Fake watches: The most accurate mechanical watch in history, bar none

Fake watches: On September 12, 2017, Zenith, a watch brand under the LVMH Group, held a press conference to announce the launch of a new product, which can be described as earth-shattering.

The watch, called “Defy Lab”, has an astonishing error of 0.25 seconds per day. That’s right, it’s really 0.25 seconds! For Swiss Fake Watches that need to be mass-produced, such precision is not only impossible for Rolex, but also giants such as Patek Philippe and Omega have never tried it before. Seeing such data, some people may guess whether Zenith made a quartz watch, or a hybrid similar to Seiko SpringDirve, but Zenith makes a real pure mechanical watch.

According to such data, this Defy Lab is already the most accurate mechanical watch in history, not one of them.

Let’s talk today. The reason for talking about it is very simple. First, the Defy Lab watch itself is good enough and interesting enough; second, we have already got the actual watch and have more experience and understanding; third, we have more information about Defy Lab. I want to share with you the inside story that was unknown before.

In 1582, the astronomer Galileo accidentally discovered a thing, that is, the chandelier on the top of the church swings from side to side, and the interval between going back and forth is the same.

Ever since, the clocks in our conventional sense began to sprout from this year.

Early clocks and watches relied on the left and right movements of the ‘pendulum’ to record and display time, but the disadvantage of the pendulum is that it is huge and cannot be inverted. In 1675, the Dutch scientist Huygens invented the “hairspring + balance wheel” system, which replaced the wire hanging the pendulum with a coil of wire, which greatly reduced the space occupied by the parts, and could be turned upside down for convenience. Carry. This “hairspring + balance wheel” system is the same as the previous “pendulum”, which swings back and forth regularly.

In theory, the “pendulum” system and the “hairspring + balance wheel” system have the same interval between swings back and forth each time, but in real life, they will be affected by various factors, such as temperature, air pressure, humidity, and vibration. ….. If there is a problem with one swing cycle, it will inevitably affect the subsequent time records. For example, if there are two pendulums per second, and there is an abnormality in one cycle, then there is a 50% chance of a travel time error. Then, if the number of swings per second is higher, the probability of error will be lower, and the watch will be more accurate.

Then there are two ways to improve the accuracy of the watch.

The first is to increase the “swing frequency”, that is, the number of swings per second;

the second is to reduce the interference of the outside world on the watch. Among them,

increasing the swing frequency is the most basic method.

In addition to “wobble frequency” and “external interference”,

the basic design of the mechanical clock itself will also affect the travel time accuracy of the clock. For example, first, the hairspring is wound in a helical shape,

and its center of gravity is not at the center. Especially during the operation of the watch,

its center of gravity will continue to shift, which will eventually affect the accuracy;

second, the perfect swing of the balance wheel is 300° , but it is impossible to maintain in reality.

As the power reserve decreases, the swing amplitude will also decrease,

and the watch will become slower and more susceptible to external interference; third, the balance wheel and the pendulum move back and forth,

In order to turn it into a movement in the same direction, it is necessary to use pallet forks,

escape wheels, etc. To connect conversion parts, and each connection has friction.

In order to solve these basic design problems,

Breguet invented the tourbillon to offset the influence of the center of gravity shift caused by gravity; the birth of the self-winding watch can effectively ensure sufficient power storage, thereby ensuring accuracy; the application of rubies and All styles of escapement are designed to reduce friction.

However, the basic design of mechanical Replica Watches Store has not been modified since

the Dutch scientist Huygens invented the “hairspring + balance wheel” system in 1665. Everyone is “optimizing” on this basis, and there is no breakthrough until the birth of Zenith “Defy Lab”!

Zenith “Defy Lab” has canceled the winding hairspring that has been used for more than 300 years.

The change of geometric shape makes the center of gravity no longer have a large shift,

and the attenuation of the swing with power is almost non-existent. At the same time, lighter and anti-magnetic silicon materials are used to make parts, and the hairspring, balance wheel,

pallet fork, and precision regulator are integrated into a silicon wafer with a thickness of only 0.5 mm,

and the connection of parts is less. No lubricant required. At the same time, the swing frequency is increased to a terrifying 108000VPH,

which is 4 times that of conventional mechanical watches.

It can be said that with the new basic design and modern technology,

Zenith “Defy Lab” has solved all the troubles of mechanical clocks

and watches for hundreds of years, and finally realized that the daily error of the watch is only 0.25 seconds.

After getting the real object, we immediately use the Witschi Chronoscope X1 instrument on the market to check the travel time accuracy. But after putting the Zenith “Defy Lab” on it, the instrument directly displayed that it could not be recognized,

because the frequency of 108000VPH is too high, far beyond the expectation of the testing instrument designer.

Conventional instruments on the market cannot detect the accuracy. In order to prove that the Defy Lab is indeed the most accurate mechanical watch in history,

Zenith sent the watch to the Besançon Observatory in France

and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) to test its authenticity. At the same time, it also passed the test of the International Organization for Standardization ISO on watch accuracy and anti-magnetic.

The birth of Zenith’s “Defy Lab” is inseparable from one person.

He is Guy Semon, who was the director of the LVMH Group’s watch research and development department at the time.

Guy Semon was not born in the watch industry. He was originally a French fighter pilot. He retired to teach physics and engineering, and then switched to high-tech research and development. In 2008, Guy Semon crossed the industry to watches and became the research

and development director of the watch brand TAG Heuer. Because of the non-traditional teaching of the watch industry and less restraint by traditions in the traditional industry,

Guy Semon can often bring new and distinctive things.

At the beginning of 2014, Guy Semon started a research project called “X-Time”,

the purpose is to escape from the “hairspring + balance wheel” system invented by Dutch scientist Huygens. Because Guy Semon was still TAG Heuer’s research and development director at the time,

and the project was highly confidential and could only be tackled internally,

so the first version of the “Defy Lab” sample was not produced under the name of Zenith,

but under the name of TAG Heuer. This is why spy photos of TAG Heuer’s “X-Time” watch were circulating on the Internet.

The funds to operate a research and development department are huge.

LVMH Group later merged the research and development departments of its various watch brands,

and Guy Semon became the chief research and development director of the group. When “X-Time” was really developed, a choice was placed in front of the LVMH Group. Who does “X-Time” belong to? The final decision was made by Zenith, because Zenith has a tradition of producing high-frequency movements and high-precision observatory watches,

and a major feature of the “X-Time” movement is the terrifying 100,000+ high-frequency and the most accurate travel time.

In addition to the fact that the movement is a product of joint efforts, so is the case. Zenith fake “Defy Lab” was launched in 2017. The case used is not our common steel and 18K gold, but an Aeronith material developed by Hublot.

The density of this material is lower than that of titanium and carbon fiber, and its basic composition is aluminum alloy.

In order to achieve a lighter effect, the engineers foamed the aluminum alloy

and then filled the holes with particles, similar to a sponge. The color of the real thing is very similar to sesame paste or concrete,

and the surface feels uneven to the touch.

When seeing this Defy Lab, many watch friends said that it is Hublot,

because the case has sharp edges and corners, which has the taste of Hublot Big Bang. However, Defy Lab does not imitate Hublot. The shape design of this watch comes from the historical models of the brand. At that time, the Hublot brand had not yet been established.

When Zenith Defy Lab was released in 2017, only a pre-sale version was launched,

limited to 10 pieces, priced at 29,900 francs. However, for this most accurate mechanical watch in history,

LVMH Group does not just want to sell it on a small scale. According to the plan, Zenith Defy Lab will launch a mass-produced model with the same movement

and the case will be replaced with conventional materials. The price is also more acceptable.