Credits: Article and images by Joshua Munchow @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/04/14/the-jump-hour-a-love-story-2/
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The MB&F HM5 Carbon Macrolon with bi-directional jumping hours
This is the most basic version of the jump hour mechanism: a lever that activates a wheel to change as it returns to its lowest point after riding up a snail cam. But some jump hours take advantage of a star wheel, which is basically a gear wheel that has points instead of gear teeth and is driven by a single-tooth gear.
Speake-Marin Jumping Hours features central minutes with four small hour hands that jump sequentially every 15 minutes using a specially developed system of star wheels
These can actually be the mechanically simplest jump hour mechanisms. If done in a specific way, they won’t actually jump, but simply become a digital hour display that slowly changes at the top of the hour, kind of like a (non-instantaneous) date wheel.
To achieve that jump, the star wheel would have to be, according to one layout, indirectly attached to the hour wheel via an intermediate ratchet wheel. The star wheel would have to snap into place to activate a quick tug on the ratchet wheel, which would in turn activate the hour wheel to snap into position.
I am currently experimenting with one such design for myself in the hopes that I can incorporate it into a watch in the future, simply because I can. And I have been inspired by many great pieces out there.
De Bethune DB28 Digitale
De Bethune has released some great examples of jump hours (see The Nine Muses And The De Bethune DB28 Digitale) as well as A. Lange & Söhne (the holy grail: the Zeitwerk), Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Jaquet Droz, Harry Winston, Bulgari, and even little guys like Christopher Ward. Not to mention numerous others with increasingly complicated designs.
I would love to break down every mechanism out there, and there might even be a reader or two who would love me to do so, but I urge you to keep your eyes open and find examples that you love. Maybe you can even go back and read over some pieces we have written about on Quill & Pad; there are some real doozies in there.
I will continue to research and continue to love the jump hour. I want to come up with a variety of ways to do the same thing because it is always exciting to think of a better way to make a function a reality. I have my fingers crossed that my plans come to fruition, but if not I have many more ideas to try and designs to be inspired from.
The jump hour is one of the most fun BWC complications out there, and it comes in a variety of packages for every taste.
The A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk
If I had to pick just one to wear every day, it would be a real battle for sure. The Bell & Ross WW1 Heure Sautante Pink Gold is a strong contender, as is the De Bethune DB28 Digitale. But I couldn’t forget about the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk, which has a stranglehold on my heart.
Alas, maybe I will just wear them all!
* This article was first published on November 23, 2014 at The Jump Hour: A Love Story.
You might also enjoy:
Why I Bought It: Ludovic Ballouard Upside Down
Blancpain Villeret Tourbillon Volant Heure Sautante Minute Rétrograde: A Triple First
Sensuality & Bell & Ross: Vintage WWI Heure Sautante
The Nine Muses And The De Bethune DB28 Digitale
Credits: Article and images by Joshua Munchow @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/04/14/the-jump-hour-a-love-story-2/
