GRANDCLIFF TNT BELCANTO UNIQUE WITH HISTORIC CALIBER

If you are seriously interested in buying the BELCANTO, I will be happy to send you further comprehensive documentation and the official press kit and more Fotos.

History of the BelCanto movement
In 2007, Pierre Dubois, Managing Director of Pierre DeRoche while hunting through the treasures harboured by an antique dealer friend of his, discovered some 19th century pocket-watch movement blanks with hour & quarter repeater and chronograph. As a worthy heir to four generations of brilliant watchmakers, his curiosity was naturally aroused by this discovery, and he decided to buy them.

Gérald Dubois then took an interest in the 8172 patent number engraved on the mainplate. His research led to a decisive breakthrough when he consulted the Swiss federal registers which show a patent for a “New watch with pendant winding” dated May 5th 1894 and granted by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property to Numa Robert-Waelti, a watchmaker in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
Gérald Dubois went back to work and outlined the possible history of these movements:
LeCoultre produced the movements in the late 19th century and delivered them to établisseurs, watch manufacturers who assembled the various parts of a watch.

While these établisseurs were generally well-known brands, this was not the case for Numa Robert-Waelti. It is thus probable that the latter bought up LeCoultre movements, made certain modifications – such as the one bearing patent number 8172 – and then sold them to établisseurs.

These over 100 year-old movements have probably changed hands several times before an antique dealer found them and in turn sold them to Pierre DeRoche.

This scenario seemed plausible, and kind of came full circle. But there was still no proof that these movements did indeed come from the workshops of the Manufacture in Le Sentier…
The “LeCoultre & Co” maker's mark finally shows up
It was not until Gérald Dubois began taking the movements apart that the precious token of origin finally appeared. Engraved beneath the barrel bridge, and totally invisible on the assembled movement, was the “LeCoultre & Co” maker's mark.

Movement characteristics 
19 lignes, manual winding
Analogue display of the hours and minutes
Hour and quarter repeater
Single-pusher chronograph (with no minute counter)
Time-setting pusher.

These movements were made around the late 19th century in Le Sentier and vividly illustrate the expertise of the watchmakers of that era in the field of complicated watches. The movement is typical of that period. The frequency of the balance is 2.5 Hertz, meaning 18,000 vibrations per hour. Winding is done by a winding-crown placed at 3 o'clock on the case. The winding stem has just one position, which serves for both winding and time-setting. The latter function is activated by a pusher at 4 o'clock that directly cooperates with the time organs on the watch. Releasing the pusher returns the watch to the normal winding situation. 

Hour and quarter repeater mechanism: a classic two-gong striking system 
From a 19th century movement to the modern BelCanto
While Pierre Dubois wished to give a new lease on life to these historical movements by fitting them in wristwatches, he was nonetheless determined to maintain the original components, bearing witness to the proud watchmaking heritage of the Vallée de Joux. These “movement blanks” were thus restored, entirely decorated and then reassembled by the Dubois Dépraz master-watchmakers without any technical modifications, apart from the striking gongs and the regulating organs, which are contemporary.
An historical movement decorated by modern-day watchmakers
Technical specifications of the BelCanto 
Movement : Hand-wound PDR Calibre 4013 with “Maltese Cross” barrel-spring stopwork, originally made by LeCoultre & Co, modified by Numa Robert-Waelti (patent registered in 1894), 22 jewels, 18,800 vph, 2.5 Hz, Breguet-type balance-spring, balance with screws, circular-grained mainplate, bridges adorned with “Côtes de Genève”, sunburst barrel, chamfered and circular satin-brushed wheels, openworked hour and minute wheels and lower balance bridge, 30-hour power reserve.
diameter: 43.7 mm, 19 lignes, 9.2 mm thick

Functions : Hours, minutes, seconds, quarter repeater and one-minute column-wheel chronograph

Case :18-carat White gold, 55.5 mm in diameter
18-carat White gold pushers, crown and crown guard
back and upper bezel fitted with 2 sapphire crystals
repeater slide at 9 o'clock
water-resistant to 30 metres

Dial : Sapphire crystal
coloured by metallization; laser engraving
hour-markers created by galvanic growth
18-carat rose gold hour, minute and seconds hands 

Strap : Crocodile leather, folding clasp with 18-carat White gold cap and grade 2 titanium fold-out piece
Limited edition: Series of three, 2 are sold, one is available in 8 days.