SimplyAbuDhabi XV

9 2 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I W ith its four hammers and gongs, a minute repeater, andWestminster chime, Bulgari’s new Grande Complication model L’Ammiraglio del Tempo would already make an impression on watch connoisseurs. But there’s more. Activated by an innovative repeater slide, the striking mechanism is presented with a detent escapement and a constant-force device, a regulating organ that embodies the ultimate level of horological complexity. Meaning ‘The Admiral of Time’ in Italian, L’Ammiraglio del Tempo refers to the maritime universe, evoking the era of the great ships and seafaring conquests of history’s great naval powers. The detent escapement originated in the 18th century, a time when nations vied for dominion of the world’s oceans – and watchmakers competed to produce the most accurate time-keeping instruments. Sailors determined their position at sea by astronomical observation, as well as by using the most accurate possible time calculations, a task complicated by the instability caused by the movement of the ship upon the waves. The detent escapement provided a degree of reliability unparalleled at the time. Not only did it guarantee the regularity and rating precision of marine chronometers and other instruments, the escapement regulated both the energy supplied by the barrel spring as well as its retransmission and redistribution to the balance. It did this by delivering impulses that guided the movement of the hands, enabling them to indicate the time with extreme precision. While contemporary devices involved two impulses imparted to the balance via the lever, the detent escapement was, and still is, built to generate a single impulse BulgariL’AmmiraglioDelTempo– TheAdmiralofTime