Wondering how people told the time in the dark before the digital age? “Super-Luminova,” you might say. But what about before that? In the mid-18th century — prior to the adoption of electric lighting and well before luminescent coating on watches — watchmakers created a way for timepieces to sound the hour on demand, allowing the time to be told in the dark. While upon their invention chiming watches (also known as striking watches) were a practical necessity, today they’re more of a luxury and represent one of the highest stratums of watchmaking. To many, chiming or striking watches are considered to be one of, if not the most complex watch complications.
Chiming watches are exclusive to luxury manufactures — think the likes of Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and F.P. Journe — with only the most highly trained and skilled watchmakers able to assemble the movements which contain well over a hundred unique components. It routinely takes watchmakers upwards of 200 hours to assemble a minute repeater movement, something only possible after decades of horological training. Creating a sonorous chime often also requires experimentation when it comes to materials and execution, as watch cases tend to muffle the sound within.
Related: Albert Review’s Ultimate Guide To The Best Watches For Men & Women
Types of chiming watches
Most chiming watches fall into two main categories; repeaters and sonneries. The five main types of chiming watches are alarm watches, minute repeaters, decimal repeaters, grande sonnerie, and petite sonnerie.
Alarm watches
Before the days of hitting snooze on a digital alarm clock, mechanical watches with alarm functions were an interesting proposition. The first mechanical wristwatch with an alarm function was introduced by Swiss watchmaker Eterna in 1914, however the watch didn’t fare very well on the market. The alarm function gained popularity in 1947 with the release of the Vulcain Cricket, a hand-wound watch with two barrels; one to store the power for the movement and one for the alarm function. To note, alarm watches are neither repeaters nor sonneries, but still worth a mention here.
As the name suggests, you can set an alarm on an alarm watch and it will chime at the designated time. Unlike the other chiming watch complications on this list, mechanical alarm watches can be found at an affordable price.
Best luxury alarm watch: Patek Philippe 5520P Travel Time
A decidedly overengineered watch, the Patek Philippe 5520P Travel Time is touted as the ultimate travel companion. It displays two time zones (local and home) with a day/night indication for both in apertures on the dial, as well as the local date in a subdial at 6 o’clock. It’s fitted with a 24-hour chiming alarm function with the alarm time displayed in an aperture at 12 o’clock. An elegant wakeup call indeed.
Price: $POA
Model: 5520P Travel Time
Movement: automatic
Water Resistance: 3ATM
Power Reserve: 42-52 hours
Case Size: 42.2mm
Best heritage automatic alarm watch: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Timer
One of the most iconic examples of an alarm wristwatch, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox was originally introduced in 1950 and became popular with businessmen. It was updated in 1956 with a self-winding calibre and became the first alarm watch to use an automatic movement. The Swiss manufacture revisited the timepiece in 2020 with the release of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Timer, which features an alarm with a school bell sound and an exhibition caseback to view the automatic in-house calibre 956 at work.
Price: $23,100AUD
Model: Master Control Memovox Timer
Movement: automatic
Water Resistance: 5ATM
Power Reserve: 44 hours
Case Size: 40mm
Best original alarm watch: Vulcain Cricket Tradition
The brand to invent a mechanical alarm watch, the Vulcain Cricket was introduced in 1947 and is known (in niche circles) as the unofficial president’s watch; having been sported by the likes of Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon Johnson. The Vulcain Cricket Tradition continues the well, tradition, with an in-house hand-wound alarm calibre. Housed within a dressy 36mm stainless steel case, the reissued timepiece stays true to vintage proportions (the original Cricket was 34mm) and aesthetics, making for an undeniable conversation starter.
Price: approx. $6500AUD
Model: Cricket Tradition
Movement: manually winding
Water Resistance: 5ATM
Power Reserve: 42 hours
Case Size: 36mm
Minute repeaters
The earliest minute repeaters were found in pocket watches, with the complication introduced in the mid-18th century to allow its wearer to tell the time in the dark. Today, the function is more fanciful than practical. A minute repeater chimes the time using two small hammers which strike differently coiled metal gongs; one with a low tone and one with a high tone. A minute repeater is typically activated by a slide or button integrated into the side of the case. Upon activation, the minute repeater will chime the hour using low tones, the quarter hours with alternating low and high tones, and the (remaining) minutes using high tones. So, 7:48 would chime as seven low tones, three alternating low and high tones, and three high tones.
Best elegant minute repeater: Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Minute Repeater Ultra-Thin
Lauded Swiss manufacture Vacheron Constantin often introduces minute repeaters into its stable. A highlight is the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Minute Repeater Ultra-Thin which sees the complicated function distilled into a streamlined 8.09mm case.
Price: not currently sold (approx. > $300,000USD on secondary market)
Model: Patrimony Minute Repeater Ultra-Thin
Movement: manual winding
Water Resistance: N/A
Power Reserve: 65 hours
Case Size: 41mm
Best artistic minute repeater: Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater 300th Anniversary Edition
Jaquet Droz combines its signature intricate métiers d’art with one of haute horology’s most complicated complications in The Bird Repeater 300th Anniversary Edition. A mother-of-pearl and rose gold dial plays host to hand-engraved and painted birds and hand-engraved rose gold appliques, with the time told on a black onyx off-centre subdial. Activated by a slide on the side of the case, the minute repeater not only chimes the time but animates the dial, with the two large robins bobbing to feed the chicks in the nest and the egg actually hatching before your eyes.
Price: €544,700 (approx. $882,000AUD)
Model: Bird Repeater 300th Anniversary Edition
Movement: manually wound
Water Resistance: N/A
Power Reserve: 48 hours
Case Size: 47mm
Best open-worked minute repeater: Girard-Perregaux Minute Repeater Tourbillon
The most complicated complication is often kept firmly under wraps. Here, Girard-Perregaux flips the script by having the minute repeater visible dial-side, along with a tourbillon for good measure.
Price: $508,000USD (approx. $746,000)
Model: Minute Repeater Tourbillon
Movement: manual winding
Water Resistance: 3ATM
Power Reserve: 60 hours
Case Size: 45mm
Decimal minute repeaters
Decimal minute repeaters are almost identical to standard minute repeaters, with their mechanisms functioning in the same way. However, their difference lies in how the watch represents the time. Rather than chiming the hour, quarter hours, and minutes, a decimal minute repeater will chime the hour, ten-minute periods, and minutes. Using the same example of 7.48 as above, a decimal minute repeater will chime seven low tones, four alternating low and high tones, and eight high tones.
Best decimal minute repeater: A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater
Combining a jumping hours and minutes display with a decimal minute repeater, the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater strikes the time in hours, ten-minute intervals, and minutes upon activation via the button at 10 o’clock. The large hour and minute windows and small seconds subdial are executed with the German manufacture’s flair for aesthetic purity, with the timepiece characterised by its clean lines and sober design.
Price: $POA
Model: Zeitwerk Minute Repeater
Movement: manual winding
Water Resistance: 3ATM
Power Reserve: 36 hours
Case Size: 44.2mm
Grande Sonnerie
While minute repeaters and decimal minute repeaters chime the time upon activation by the wearer, grande sonnerie watches strike the time without prompt. A grande sonnerie will strike the hour every hour and the hour plus the quarter hour at every quarter. So, at 4:15, a grande sonnerie will chime four low tones and one high tone.
This means a grande sonnerie watch will sound every 15 minutes. Sound impractical? Fortunately, contemporary grande sonnerie watches are able to be silenced, for times when a resonant chime emanating from your risk might be a touch inappropriate. In movie theatres and meetings or at weddings or funerals, for example. Often, watchmakers combine grand sonnerie and minute repeater complications so you can also chime the time on demand.
It takes an incredible amount of energy to power a grande sonnerie, which is why the striking mechanism requires a separate power source. Grande sonnerie movements will typically have two mainspring barrels — one for the time and the other for the striking mechanism — which have different levels of power reserve.
The best innovative grand sonnerie: F.P Journe Sonnerie Souveraine
Widely considered one of the world’s most skilled watchmakers, it took F.P. Journe six years to create the Sonnerie Souveraine, with the Swiss watchmaker registering 10 patents in the process. The movement comprises 582 components and takes a single watchmaker over three months to assemble. Designed to be as simple to operate as possible, the F.P Journe Sonnerie Souveraine houses a minute repeater as well as both a grande and petite sonnerie. The button at 2 o’clock activates the minute repeater while the button at 4 o’clock allows you to switch between grande and petite mode or silence the watch; the current mode is displayed on an indicator at seven o’clock. The F.P Journe Sonnerie Souveraine was produced between 2006 and 2019.
Price: €650,000 (approx.$1,052,000AUD)
Model: Sonnerie Souveraine
Movement: manual winding
Water Resistance: N/A
Power Reserve: 24-120 hours
Case Size: 42mm
Petite Sonnerie
Like a grand sonnerie, a petite sonnerie chimes the hour and quarter hours, however it does not chime both at the same time. It will only chime the hours on the hour and the quarter hours on the quarter hour. Thus, at 6:00 it will chime six low tones and at 6:15 it will chime one high tone.
The first sonnerie watch: Philippe Dufour Grande Sonnerie
A history-making watch, the Philippe Dufour Grande Sonnerie was released in 1992 and was the first wristwatch to feature a sonnerie complication. Created by master independent watchmaker Philippe Dufour (who, alongside F.P. Journe is considered one of the best watchmakers alive), it houses both a grand and petite sonnerie complication and takes on an aesthetic similar to that of a pocket watch, with a wide domed bezel, tapered lugs, and a hinged hunter caseback. In 2019, the Philippe Dufour Grande Sonnerie made history (again) for being the most expensive independent watch ever sold, going under the hammer for $7,630,000USD via A Collected Man.
Price: N/A
Model: Grande Sonnerie
Movement: manual winding
Water Resistance: N/A
Power Reserve: 24-120 hours
Case Size: 42mm
FAQ
The minute repeater is widely considered one of (if not the most) complex complications and requires a highly skilled watchmaker to assemble. For this reason, minute repeaters are exclusively produced by a select group of high horology manufactures. Among them are Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, F.P. Journe, A. Lange & Söhne, Vacheron Constantin, and Breguet.
Enjoyed this article? Why not check out our Ultimate Guide To Watches here; covering everything from the anatomy of a watch to watch styles and complications.
Words by Henry Blake
