A new and unusual piece has just arrived in my alarm watch collection, and I’d like to share some basic information and impressions about it. I’m talking about the Boegli musical alarm watch (Boegli Réveil Musical Mécanique Alarm).
Boegli is a Swiss watch company that specializes in so-called musical watches. By musical watches, we mean “standard” mechanical watches that also include a mechanical music box inside the case, capable of playing a melody on demand. Their selection is quite extensive—mainly pocket watches, but they also offer wristwatches. You can find more information about the company and its watches on their website: www.boegli.com
I honestly have no idea why someone would want this kind of watch, nor do I fully understand its purpose—but clearly, there is a niche market for them.
All Boegli watches are handmade, and each customer can choose from several different music boxes and melodies. It’s no surprise then that these watches are quite expensive and can be considered exclusive timepieces.
Well, around 15 years ago, Boegli made a musical watch where the music box actually served a functional purpose. In this alarm watch, the music box replaces the traditional alarm hammer—the melody begins to play when the alarm is triggered. Unfortunately, as far as I know, this model is no longer in production. I was quite lucky to find a new old stock piece on eBay.
For the development of this watch, Boegli used the Poljot 2612.1 alarm movement as a base. I have no idea whether they purchased old stock movements from Poljot or simply acquired the construction details and produced their own. What can be seen from the movement is that better materials were used, the bridge is stamped “BOEGLI” and even “SWISS MADE”! Naturally, the alarm function was modified—there is no separate spring barrel for the alarm, and the hammer along with the pin it strikes in the standard Poljot 2612.1 movement are gone. As a result, the alarm crown has lost almost all of its original functions; it now only sets the alarm hand, while winding and on/off are dummy functions. It’s a bit surprising that the movement still has 18 jewels, even though several important moving parts have been removed.
On the other hand, the watch features a third crown, which winds the music box and also sets the alarm on or off. In position 0 (crown in), the music box can be wound and the alarm is activated; in position 1 (crown out), the alarm is deactivated.
So when the time matches the alarm setting, the basic movement triggers the music box instead of the usual hammer buzz.
The “alarm” rings for much longer than in the original Poljot—the music plays for nearly two minutes if fully wound (whereas the original Poljot buzz lasts only 14 seconds).
All these changes were apparently significant enough for Boegli to declare the movement “Swiss Made.”
At first glance, the watch looks enormous. The dimensions are 55 x 35 x 16 mm—without crowns, of course! On the wrist, however, it doesn’t feel that big, probably thanks to the modest width of just 35 mm. But to be honest, wearing it is not exactly a pleasure. :)
It’s also not very attractive—at least not to my taste. Still, I was surprised by how much positive feedback the watch gets regarding its overall appearance. And it definitely draws attention. Comments are pretty much unavoidable. And if Vivaldi suddenly starts playing during a meeting, you can be sure all eyes will be on you. (By the way, Mozart was also an option for the musical movement in this watch.)
The hands have some lume, but it’s so weak it’s barely worth mentioning. The alarm crown is large and rather annoying. The winding crown, positioned on top, is impractical for daily use. Even when the watch is off the wrist, winding is tricky—and when it’s on the wrist, winding and setting the time are almost impossible.
If I had the chance to redesign it, I would definitely reposition the time and alarm crowns—rotating both 90 degrees to the right. But I assume that would create a whole host of technical challenges, particularly in connecting the alarm trigger to the music box.
Just to give you a first impression, I’ve recorded a short video so you can hear a brief passage of the watch playing Vivaldi. Enjoy!
P.S.: A shorter version of this article was first published on the watch forum Portal Satova in November 2020.
Add comment
Comments