Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer

Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer Watch Review

The Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer is the latest creation from the Lucerne-based company. Inspired by a former CFB watch of the ’50s, this modern-day timepiece features the highly desirable worldtimer complication, much loved by frequent flyers. Executed in the brand’s distinctive style, it also incorporates some delightful vintage-inspired details.

Worldtimers

Once upon a time, there were over 300 timezones in the US alone. With the nation’s railway stations working to different time zones, it was perhaps inevitable that mistakes would occur. Sometimes rail travellers would miss their intended connection, while in some extreme instances, trains collided resulting in injuries and fatalities.

In 1884, Sir Sanford Fleming, the Chief Engineer of the Canadian Railway, devised a system of dividing the world into 24 time zones. Each meridian, running from the North Pole to the South Pole was spaced 15° apart with Greenwich, England designated as the ‘prime meridian’. This system was not immediately adopted throughout the world. For example, Italy began using it in 1886, while Denmark did not adopt the system until 1916. However, these days it is in widespread use.

Louis Cottier, a watchmaker from Carouge, a suburb of Geneva, invented the ‘worldtimer’ in 1931. The watch displayed all 24 time zones simultaneously. In a world that was becoming increasingly mobile, the worldtimer proved a highly useful complication and was eagerly embraced by several esteemed Genevan Maisons, including Patek Philippe, Rolex and Vacheron Constantin.

Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer – a different flavour

Carl F. Bucherer has just unveiled a new worldtimer, the aptly named ‘Heritage Worldtimer’. Inspired by a former model produced by the brand during the ’50s, it exhibits a delightfully classical appearance.

The luxury marque is headquartered in Lucerne, the so-called ‘Heart of Switzerland’, some 270 km from Geneva. In the same way that ‘terroir’ influences the character of wine, the location of Carl F. Bucherer’s HQ imbues its watches with a distinctive flavour, very different from those made in French-speaking regions of Switzerland.

Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer dial

The dial, offered in a choice of sunray brushed silver or black, features neat hour and minute hands which reside solely within the centre of the display. This region of the dial is punctuated with succinct hour markers and fringed with a 24-hour track. In turn, the hour track is framed with a city disc that’s adorned with the names of 24 cities, executed in a clean, unfussy font. Mirroring the profile of the crown that’s located at 3 o’clock, the pushpiece, positioned opposite, not only advances the city disc but also endows the case with a becoming dose of symmetry.

Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer case

The ‘regular’ Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer is offered in a steel case. In addition, the luxury brand also offers a limited edition variant executed in 18-carat rose gold. Both case options measure 39 mm in diameter with a thickness of 10.25 mm. These dimensions are on point and should prove agreeable to the majority of would-be wearers. The double-domed sapphire crystal, as well as the pronounced arcing sides of the case, evoke thoughts of watches from yesteryear. In contrast, the exhibition caseback grants sight of the slender caliber CFB A2020, an automatic movement that looks unequivocally modern.

Carl F. Bucherer manufacture caliber CFB A2020

The movement is made at the brand’s Manufacture in Lengnau. It reminds me of a German premium car, beautifully engineered and rich in Teutonic logic. The bridges are very angular, immediately differentiating the architecture of the calibre from rival movements made elsewhere. A spiral-shaped motif adorns the ratchet wheel, while the jewel and screw sinks are polished. In addition, the bridges are adorned with Côtes de Genève motif. With much mechanical beauty in evidence, it is pleasing to see that the Lucerne-based company has not obscured the view with a ‘regular’ oscillating mass. On the contrary, Carl F. Bucherer has endowed this movement with its impressive peripheral technology. This design features a channel, termed a ‘trottoir’, that encircles the movement bridges, playing host to a dense mass.

Inevitably, comparisons will be made with movements that feature a micro-rotor, a genre of self-winding movement that I find very agreeable. However, while both forms of self-winding systems deliver the same benefits, the peripheral technology has one additional attribute. Some physically inactive owners can find the modest dimensions of a micro-rotor harvests insufficient energy from the natural motion of their wrist, requiring them to manually top up the mainspring. The size and position of the peripheral mass harvests kinetic energy far more efficiently, delivering comparable winding performance to that of a regular oscillating mass.

If you look at most movements, you may see ‘+/-‘ or ‘A/R’ adjacent to a small lever or screw. This is termed an ‘index-regulated balance’, a system that provides the means to alter the effective length of the balance spring, making the watch run faster/slower. However, the caliber CFB A2020 is equipped with an alternative means of regulation. Known as a ‘variable-inertia balance’, where the effective length of the balance spring is fixed, the rate is adjusted by moving weights, usually affixed to the rim of the balance wheel. This latter approach is far superior as the rate can be set more precisely and is less prone to positional influences. Moreover, if the watch is subjected to a shock, it is less likely to require remedial regulation.

An additional enhancement found on this movement relates to the design and location of said inertia weights. Traditionally, these weights took the form of screws set within the outer edge of the balance wheel; however, on the caliber CFB A2020, C-shaped weights sit upon the spokes of the balance wheel’s interior. When the balance wheel moves back and forth, this latter design generates less air turbulence, aiding precision. It is this considered approach to engineering that, once again, reminds me of high-performance cars from Swabia.

Carl F. Bucherer Heritage Worldtimer – closing remarks

It’s my belief that the home of Carl F. Bucherer strongly influences the products it makes. In recent years, the company has revisited the tourbillon, the minute repeater and even the usual semi-circular-shaped oscillating mass. Its capacity for invention is impressive and its watches look different from those of its competitors.

The worldtimer may have been born in Geneva, but with the advent of this latest model, Carl F. Bucherer has reimagined the complication in its own unique way. Sometimes the addition of this complication can result in a cluttered dial; however, no such issues afflict the Heritage Worldtimer. Put simply, the dial is clean, elegant, refreshingly unfussy and simple to read.

When conceiving the Heritage Worldtimer, the Swiss marque has looked to the past for inspiration, something that is evident with the model’s double-domed sapphire crystal and its sinuously contoured case.

Interestingly, while the habillage is period-inspired, the movement looks very modern. It’s attractively finished and features some impressive refinements. Moreover, the caliber CFB A2020 is chronometer certified (COSC); providing independent assurance of its high-precision performance.

And lastly, this impressive new model plays to another CFB strength. In recent years, the company has released watches that deliver an impressive quality-price ratio and the Heritage Worldtimer proves no exception with prices starting at a very reasonable £6800 for the steel case version fitted with a textile strap.