Breguet’s new Marine Équation Marchante 5887 makes you question the very nature of time itself, writes Nicolette Wong.
Your wristwatch is inaccurate—that is the unfortunate reality that most mechanical watch wearers have come to terms with as even the most accurate of watches are certified to be within a few seconds of the exact time. But I wear a smartwatch, you say, there is no way it is inaccurate. Well, that depends on what you want to use to define the “exact time”.
When we talk about time in today’s context, we are talking about civil time, also known as mean solar time, which is the universal standard by which time is measured. There exists, however, a few other times that are not used regularly, true solar time for example. This is the measurement of the hour according to the movement of the sun—and no, it is not the same as civil time.
What is the difference? Is there a watch that can accurately tell the time? Breguet attempts to answer these exact questions with its new Marine Équation Marchante 5887, which features one of the watch world’s most mysterious and rare complications known as the equation of time or équation marchante in French. As mentioned before, we normally imagine time to be an immutable and exact measurement of human existence, but the fact remains that there is more than one way to measure the passage of time. The most accurate among them is International Atomic Time, which uses atomic clocks to measure the precise length of a second, and where the level of inaccuracy is about 1sec in 100 million years.
Esta historia es de la edición July 2017 de Singapore Tatler.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición July 2017 de Singapore Tatler.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Old-World CHARM
Professional photographer and content creator Zipeng Lee takes off to Switzerland to experience some of the country’s most storied heritage hotels
THE World ACCORDING TO Redzepi
Renowned Noma chef René Redzepi and executive producer Matt Goulding unpack Apple TV's new eight-part docuseries, Omnivore, and its exploration of humanity through food
COURAGE OF CONVICTION
Tatler speaks to Bing Chen, Prabal Gurung and Kevin Lin to discuss how their non-profit Gold House is changing the future of the Asian diaspora
INDUSTRIALI
Exploring the important sustainability efforts taking place beyond obvious industries
THE BALL'S INHER COURT
China's most celebrated tennis star Li Na opens up about her career, influencing young athletes and her continuous learning journey
Love Story
Set in Paris, Graff's new bridal campaign marries the timelessness of love and diamonds
Over the Rainbow
The inspirations behind Hermés creative director for jewellery Pierre Hardy's latest and gorgeously colourful high jewellery collection surprise and delight
Twist and Turn
Bvlgari's debut Tubogas jewellery collection reimagines a classic technique with 16 stunning creations
Game On
From diamond‑set carabiner‑inspired clasps to a carbon fibre cuff, Chanel knocks it out of the park with Sport, an audacious and innovative high jewellery collection unlike any other
The Wrist Taker
Shipping scion and basketball team owner Hendi Widodo unlocks his vault of rarefied timepieces