Hublot TOURBILLON Manual De Instrucciones página 46

MINUTE REPEATER
INTRODUCTION
The Minute Repeater – which, it should be reiterated, remains the privileged
domain of a limited number of manufactures - is considered one of the major
complications in Haute Horlogerie. A "repeater" is a watch equipped with a
mechanism, which strikes the hours on demand when its bolt is activated.
Originating before the widespread use of electricity, these watches enabled the
user to tell the time in the dark. There are several types of repeater providing
an audible time indication with various degrees of precision – from the sim-
ple "quarter-hour repeater" (only striking the hours and quarter-hours) to the
"Minute Repeater", which sounds the time to the nearest minute, using separate
tones for the hours, quarter-hours and minutes. This is also equipped with a
double cathedral gong, which is characterised by its extreme length (double a
conventional gong). This makes for a richer and fuller sound, with a particularly
long resonance time. The Minute Repeater – genuine masterpieces of micro-
mechanics – are highly sought after by collectors.
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