Jean-Claude Biver, after nearly 50 years in the watchmaking industry, and his 22-year-old son Pierre have together embarked on a new adventure: the creation of a highly exclusive and prestigious brand. And they begin their brand journey with the Carillon Tourbillon Biver that combines numerous high horological functions – a minute repeater with a tourbillon and a micro rotor
The Biver brand has called upon the best specialists in each field – dials, hands, bracelet, case, and so on – to create museum-quality pieces of great prestige. The first chapter of this story, which is just beginning to unfold, is dedicated to a watchmaking complication that is close to their hearts: a minute repeater that also features a tourbillon and a micro rotor.
The Carillon Tourbillon Biver is a distillation of watchmaking culture aimed at the enlightened watch lover. Each element, from the dial to the hands to the bracelet, tells a story within the history of horology, creating a bridge between the past, the present and the future.
Symbolic elements have been integrated into the architecture of their timepieces that make them unique. This notably comes through in the dials made from natural hardstones – silvered obsidian and sodalite. Sodalite offers courage and confidence and is also soothing because it has a protective aspect, whereas silver obsidian is comforting, confers dynamism, optimism and is very stimulating.
Because sound is a vibration that can be related to the world of emotions, it is through sound that the Biver adventure continues, with a minute repeater. This complication, both useful and poetic, manifests the sound of eternity. That is why the first chapter of the book that is now being written is a minute repeater.
They wanted the minute repeater to be the cornerstone of the brand, according to Pierre Biver. The minute repeater, a mechanism invented in the 18th century, has been made contemporary by the means of a new, different sound. A third hammer has been added, which requires a very fine adjustment of the tempo to get the tone just right. And so, during the creative process driven by father and son, the minute repeater evolved into a carillon. They also opted for a tourbillon with a titanium cage, which makes it lighter but also more challenging to decorate, as well as modern bridges; and to power the watch, they chose a micro-rotor.
Even the smallest parts, including those that cannot be seen, have been decorated by hand according to the highest standards of artistry; they have been polished, satin-finished, grained, and flame-blued. It is in the finishing that one recognises the Biver signature: a quest for invisible beauty.
Another example is that the stone dial – in sodalite – is domed, a challenge as the wafer-thin stone does not exceed 0.6mm. The difficulty resides in obtaining this domed appearance without breakage during the polishing phase.
This watch is not one to reveal all its mysteries at first glance. Each one of its constituent elements holds meaning in the eyes of the Bivers. It gives us much more than the hour, the quarters, and the minutes. This model is a distillation of watchmaking culture that is aimed at the enlightened enthusiast.
It has a past-present feel: the dials are domed, a nod to the watchmaking of times gone by, yet the indexes are modern and curved. The hands are dauphine-shaped with planed crests, the angles are polished and the top has a satin finish. The movement of light over the watch evokes the passage of time, echoing the entire philosophy that underpins the Biver brand: to build a temporal bridge linking past, present and future.
The five-link metal bracelet is specially designed for the brand. Constructed as an integral bracelet, it’s actually interchangeable. Through a loupe it can be seen that the fluting of the crown is polished, and the inner face of each tooth is micro-bead blasted.
Despite its preciousness – or perhaps because of it – this minute repeater was designed to be worn every day, everywhere and under any circumstance. The case is water resistant to 5 ATM (about 50 meters).
The Biver minute repeater is both a collector’s item and an object of curiosity. The beauty of the watch comes from a juxtaposition of contradictory elements: satin and polished finishes, straight lines and roundness, shadow and light, past, and present, sound and silence. From this tension, a balance is born.
