Santos de WSSA1005 replica

2012 SIHH Salon de la Haute Horlogerie Geneva – Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Flying Tourbillon Minute Repeater, a refined movement of the Cartier 9402 MC workshop, engraved with the “Poinçon de Genève Quality”: perfect vibrations.

Of all the complications of today, the minute repeater is the most popular among collectors, adding a poetic touch to a purely mechanical process that lets one follow the passage of time in music. The Rotonde de Cartier Flying Tourbillon Minute Repeater subtly reminds us that, in every culture, marking time with sound has always been a sign of authority. In fact, this unique striking function has always been considered the pinnacle of watchmaking.

It is often asked who first invented the minute repeater and what inspired past watchmakers to create such a complex timepiece with a sound function.

Despite many researches, the exact origin of this timepiece that engages both sight and sound remains a mystery. Some historians believe that the British watchmaker Daniel Quare (1649-1724) invented the striking watch, as he is said to have publicly shown a pocket watch of this type between 1680 and 1686. But one thing is certain: in the second half of the 18th century, many skilled watchmakers contributed to improving this extremely complex mechanism.