Lederer CIC 39 "Eddy Jaquet & Yann Von Kaenel" for Revolution

Bernhard Lederer, Eddy Jaquet and Yann von Kaenel team up with Revolution for this stunning limited edition featuring a shimmering, handcrafted gratté dial. Limited to 5 pieces and priced at CHF 139,000 excluding taxes. 

The watch you are looking at is the result of almost three years of collaborative back and forth with independent watchmaking legend Bernhard Lederer.

When we first set eyes on the movement of Lederer’s Central Impulse Chronometer, we were simultaneously enamored with the stunning architectural symmetry of his movement, his successful implementation of George Daniels’ Independent Double Wheel Escapement and his brilliant use of two remontoirs d’égalité — one on each of the two trains feeding energy to the escape wheels.

But the reason our limited edition took so long to see the light of day is that we first had to wait for Lederer to launch his smaller-sized Central Impulse Chronometer. This is far more than a reduced-size timepiece; it features an entirely new movement with an improved remontoir system.

Like many other watchmakers, Lederer initially used Robert Gafner’s Reuleaux triangles for his constant force mechanisms. In the larger 44mm version, the remontoirs recharged every 10 seconds, staggered to deliver a regular impulse to the balance. In the 39mm version, he has evolved the system so that the two 15‑second remontoirs are now wound via a crown wheel mechanism of his own design, staggered to overlap and provide a smoother, nearly continuous supply of energy to the escapement.

Today, we are pleased to finally present to you the fruit of our collective labor: a limited edition of Lederer’s 39mm Central Impulse Chronometer, replete with two 15-second remontoirs, equipped with his proprietary crown wheel mechanism, and featuring what we consider to be one of the most ravishing dials in all of watchmaking.

This stunning monochrome masterpiece is the work of two incredible craftsmen. The first is Yann von Kaenel, a guilloché master based in Neuchâtel — you may know him as the artisan who designed the much-improved Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 with guilloché dials. The other is a master engraver who won the Artistic Crafts Watch Prize at the 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève for his collaboration with MB&F. His name is Eddy Jaquet.

Together, von Kaenel and Jaquet have crafted one of the ultimate expressions of métiers d’art in dial making. Using guilloché à main that incorporates both rose-engine and straight-line machines, as well as hand engraving, they have created the stunning impressionist-style gratté pattern that unfolds in stunning nuances of light and shade across the dial.

Jaquet chose for his engraving a gratté pattern. He explains, “This has its roots in function. In the past when you had two flat metal surfaces sliding against each other, you couldn’t oil them effectively because the oil would just be forced out. So, craftsmen began using this hand-applied gratté pattern to create grooves for the oil. From a pragmatic purpose, it then became a beautiful decorative pattern, and I have used it in a way that features a subtle, swirling chiaroscuro-type effect.”

Von Kaenel is the director of Décors Guillochés S.A. He declares, “There is something remarkable about how in this digital age human beings long even more for things that are made by hand. This is the beauty of guilloché
that must be guided entirely by hand when the artisan is in exactly the right frame of mind to exert the perfect consistent pressure. The dials that we have created for this project are amongst the most beautiful we’ve ever made.”

The resulting five-piece limited edition celebrating Revolution’s 20th anniversary are, from my perspective, ravishing works of métiers d’art, paired with one of the most significant movements ever created, in watches that are perfectly sized at 39mm.

Despite the immense work involved, we have collectively decided to price each watch the same as a regular version of Lederer’s Central Impulse Chronometer, as a way of giving back to everyone who has supported Revolution over the past 20 years.

Technical specifications

Lederer CIC 39 "Eddy Jaquet & Yann Von Kaenel' for Revolution

Limited edition of 5 pieces

Case

• Material: 904L stainless steel
• Diameter: 39 mm
• Thickness: 10.75 mm
• Domed sapphire crystals on both sides, treated with double anti-reflective coating
• Water-resistant to 30 meters

Dial and hands

• German silver dial with Yann von Kaenel's signature rose-engine guilloché on the main dial
• Finished with Eddy Jaquet’s hand-engraved sector track.
• Vertical guilloché on the small seconds subdial.

Movement

• CIC 39
• Manual-winding mechanical
• Frequency: 3 Hz, 21'600 vph
• Power reserve of 42
• Dual Detent Escapement, paired with two remontoirs d’égalité

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes and off-center small seconds

Strap and buckle

• Brown calf leather strap with signed
• Lederer buckle

MSRP: CHF 139'000 (excl. taxes)

For more information, please visit revolutionwatch.com