Because this is a flyback watch, the reset lever is not controlled by the column wheel but is engaged directly by pressing the button. This separate design reduces the force required to press the button each time. The reset lever features a dedicated arm that precisely disengages the clutch lever the instant the other arms release the pawl and ratchet. The chronograph seconds hand, along with its extended minute and hour wheels, then separates and rotates freely, returning to zero under the action of the rack and spring. Once the reset button is released, the reset lever springs back to its original position, the clutch re-engages, and the chronograph function seamlessly resumes operation. To reduce inertia, many components of the chronograph function are made of titanium, such as the chronograph seconds hand and chronograph wheels.
The effect should be quite noticeable for the user. Unlike the harsh spring-striking sound of traditional reset levers, its operation is smooth, rapid, and light. The pusher travel is extremely short—only about 0.3 mm—requiring only a fraction of the force required for a standard chronograph, more akin to the feel of a smartphone button than the heavy mechanical feel we are accustomed to. This is a watch worth experiencing firsthand. Images can only showcase the complexity of its design; only by actually wearing it can one truly appreciate its intricate mechanical structure.
It is worth noting that this chronograph also features an instantaneous minute jump function. As the chronograph seconds wheel completes one revolution, its bevel gear drives the rack forward until the bevel reaches the other end. At this point, the gear disengages from the rack, and the return rack quickly returns to its initial position under the action of a spring, with counterweights ensuring balance. This retrograde motion is controlled by a pawl-equipped lever that moves the minute wheel forward one notch.
Similar to the spring in the seconds rack, the spring in the minutes rack does not act directly on the minutes rack itself, but rather on the lever. The lever oscillates only a few degrees each minute increment. This design ensures that the spring load remains almost constant, whether the spring is fully loaded or fully released, thus generating stable torque and making the minute ticks crisp and clean every 60 seconds.
Every 60 minutes, the same principle applies to the hour wheel. During the minute hand’s retrograde return, the lever with the hour pawl drives the hour wheel forward. However, because the hour hand is directly acted upon by the spring, its torque varies over a wider range. As the minute hand cycle nears its end, the hour pawl gradually engages with the hour wheel, and finally, the hour hand jumps to lock it to the next mark, achieving near-instantaneous rotation.
This clutch differs from common horizontal or vertical clutch systems, although it borrows features from both. The clutch wheel is mounted on a shaft that can slide axially between two positions. On one side, it is permanently engaged with the movement’s drive wheel; on the other side, it can engage or disengage with the chronograph seconds wheel. When the chronograph function is activated, the central control lever rotates, releasing the clutch lever. Freed from its restraint, the shaft and clutch wheel move laterally under the action of the clutch spring, entering the engaged position, where the clutch wheel engages with the chronograph seconds wheel. https://thepincodeindia.com/
This allows the clutch to maintain the visual elegance of horizontal coupling while engaging as smoothly as vertical coupling, avoiding bumps, resistance, or bounce. The drive wheel is part of the tourbillon cage, meaning the chronograph function is driven by the cage. The flying tourbillon, like the one in the RD#3, is made of titanium and is driven by the last wheel in the gear train on its outer edge, thus reducing thickness. Internally, it features an escapement optimized for long travel and a free-sprung balance with an embedded counterweight.
The most striking aspect of this movement is its fundamental design. The manual and automatic winding trains, the adjusting train, and the gear train are all located on the dial side, allowing the bridge side to be almost entirely dedicated to the chronograph functions. This is thanks to its peripheral winding rotor. Unlike the central rotor stacked on top of traditional movements, this rotor runs on ball bearings on its circumference, with the chronograph mechanism running along its track. This eliminates one of the thickest components in a traditional automatic winding movement, allowing for a rearrangement of the automatic winding train without increasing vertical volume.
The function selector uses two stacked star wheels to control the switching between winding and adjusting. A pusher integrated into the crown allows switching between the two modes, while a reversing mechanism isolates the two trains, ensuring only the selected train is operational. This design allows the winding and adjusting trains to be located on the same side of the movement, eliminating the need for traditional sliding gears. The mainspring barrel itself is also quite unique. It’s not merely a suspended mainspring barrel supported only by its base; its structure is further simplified to reduce thickness. The ratchet itself encases the mainspring, eliminating the need for a barrel cover. The mainspring barrel is no longer a closed cylinder but a simplified cylindrical wall with teeth on the outer edge, lacking both a base and a cover, thus reducing its height.
All these solutions are convincing, but what’s truly impressive is the immense effort the designers poured into reimagining the chronograph design to create a smoother pusher. It is this unconventional ambition that defines the RD series, a decade-long endeavor culminating in the RD#5: taking what was considered a finished product and refining it with immense patience, meticulousness, and craftsmanship, proving that it still holds limitless possibilities. This reminds us that progress in watchmaking rarely comes from adding more functions, but from rethinking what already exists, and the best progress comes from enhancing the user experience, and consequently, the ownership experience itself.
