An exceptional timepiece for the 50th anniversary of an iconic collection

For half a century the Admiral’s Cup collection has paid tribute to marine and sea-enthusiasts. To celebrate this legendary model’s fiftieth anniversary, Corum has chosen to associate to this eminently sporty watch with an exceptional movement combining two of the most prestigious horological complications: the Tourbillon and the minute repeater.

The use of a minute repeater in a watch with marine connotation is not a common feature, however this complication concentrates the strength of two universes, as life on a boat is governed by night and day with ringing bells. From ‘action stations’ in the morning to the evening ring, and even during attention to colors, it is a sailor’s life that is punctuated by these ringing tones. Integrating a minute repeater in an Admiral’s Cup is therefore a way for Corum to pay tribute to the universal connection to this iconic watch.

Another way to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary with great dignity is to propose a new horological achievement: the CO 010 caliber. The development and adjustment of this exceptional movement took two entire years for which Corum required the participation of a dozen of its best watch-making craftsmen.

Each of the components were conceived and developed to guarantee the precision and beauty of the tone by considering its « power » (expressed in decibels), its « precision» (note correctness), its richness (expressed in number of partials) and its «reverberation » (duration of each note). The minutes-rack, placed at the heart of the ringing mechanism, is inverted compared to traditional minute repeaters in order to bring strength and precision to each note. It has also been enlarged to permit a wider lift angle to each tooth, extending the time between notes. The racks hitting the gongs are made out of ultra resistant and hardened steel. Fixed to these racks, counter- springs have been specially conceived to find the best balance of the hitting strength and speed. During the ringing, the rhythm is regulated through the rotation of an inertial flywheel, visible on the movement’s back. The gongs, made from an alloy featuring a composition and thermal treatment that are a closely guarded secret, have been adjusted to strike the hours on an A note and the minutes on a C sharp note. These two notes have not been chosen randomly, their specific sequence forms a major third (two tones) with a more cheerful harmony than a minor third (one and a half tones). The precision of the whole mechanism is guaranteed through a Tourbillon with Silicium escapement and pallets offering reliability and durability.

Visible complexity

The result of these intense years of craftsmanship is a micromechanical masterpiece of 141⁄4’’’ – with a diameter of 32 mm – and a thickness of only 5.35 mm, which ensures a hand-wound power reserve of 72 hours. The finishing was also the object of attention: each surface has been finished by hand; circular-grained components, black polished steels – in particular the strike-hammers and Tourbillon Bridge – circular-grained decoration of the plate and Côtes de Genève finish of the bottom bridges.

The creativity and care which have prevailed over the conception of the caliber CO 010 are again found in the external design of this Admiral’s Cup Minute Repeater Tourbillon 45. In order to specifically highlight the movement behind it, Corum replaced the dial with a smoked PVD treated sapphire glass allowing the wearer to admire the extreme complexity of the minute repeater and Tourbillon mechanisms. Its grey colored treatment, outlined with monochromatic nautical flags on the fitted flange, confers elegant sobriety to this timepiece. On that same sapphire glass engraved in golden writing are «Corum », « Minute Repeater » and « Tourbillon » as well as golden index chevrons and minute numbers. The 45 mm diameter case in 18kt red gold is immediately recognizable thanks to its legendary polished and satin finished twelve-sided bezel.

Ingenious winding

This jubilee model has a bezel containing a hidden winding function. For such a sporty model it was indeed too risky to have the minute repeater’s push-piece extending out which might get caught and potentially damage the mechanism. The Admiral’s Cup Minute Repeater Tourbillon 45 has therefore been manufactured with a specific bezel which winds the minute repeater function by rotating the bezel 27 degrees clockwise. Keeping the pureness of the case line and the integrity of the ringing mechanism, this ingenious system offers water-resistance up to 3 atm.

Knowing that more than 140 hours are necessary for a Master Watch-Maker to assemble the movement’s 319 components, with an additional 10 hours to ensure perfect sound and notes, there is no need to specify that this Admiral’s Cup Minute Repeater Tourbillon 45 will be manufactured in very small quantities: only ten pieces will be produced in our workshops through the end of 2010.

Watch companies like to get creative with the use of synthetic sapphire crystals, but it is difficult given the fact that the material can be very fragile. The problem isn’t so much in risk of it breaking once it is made, but rather that the fabrication of synthetic sapphire crystal into all sorts of organic shapes requires a lot of stress of the material. So pieces can break with relative ease. That is why the finished result is not always as impressive as possible without knowing what a pain in the ass the watch was to make. This is probably the fact with this limited edition of just 5 pieces Corum Golden Tourbillon Panoramique Grey Sapphire watch.

What is interesting here is the application of gray PVD on the sapphire giving it that special look. The movement is a manually wound tourbillon based movement with a long 90 hours of power reserve. As you can see, the movement mainplate and bridges are all in sapphire! Something truly remarkable from a practical and aesthetic standpoint.

The rest of the watch case is in 18k white gold with 309 diamonds decorating most every surface. Plus, the watch case has four sapphire crystals to help appreciate the movement from any angle. It is really a nice combination of luxury indulgence and mechanical intrigue. Expect prices to make your skin as light as the gray sapphire of the watch.

In a slightly ironic play, Swiss watchmaker Corum has introduced a new all-black variation of its Ti-Bridge watch, which, according to the company is intended “for the Christmas season”.  While the festivity of such a timepiece is open to some debate, there’s no question that this limited edition Black Ti-Bridge model is an extremely attractive addition to the Corum collection, and a worthwhile target for collectors and aficionados of luxury watches.

As with the regular edition Ti-Bridge watch, the Corum Black Ti-Bridge features a 42.5mm x 41.5mm case in titanium.  The rich black coloration is the result of a PVD treatment applied to the meticulously finished underlying metal; the topmost case section is polished, while the flanks and caseback surfaces are given a satin texture.  Also crafted from titanium is the fluted winding crown, which bears the Corum brand logo and a combination of polished and satin finishes.  Two sandblasted horizontal channels cut into the case are another interesting detail, and provide a sense of subtle separation between the strap lugs and the curved anti-reflective treated sapphire crystal.  The convex profile of the latter element provides a perfectly transparent view into the heart of the fascinating manual-winding Corum C0 007 baguette movement.

This movement of course, is the very essence of what makes the Corum Black Ti-Bridge watch.  Drawing inspiration from the legendary caliber which has made the Corum Golden Bridge a unique star in the field of high luxury mechanical watches, Corum’s C0 007 features a distinctive elongated bridge in brushed titanium, which positions the watch mechanism with its mainspring barrel, going train, and escapement in a straight line.

This apparently minimalist construction offers a revealing view into the heart of the mechanism, particularly such intricate aspects as the keyless winding and the rapidly pulsating balance wheel.  Four supplementary V-shaped clamps enhance the architectural theme of the Ti-Bridge watch and accentuate the three-dimensional allure of its nonpareil mechanical watch movement.  To ensure that no viewing pleasure is lost from any angle, Corum also equips the Ti-Bridge watch with a sapphire crystal caseback.  Despite the diminutive size of the C0 007 caliber, and its rapid 28,800 vph balance frequency, power reserve is an impressive 72 hours.

The stealthy presence of the Corum Black Ti-Bridge watch extends even onto the skeletonized sword hands, which feature a black superluminova application.   Appropriately, the timepiece is fitted to a black rubber strap, which connects securely to the wrist via a triple deployant clasp in PVD-finished titanium.  Production of the Black Ti-Bridge timepiece will be restricted to an edition of 250 pieces, each bearing its own individual number within the series.  The Ti-Bridge is water resistant to 50 meters.

Source : Vialuxe

Cristiano Ronaldo is on the cover of Marca, the Spanish sports newspaper, with a Corum Admiral’s Cup Competition 48 mm on his wrist. Over 6 pages are dedicated to the famous football player in which we discover which model Cristiano wears.

Hailed in January 2009 as the best football player of the year by FIFA, Cristiano Ronaldo announced just a few weeks ago his transfer to the famous club Real Madrid. A man in demand, Cristiano pays tribute to Corum indirectly by choosing the Admiral’s Cup Competition 48 mm in red gold set with diamonds. A man who assumes diamonds and collects victories.