Announcing The S3 Deadbeatg Seconds
Following the ongoing success of the GPHG finalist S3 MkII and the S2 Deadbeat, Norwich-based British watchmaker Garrick has combined the two into one singular watch. Having teased this release in Geneva to collectors' acclaim, it’s now here: the new S3 Deadbeat Seconds (DBS).
The Deadbeat seconds is one of the most unusual and deceptive complications in haute horology. Generally, the easiest way to tell if a timepiece is mechanical or quartz is whether the hand sweeps or ticks. Sweeping traditionally means mechanical, ticking means quartz. The dead-beat flips that on its head in gloriously idiosyncratic style by lavishing countless hours of mechanical ingenuity to allow it to stop between seconds.
No matter whether it ticks or sweeps, there’s no mistaking the S3 Deadbeat for anything other than a mechanical masterpiece. The complication is possible via the Calibre DB-GO7 calibre, a movement built in-house, painstakingly finished by watchmaker Stuart Smith. Each movement is built from the ground-up and finished to the clients specification.
The open dial is dominated by Garrick’s signature Trinity free-sprung balance (arguably the largest on any watch) at 6 o’clock. Rather than the usual regulating pins, this balance uses tiny screws to adjust the oscillator, allowing greater fine-tuning and better accuracy.
To ensure that fine-tuning is the best it can be, each S3 Deadbeat is tested and regulated in every position over the course of three weeks, resulting in a daily variance of less than +3 seconds. COSC-certification, the industry standard of excellence, is between -4 and +6 seconds.
While the technical excellence of the S3 Deadbeat is indisputable, it’s Garrick’s renowned finishing that sets the new timepiece apart – and as each watch is made to order, the custom options available. The 42mm diameter, 11mm thick case is available in stainless steel or gold, but that’s just the start. While the S3 Deadbeat eschews Garrick’s famous engine-turned guilloche in favour of a more technical look, the custom options are endless.
All bridgework and components on the movement are hand bevelled and can be frosted, grained, or mirror-polished; wheels can be in gold, silver or rhodium and engraved with a multitude of motifs. The single-piece German silver chapter ring can be infilled with any colour and handsets can be made to order. That means observatoire hands, lancine, spade, anchor which can in turn be heat blued, purpled or polished.
Garrick is a brand that shuns mass production, preferring instead to make limited volumes of custom-built watches. With the S3 Deadbeat, they are combining the technical excellence of an unusual complication with the level of finishing only a truly in-house watchmaker can accomplish. In short, the S3 Deadbeat illustrates what Garrick does best: Fine, British-Made Watches.
Only three to five pieces per year will be produced.
More info HERE