PERRELET EXTENDS ITS CLASSICALLY STYLED ‘WEEKEND’ LINE BY INTRODUCING A STRIKING ADDITIONAL CREATION: THE NEW “WEEKEND SKELETON”
Perrelet, the Bienne-based brand, recognized worldwide for the animated dials of its famous Double Rotor and Turbine collections, featuring the innovative technologies patented by the Maison in 1995 and 2009 respectively, launched the first edition of the WEEKEND collection in 2019.
For the 2024 winter season, Perrelet is presenting a new iteration of its time-only model in this range, equipped, for the first time, with a new finely crafted skeleton movement: the WEEKEND SKELETON.
Aimed at connoisseurs looking for timepieces with a timeless style, this line of men's dress watches retains its undisputed characteristics: top-quality materials, superior finishing, excellent value for money and an in-house manufacture self-winding movement. The latter pays homage to its founder, Abraham-Louis Perrelet, the master watchmaker at the origin of the first automatic movement.
The WEEKEND SKELETON is available in three versions. Each is distinguished by the choice of a different colour, which gives each watch its own identity.
THE IDENTIFYING AESTHETIC FEATURES
The Case
The case keeps its main characteristics: round shape, water resistance up to 5 atm, an ideal diameter of 39,5 mm and a thickness of just 9.61 mm. A perfect blend of features that make this case perfectly sized to comfortably fit even the smallest wrist.
However, it introduces a novelty. For the first time in this collection, it is crafted in polished and brushed steel treated with a matt black PDV coating. A shade that enhances the outstanding new skeleton calibre P-351-SQ with anthracite NAC and microbeaded finishes.
As well as being the watch's power source, it is also the focal point of the dial, which is protected by an anti-reflective sapphire crystal that reveals all its precious details.
The view on the mechanism continues on the rear, thanks to the transparent porthole secured to the case by four screws.
The model is completed by a black calf leather strap with an alligator pattern, fastened with a pin buckle bearing the Perrelet logo.
The dial: a fascinating view into the beating heart of the WEEKEND SKELETON
The slim bezel of the case offers generous space for the dial, on which the new skeleton calibre takes centre stage, playing the dual role of display and “engine” that enables the WEEKEND SKELETON to perform the functions for which it was designed.
From traditional black to electric blue and emerald green, these are the hues that identify each of the variants. And they personalise the central seconds hand and the baton hour markers, which are doubled at the four cardinal points.The rhodium-plated hour and minute hands are filled with white Super-LumiNova® for optimal legibility in all lighting conditions.
The exquisite slim calibre itself appears to be floating in mid-air. An impression evoked by the decision of the Perrelet watchmaking team to create a gap between the hour track and the centre of the display, which merge into a single unit thanks to the coloured indices that act as a link.
It is impossible not to be fascinated by the many levers, wheels, pinions and gears that compose the movement, whose surfaces are finely microbeaded and anthracite NAC-treated.
A true exercise in style that once again demonstrates the mastery of the Maison's watchmakers, who never cease to amaze the most demanding aficionados and collectors with their exclusive and original interpretations of time.
THE NEW SKELETON CALIBRE P-351-SQ
WEEKEND SKELETON is equipped with the new P-351-SQ automatic calibre. Skeletonised and with a thickness of just 3.60 millimetres, making it possible to keep the case height down to 9.61 mm, it beats at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour/4 Hz and has a 42-hour power reserve when the watch is not worn.
Like all the calibres that animate Perrelet timepieces, the new skeleton movement is in-house manufactured. It is produced by SOPROD, a company belonging to the Spanish entrepreneur Miguel Rodriguez, also the owner and president of Perrelet, which is part of a watchmaking pole comprising six facilities capable of producing their own calibres in complete autonomy.
The transparent porthole on the caseback, secured by four screws, reveals the impeccable finishing of the movement, which reflects the traditions of Swiss high-end watchmaking. The mainplate is skeletonised with microbeaded and anthracite NAC finishing. Same decoration on the bridges, circular-graining on some components and the oscillating weight mounted on ball bearings is open-worked, rhodium-plated and brushed, personalised with the Perrelet lettering and logo.
The gilding of the balance and of some of the wheels and the purple colour of the rubies add a pleasant contrast of colour and a bright light to the whole.