Petermann Bédat Introduces the Monopusher Split-Seconds Chronograph with Instantaneous Minutes Ref. 2941

The Petermann Bédat Ref. 2941 is not just any chronograph; it is a single-pusher rattrapante with an instantaneous minute counter and has been finished to an exceptional degree. While the movement is traditionally designed with a horizontal clutch and features many classically elaborate elements such as slender, sinuous levers and black-polished steel caps, it has a particularly unusual construction in that the split seconds mechanism is located on the dial side of the movement while the back showcases just the chronograph works.

As a result, the column wheel for the split seconds is visible through a semi-open dial at 12 o’clock. Produced by Comblémine, the dial factory owned by Kari Voutilainen, the dial plates are made of platinum and has a fine, frosted finish. It has a bi-compax layout with the instantaneous minute counter at three o’clock and the running seconds counter at nine, which has an aperture that reveals a black-polished cap for the escape wheel.

Shaped and finished by hand, the main hour, minutes and running seconds as well as the rattrapante hands are in blued steel while the hands for the chronograph seconds and minutes are distinguished in gold. A minor quirk arising from incorporating the split-seconds mechanism on the dial side is that the chronograph hand is positioned above the split seconds hand, contrary to the conventional arrangement. As such, the split hand, which is the more delicate hand, is executed in blued steel rather than gold.