
 +  * [[Vibrations per hour]]
 +
 +===== External links =====
 +  * [[http://www.watchprosite.com/show-forumpost/fi-657/pi-5568098/ti-824423/t--interview-akira-ohira-watchmaking-father-of-modern-mechanical-grand-seiko/|Interview: Akira Ohira - watchmaking "Father" of modern mechanical Grand Seiko]]
 +
 +
 +{{tag>Terms}}
  
high-beat.txt · Last modified: 03.07.2022 15:34 by 127.0.0.1

Donate Powered by PHP Valid HTML5 Valid CSS Driven by DokuWiki

© Watch Wiki. All texts are protected by copyright. The respective copyright holders are the signatories of the contributions. For details see Impressum. Regarding objections and complaints (copyright and other rights) also see there. Impressum | Privacy Policy | Copyright | About Watch Wiki