The Breva Génie 01 is the world’s first wristwatch with time, altimeter, barometer and power reserve indications provided by a fully mechanical movement, much of which is on display through the open dial and display back.
A weekend on Lake Como in Northern Italy provided to Vincent Dupontreué (ex Ermenegildo Zegna manager) the inspiration for the name and the idea of creating a mechanical timepiece that forecast the weather. The name ‘Breva’ is inspired by ‘La Breva’, a warm southern wind that contributes to the agreeably mild microclimate around Lake Como. The movement has been developed after 3 years of research and development by Jean-François Mojon/Chronode, exclusively for Breva.
How works this Breva Genie 01 ?
The barometer and altimeter (air pressure changes with both altitude and weather conditions) measure air pressure with two small aneroid capsules made from a special non-magnetic memory-metal and stacked one above the other. The top one being clearly visible on the dial side at 5 o’clock.
A clearly visible lever rests on top of the aneroid capsules and transmits the combined height of the capsules through a complex system of gears and racks to the altimeter indication and the barometer. The gearing for these two displays has been carefully calculated as the scale of changing air pressure due to altitude variations is quite different to weather variations.
The attitude display reads from -300 to +5,300 metres, while the barometric display ranges between 973 and 1053 hectopascals (hPa).
This graphic made by Financial Times show us how the aneroid capsule works (without air)
Technical specifications
Functions: hours, minutes, small second, altitude indicator, barometric pressure indicator, power reserve indicator, air pressure equaliser, equaliser seal indicator, barometric scale adjuster, altitude scale adjuster.
Case, dials and strap:
Case material: available in white gold (55 pieces) or 4N pink gold (55 pieces)
Dimensions: 44.7 mm x 15.6 mm
Number of components: 70
Winding setting crown at 9 o’clock, altitude and barometric pressure adjuster at 2 o’clock (altitude inner pusher, barometer exterior ring), air pressure equaliser at 4 o’clock
Crystals: sapphire crystal and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both sides
Dials: smoked sapphire with galvanic growth text, numbers and markers
Altitude scale: available in metric or imperial measurements
Strap: hand stitched alligator strap with folding buckle to match case material
Watcher resistance: 30m
Air equaliser with moisture-resisting osmosis membrane Teflon fabric around a gold rim
Movement:
Proprietary movement developed exclusively for Breva by Jean-François Mojon/ Chronode
Diameter: 36 mm
Number of components: 405
Number of jewels: 46
Balance frequency: 4 Hz
Dual anaerobic capsules measuring air pressure
Spiral anti-vibration spring: LIGA
Power reserve: 65 hours
Génie 01 is a limited edition of 55 pieces in white gold and 55 pieces in 4N pink gold.
You can discover more about this amazing young brand on www.breva-watch.com. We hope to see more in 5 weeks during Baselworld !
Info sourced at the Brand official information. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available.
