Celestial mechanics
The Galet Square Boréal by Swiss watchmaker Laurent Ferrier is an example of perfect balance between timeless aesthetics, smooth lines and cutting-edge technology.
Hunter, cushion, barrel (tonneau): these are all everyday words that horology has embraced to describe the shapes of watch cases, but only the French term Galet (pebble) has become inextricably bound up with the Laurent Ferrier universe. Galet is the name of the first collection from the Manufacturer, revealed in 2010. Six years later, refined by time and fashioned by experience, the ‘pebble’ is revealing a new facet. Here comes Laurent Ferrier's new model: the Galet Square Boréal.Its development has been smooth and continuous, like the curves of minerals polished by the waves. The pebble, stemming from centuries of the endlessly repeated work of nature, magnifies the softness and purity of shapes. For Laurent Ferrier, the Galet represents the perfect integration of all case components, as if one were holding a pebble in one’s hand. For this new design, Laurent Ferrier, revisits an Art Deco aesthetic while giving it a current twist. This timepiece is designed to be resolutely original while complying with the company’s signature style codes.
The dial is advanced with harmoniously varied tones and textures through associating Superluminova for the chapter ring, a vertical satin-brushed finish on the dial, a snailed small seconds subdial, and a fine slate-grey transfer around the periphery. The small seconds picks up the central theme, thereby endowing this model with a great aesthetic balance, in keeping with the concepts of purity and legibility treasured by Laurent Ferrier. The dial is also enriched with “arrowshaped” hours and minutes hands boosted with Superluminova, and a baton-shaped seconds hand. The pure visual codes of the Maison have been been preserved, but in this 41 x 41 mm size, the model is more strongly present on the wrist than its predecessors. Fitted with a ball-shaped winding-crown ensuring satisfying handling, the back is geared up with a snap-on back ensuring that the movement remains easily accessible to watchmakers via the olivette.
The movement is a self-winding FBN 229.01 calibre, equipped with a unidirectional pawl-fitted micro-rotor and offering a three-day power reserve. This is the first exclusive in-house movement developed, assembled and adjusted in the Laurent Ferrier workshops. It is fitted with a silicon escapement featuring a double direct impulse on the balance. This innovation developed by Laurent Ferrier enables the balance to be impelled twice per oscillation, a principle that requires two escape-wheels and an appropriately shaped lever. This innovative construction, blended with the use of state of the art materials, maximises energy efficiency, thereby guaranteeing a high amplitude of the balance. This in turn reduces the amount of mechanical force required to wind the mainspring and optimises winding.
The finishes reflect the high standards Laurent Ferrier imposes on all its creations. All are performed in keeping with the finest watchmaking traditions. Alongside the Côtes de Genève motif on the bridges and the circular graining on the mainplate, the wheel spokes are bevelled, the screw heads are chamfered and polished and the interior angles are hand-crafted. The sapphire crystal case-back provides a fascinating glimpse of this fine workmanship and reveals an attractively balanced structure stemming from a clever combination of lines and curves. Laurent Ferrier reinvents the graphic composition of the Galet Square dial while maintaining the unique aesthetic codes of its collection. For this new variation, this so-called “sector-type” dial typical of the late 1930s wonderfully combines a classic touch with a highly fashionable appearance.
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