Galet Annual Calendar School Piece

The Galet Annual Calendar School Piece

For SIHH 2018, Laurent Ferrier was glad to unveil its 5th exclusive caliber featuring an Annual Calendar function.

Hosted in a new collection of timepieces, this new movement combines a convenient and user-friendly functionality with pure design and optimal visibility. Entirely designed in-house, the Galet Annual Calendar School Piece embodies all the values and spirit, Laurent Ferrier infuses in all his creations. This new timepiece was developed with the aim of ensuring extremely smooth handling, while also ensuring visual balance, readability and performance in all circumstances – all values dear to Laurent Ferrier. With its date and month fast-adjustment by simply turning the crown forward and backward, this new timepiece offers a great experience to the wearer. For its annual calendar complication, Laurent Ferrier decided to pay a tribute to its first manual winding movement: The tourbillon double hairspring. The new caliber features a long “blade” type click ratchet which became a distinctive signature. For the first time, Laurent Ferrier will introduce a “desert sand” 18K yellow gold version.

A Useful Complication: Annual Calendar

The Galet Annual Calendar School Piece displays the day of the week, the date and the month under consideration of months with 30 and 31 days, so the only adjustment required is once a year : on March the 1st The date is clearly indicated by a central hand and the days of the week and the months in two beveled apertures. This display combines reading comfort and balanced beauty. The user-friendliness was at the heart of the caliber design. Indeed all the adjustments are extremely easy to make. The days of the week are updated by simply pushing the “easy to grip” button delicately integrated on the left side of the case. All the other adjustments are made by pulling and turning the crown. No tool is required. The fast-adjustment of the date with the central hand can be made by turning the crown forward and backward, allowing the month to be automatically updated accordingly. The Galet Annual Calendar School Piece houses a manual winding mechanical movement equipped with a power-reserve area indication positioned on the movement side. The power reserve is guaranteed for 80 hours.

Perfect Readability

The Galet Annual Calendar School Piece developed by Laurent Ferrier ensures smooth continuity in the watchmaking journey of the House. This same spirit of functionality, as well as readability and aesthetic appeal are already present in the other models from the brand. With the School Piece case, Laurent Ferrier’s objective was to develop a case with the same roundness, as when those pioneering watchmakers converted pocket watches into wristwatches. For this new caliber, Laurent Ferrier entirely adapted the 40mm School Piece case to ensure perfect harmony and balance between the movement and the timepiece.

The same straight, thin lugs offer another contrast of the modern and the traditional, the “pastille” end-piece decoration mirrored by the winding crown. Two gold (red and desert-sand yellow) and a steel editions will be available.The gold Assegai hands and baton-type seconds hand retain their characteristic shape. A new red or burgundy hand created for the date, brings modernity and visibility to the timepiece. The two beveled apertures for days and months ensure optimal readability. The date displayed all around the dial provides a view at one glance on all the relevant information. The dial comes in silver-toned or slate-grey with vintage-inspired numerals painted in blue and two zones with vertical satin brushed on the center and circular satin brushed on the outer circle. Laurent Ferrier thereby once again proves its ability to find the perfect balance between a strongly identifiable neoclassical design on the one hand, user-friendliness on the other.

Emphasis On The Finishing

The sapphire crystal case-back of the Galet Annual Calendar School Piece provides a fine view of the finesse of the finishing. In addition to the Côtes de Genève motif with a ruthenium treatment adorning the bridges and the circular-graining of the mainplate, the sides and interior angles are manually chamfered and the screw heads are polished. We chose to use a long “blade” type click ratchet, polished and with a curved shape that reminds the Galet Classic Tourbillon Double hairspring. The sub-dial at 6 o’clock has a circular satin brushed outer circle and a snailed finish in the center.
A sunburst finish was chosen to decorate the power-reserve area indication.The Galet Annual Calendar School Piece is fitted with beige calf leather or black alligator strap with Alcantara lining, secured by a pin buckle or a double blade folding clasp.