Originally launched in 2019 by the Swiss luxury watchmaker Vacheron Constantin, the Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar, through a patented innovation, now allows the movement’s autonomy to be extended up to a remarkable 70 days without any loss of timekeeping accuracy.
Equipped with a movement featuring two regulating frequencies – a high-frequency Active mode (5Hz) and a low-frequency Standby mode (1.2Hz) – and based on two gear trains powered by a series of coaxial barrels, this patented innovation now allows the movement’s autonomy to be extended up to a remarkable 70 days without any loss of timekeeping accuracy.
This 70-day power reserve is achieved through an optimisation of Calibre 3610 QP, which has resulted in a five-day gain. A new open-worked dial design accentuates its refined character and innovative spirit.
The perpetual calendar is a noble watchmaking complication that fulfils its promise provided the movement is constantly wound. It is distinguished by a cam mechanism that enables the watch’s calibre to strictly follow the specifics of the Gregorian calendar until 2100 without intervention. The calibre’s power reserve is therefore of paramount importance in the absence of an automated watch-winding device.
With Calibre 3610 QP, the watchmakers and engineers at Vacheron Constantin have addressed this issue from the user’s perspective with the aim of extending the autonomy of a perpetual calendar movement without compromising its operation and precision when the watch is not being worn. This gives full meaning to the term ‘perpetual’ in the name of this complication.
The Twin Beat System And Vacheron Constantin’s Patented Innovation
In 2019, following four years of research and development, the design of a dual-frequency system integrated into the 3610 QP calibre – one frequency for the wearer’s active phases and the other for the watch’s resting phases – marked a new milestone in power reserve management and, by extension, in the practicality of such a complication.
The movement is equipped with two independent gear trains, powered by a series-connected coaxial double barrel. The first, featuring a high-frequency regulation (5 Hz – 36,000 vibrations per hour), ensures that the watch operates with precision in ‘Active’ mode, whilst the second, with a low frequency (1.2 Hz – 8,640 vph), reduces energy consumption during the ‘Standby’ phase.
One of the challenges of this system was to determine how much it would be possible to slow down the oscillation rate of the low-frequency regulator to ensure the longest possible power reserve, without compromising the calibre’s accuracy. With a rate of 1.2 Hz, the watchmakers and engineers at Vacheron Constantin found a balanced compromise, giving Calibre 3610 QP a power reserve of more than two months in ‘Standby’ mode, with a constant amplitude throughout the duration. In “Active” mode, the calibre boasts a four-day power reserve.
To enhance ease of use, Vacheron Constantin’s engineers developed a push-button-operated switching system set in the case-side at 8 o’clock, with a mode indicator displayed by a hand on the dial. This patented system maintains the display of the time and calendar information during the transition between high-frequency Active mode (5 Hz) and low-frequency Standby mode (1.2 Hz), switching instantly from high to low, and vice versa. By stopping one balance wheel to start the other, this causes no interruption in the calibre’s energy chain, thus ensuring a constant display of the time and calendar indications.
The Calibre’s Power Reserve is Extended by Five Days in Standby Mode
Comprising 480 components and measuring just 6mm thick, the hand-wound Calibre 3610QP has undergone further technical developments since 2019, particularly in relation to
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