Structure in the chaos: developing a new chronograph complication with Jean-François Mojon
It can sometimes feel like innovation is limited to design, how time is indicated, and that high horological complications are set in stone. The “old guard” – the tourbillons, rattrapante chronographs, annual and perpetual calendars, moonphases, and minute repeaters – are simply tried, true, and ubiquitous in fine watchmaking. Yet every once in a while, there’s an evolutionary step and a new complication arrives on the scene. With each, we’re all reminded that there is still tons of room for new technical novelties. .
One of these pleasant, evolutionary steps in complication development is Cyrus Geneve’s Klepcys DICE, the world’s first produced double independent chronograph. Released last year, the timepiece is an impressive feat of complicated timekeeping with a practical, motor racing application in mind.
The world’s first produced double independent chronograph - Cyrus Geneve’s Klepcys DICE
We were fortunate to catch up with Jean-Francois Mojon, the master watchmaker behind the complication’s design and creation. He walked us through the excitement and challenges of creating a new complication from initial designs to prototype to production. Through his insights, he shed light on how watchmakers find structure and create reliable timepieces through the chaos of new ideas and creativity.
Jean-Francois Mojon: The Master Watchmaker behind the CYRUS Klepcys DICE
Before we dive in, let’s first lay the groundwork for what makes the DICE an evolution in chronograph complications.
What is a double-independent chronograph, and what’s its merit?
Collectors are more or less familiar with “highly” complicated chronographs. The pinnacle, arguably, is the rattrapante or split-second chronograph. These timepieces can measure two events concurrently, though the starting point in time must be the same for both events. In application, it’s possible to measure the difference between two laps of the same driver, to use a motorsports reference.
A double-independent chronograph is liberated from the need of a single starting point in time. This complication allows for the timing of two, completely unrelated events, at the same time. Here is where motorsport comes into play as a practical raison d’etre of the Klepcys DICE. The double-independent chronograph was crafted specifically for Cyrus Geneve’s partner, Haas F1. The double-independent chronograph would enable the team to time the laps of both drivers, with different starting points. F1 is the heart and soul of this complication’s origin story.
HAAS F1 Driver Pietro Fittipaldi wearing the Cyrus KLEPCYS DICE
So how did the double-independent chronograph come about?
Laying the foundation for an evolutionary step
There’s nothing more daunting than a blank canvas to a painter, or a blank page to a writer. In watchmaking, there’s a similar effect with the abstract idea of horological innovation. As an abstraction (“we must create something new!”), there’s simply nothing to grasp onto. It could be anything, everything … it’s often nothing though. That’s why watchmakers like Mojon rely on concrete parameters to find opportunities to innovate.
In the case of the Klepcys DICE, it was already established that this timepiece would be a chronograph with an application ideal for motorsport. It must additionally carry a monopusher activation function, open-worked movement for easy visibility of the complication, 42mm case, and counters at 3 and 9 o’clock. These parameters all fit the brand’s design DNA. With this, Mojon and his team began brainstorming potential opportunities and found the possibility of a double-independent chronograph exciting. Mojon knew that this would be challenging, but something worthy of their time. “We are always trying to pursue the most difficult ideas, finding new challenges is always our first priority,” Mojon mentioned when we spoke.
This timepiece would be a chronograph with an application ideal for motorsport.
Comically, the idea for the double-independent chronograph came about internally first. Only after checking the patent records, Mojon and team found that a watchmaker named Arnold Frankfeld patented a similar complication in New York nearly 150 years ago. Based on their research, Frankfeld doesn’t appear to have ever brought the timepiece into production. Until recently, this complication has only ever existed on the theoretical plane of ideas. Of course, it’s one thing to come up with an idea, as Arnold Frankfeld did in the 1870’s, and it’s a whole other challenge to bring that idea into the material world with high quality control standards.
Overcoming the challenges
Mojon broke down the three largest challenges in this project as follows:
1. The volume challenge
There’s a reason that many of the world’s most complicated watches have 44mm diameter cases or even larger. You simply need all that space to fit everything into the timepiece. With the Klepcys DICE, the case was set at 42mm, quite small for a chronograph complication with two independent column wheels. This left very tight tolerances for the complication, Mojon labeled this the “volume challenge.” It wasn’t wasn’t clear there would be enough space to execute the movement in the 42mm Klepcys cushion case.
2. The axle challenge
The second challenge was that there was no way for there to be shared axles for both independent chronograph mechanisms. This meant that each chronograph needed its own independent gear train, column wheel, and subdial register. This plays into the volume challenge above as well as overall movement architecture challenges – it’s a lot to fit into such a small amount of space.
3. The hour and minute challenge
With so little space in the movement, the typical gearing to drive the minute and hour hands wouldn’t work. For this exact scenario, Jean-François Mojon is the master. His “planetary gearing” patent, used initially for a similar situation when he developed the Opus X for Harry Winston, is in play here in the Klepcys DICE. Normally, the speed of one gear is the same as the speed of a second at their meeting point. With planetary gearing systems, also used in automotive for automatic transmissions or the energy industry with wind turbines, a single gear train can drive two different speeds. In watchmaking, this allows for a single gearing system to power both the minute and hour hands.
These are individually significant engineering challenges. Factoring in the overlap they each have on each other as well, it’s increasingly clear why product development in the watch industry can last anywhere from 4-10 years. The process behind the navigating these three challenges involves a thorough search through patent records, initial complication prototyping via computer-assisted design programs, troubleshooting a near endless number of intricate engineering problems (too little torque, as an example of one), 3D printing all the components and assembling a macro version of the movement for testing, kinematic testing, troubleshooting yet again … it goes on and on. And it’s all to ensure that every last detail of the movement and complication functions exactly as expected. The culmination of the process is a movement that offers no negative surprises. It’s years of work, day in and day out, to ensure that the watch doesn’t require immediate service after a day of wear and tear on a collector’s wrist.
It seems like every time we speak with Jean-François, we leave with a greater appreciation of the work behind the industry’s most innovative timepieces. We felt that way when we last discussed the future of horological innovation. While interviewing him, there were a handful of topics that deserve their own articles, from the differences between traditional and modern chronograph aesthetics to how watchmakers cross-check ideas in patent records. One thing from this conversation, there’s a well-engineered process and well-defined parameters behind new innovations like the Klepcys DICE. Not only does that process provide structure through the chaos of creativity, it also ensures that the outcome won’t break apart at first use.
The Klepcys DICE LIME - a different colour variant created to mark Geneva’s prestigious international watch fair, Watches and Wonders 2022. All of the 10 pieces in each case material have now sold out.
Learn more about the Cyrus DICE here