Story Highlight
– Horage’s Revolution 3 MicroReg enters production this month.
– MicroReg adjusts watch accuracy without opening the case.
– Owners utilize a mobile app for monitoring and adjustments.
– Technology enables personalized regulation based on individual wear.
– First 500 watches priced at CHF 5,500 for pre-order.
Full Story
A Swiss watchmaker is on the brink of revolutionising mechanical timekeeping with its latest innovation. Horage, based in Biel, has developed the Revolution 3 MicroReg, a watch designed to autonomously adjust its accuracy without needing to be opened. This marks a significant evolution in their ongoing project, dubbed the “Quest to Zero,” aimed at closing the gap between a watch’s theoretical accuracy and its real-world performance.
In April 2023, Horage announced that production of the Revolution 3 MicroReg has commenced, with deliveries expected to start this month. Central to its technology is a microscopic actuator that enables external adjustments of the watch’s hairspring, akin to a medical professional monitoring and managing a patient’s condition.
The external actuator unit provided to customers allows them to monitor the watch’s performance by detecting its frequency and determining any deviation from the ideal. This system communicates with the MicroReg mechanism, enabling precise adjustments to be made in real-time. Horage likens this process to an ECG or defibrillator in its function and complexity, solely for mechanical movements like their K2 micro-rotor calibre.
Historically, ensuring the accuracy of mechanical watches has posed challenges due to numerous external influences like temperature variations and personal usage habits. Although Swiss Chronometer Testing (COSC) provides a standard measure of performance, it cannot mirror the individual experiences of watch owners. Traditionally, discrepancies in accuracy required a watchmaker’s intervention for recalibration, which is a cumbersome solution.
Horage has approached this issue innovatively: what if a watch could self-regulate for its wearer, without being taken apart? In collaboration with the Biel-based firm Miniswys, they have harnessed revolutionary actuator technology that dates back to the original Swatch’s inventor, Elmar Mock.
Rather than replacing mechanical components with electronics, MicroReg utilises external devices that make minute adjustments to conventional mechanisms. The actuator operates like a “sleeping watchmaker,” inactive until necessary adjustments are required, using electronic impulses to modulate the hairspring’s effective length. This innovative approach allows for changes as precise as two-thousandths of a millimetre, ultimately affecting timing accuracy down to one-tenth of a second.
The Rev3 MicroReg negates the need for complicated remote controls previously seen in prototypes; instead, it now features a sophisticated diagnostic system that measures deviations and facilitates timely corrections. This technological leap presents the watch in a transparent manner, showcasing its intricate mechanisms and their innovations.
Crafted with an anti-magnetic silicon escapement and hairspring, the watch boasts over 72 hours of power reserve and features an aesthetically appealing design in Peacock Blue, complete with Côtes de Genève finishing. The use of an inventive time display with a rotating disc also underscores Horage’s commitment to precision.
The first 500 units available, known as the Founder’s Edition, are priced at CHF 5,500, with the retail price increasing to CHF 6,900 after initial deliveries. Earlier backers who contributed to its development were able to secure units for CHF 3,900.
Horage’s track record suggests a willingness to innovate in the watchmaking market. The company’s initial movement, the K1, was successfully funded through community support as Horage transitioned towards in-house manufacturing. The MicroReg project aims not merely to enhance accuracy but rather to revolutionise how and when mechanical watches can be adjusted.
While mechanical accuracy has been a long-standing goal in watchmaking, Horage’s advancements highlight the necessity for continual adaptation in response to real-world variables. Now, owners of the Revolution 3 can readily diagnose and amend their watch’s performance rather than relying on external experts, heralding a new age of personalised horology.
