In a world where ultra-technology and algorithms increasingly dominate watchmaking design, certain projects are a striking reminder that true luxury lies elsewhere: in duration, the patience of gestures and the memory of know-how. Birth of a Watch 3, unveiled by the watchmaking house Ferdinand Berthoud, is one of them. This exceptional timepiece, the fruit of six years of work, goes beyond the simple status of a measuring instrument to embody a cultural and human approach.
Designed entirely by hand using traditional machines from the 1950s and 1960s, this chronometer, officially certified by the COSC, tells a story that is not only technical, but deeply initiatory: that of the transmission of the watchmaking profession, of collective effort and of respect for the masters of the past.
Le COSC (Suisse Official Control of Chronomètres) is the independent body that certifies the precision of watches in Switzerland. Each movement is tested for 15 days, in five positions and at three different temperatures. To be recognized stopwatch, it must display an average variation of between –4 and +6 seconds per day. This rare and demanding certification guarantees the technical excellence and reliability of a timepiece.
The legacy of Ferdinand Berthoud
To understand the scope of this project, we must go back to the 18th century. Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807), born in Val-de-Travers in Switzerland, was named Watchmaker Mechanic to the King and the Navy by Louis XV. Recognized for the exceptional precision of his marine chronometers, he devoted his career to perfecting regulators for astronomical navigation. His innovations, including the fusee-chain transmission and thermally compensated balances, marked the history of time measurement and contributed to great maritime explorations.
Ferdinand Berthoud's work was distinguished by a dual commitment: scientific rigor and the desire to pass on his knowledge. His lavishly illustrated treatises made him as much a researcher as a teacher. Two centuries later, this philosophy still inspires the factory that bears his name, founded in 2015 by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, and finds a particular resonance in the minds of Birth of a Watch 3.
A collective and educational project
More than 80 artisans from the Chronometry Ferdinand Berthoud and the group Chopard collaborated on this adventure. Watchmakers, mechanics, founders, jewelers, polishers, decorators: each contributed their stone to the building. But even more than the watch itself, it was the methodology that counted: each step was documented, photographed, filmed, and archived, in order to create a living database of ancient gestures.
The goal was clear: to prove that it is still possible, today, to manufacture a complete movement without resorting to CNC or design software, only with the precision of hands and the rigor of workshop tools from another era. (CNC (Computer Numerical Control): a computer-controlled machine tool capable of machining parts with extreme precision. Unlike traditional manual methods, it automatically executes a digital program.)
Technicality at the service of tradition
The Caliber FB-BTC.FC, at the heart of the project, deploys an architecture that directly evokes 19th-century regulators. Its bimetallic balance with thermal compensation, a Guillaume split balance in Invar and brass, perfectly illustrates this desire to reconnect with forgotten skills. Its development requires a rare level of expertise, as each hairspring is adjusted, blued and assembled individually by the same “timer”.
The fusee-chain transmission, another signature of the house, ensures constant force, but in a unique configuration: the 172 mm chain with 477 components is thinner than that of contemporary calibers, and assembled by hand with extreme care.
The movement, composed of 747 parts, including 477 for the chain alone, is revealed on the front face thanks to an open architecture. This mechanical transparency is not just an aesthetic choice: it recalls the didactic nature of the project, a watch designed as a living manual.
A design inspired by history
The 44 mm case is directly inspired by Ferdinand Berthoud's Astronomical Watch No. 3. Its welded lugs, domed glass, and concave bezel reflect a formidable manufacturing complexity when working on traditional machines.
The watch is also distinguished by its two hand-engraved gold dials: one, off-center, for the hours and minutes; the other, peripheral, for the seconds. The blued steel seconds hand, 25 mm long and extremely thin, alone concentrates two days of work and 67 operations.
Every detail, from the leather strap crafted in the grand leatherworking tradition to the entirely hand-tooled pin buckle, is a reminder that nothing has been left to chance. Even the case pays homage to the brand's heritage: two leather-covered volumes, inspired by the treatises of Berthoud, house the watch and its certificates.
A time of teaching
Only 11 pieces will be produced. The first, in steel, will be auctioned by Phillips in November 2025, while the next ten, in ethical 18-carat gold, will be produced at a rate of two per year starting in 2026. This low volume reflects the nature of the project: it is not about responding to market demand, but about preserving and teaching.
The chosen motto, engraved on the back of the movement, sums it all up: “In the time that instructs”It comes from Louis Berthoud, nephew of Ferdinand and himself a great master watchmaker, who already recalled in the 19th century that only patient experience allowed ultimate precision to be achieved.
Birth of a Watch 3 is not just a rare and precious watch: it is a manifesto. It proclaims that in the digital age, the hand of the craftsman remains irreplaceable. It reminds us that tradition is not a frozen nostalgia, but a living language that we pass on, enrich, and reinvent.
Paying homage to Ferdinand Berthoud and his heirs, this creation places time in its noblest dimension: that which teaches, connects and builds.
Patrick Koune
