Introducing: The Habring2 Perpetual-Doppel, A New Perpetual Calendar Rattrapante Chronograph

June 26, 2019

Habring2 is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year (the company was founded by Richard and Maria Habring in 2004) with the introduction of the most complex watch it's ever made. The Perpetual-Doppel is an evolution of the Doppel-Felix rattrapante chronograph, which was released in 2018, and which in turn has a lineage going back to the release, in 2012, of the Habring2 Doppel 2.0. That was the first rattrapante, or split-seconds, chronograph created by Richard Habring under the Habring2 name, but it was not the first he'd ever made. Habring had originally designed a very robust, relatively inexpensive, and very reliable rattrapante chronograph for IWC, built into a highly modified Valjoux 7750, and which was released as the Doppelchronograph Pilot's Watch in 1993.? The original IWC Doppelchronograph; check out our Technical Perspectives look inside, from 2018. The rattrapante chronograph, HODINKEE readers may already know, had a reputation until the release of that watch, as a quite challenging complication to make and also to adjust. The centerpiece of a rattrapante chronograph is a most complex mechanism which relies on a heart-piece and a set of spring-loaded ruby rollers and levers, to allow the two central chronograph hands to split times, and for the split-time hand to spring forward and catch up with the other chronograph seconds hand. Setting up the mechanism requires great care C even getting the hands positioned properly is difficult, as in a rattrapante chronograph, the two seconds hands, which are quite thin, have to be perfectly superimposed so that the upper one completely hides the lower one. Habring2 and IWC changed all that and while the rattrapante chronograph is still relatively rare (and in its traditional form, still usually quite expensive) it has become, at least in its IWC and Habring2 incarnations, less forbiddingly costly, as well as more robust. The Habring2 Doppel-Felix, as seen in our 2018 Value Proposition. Along the way, Habring2 also developed its own supply network in Austria and Germany C the firm is Austrian and their wish was to rely as much as possible on local suppliers, including Schramberg-based Carl Haas GMBH, which supplies Habring2's balance springs. While the A11R movement shares the architecture of the Valjoux/ETA 7750, many of the most important components are made by Habring2 C this is not just a matter of pride, but a matter of practicality as Habring2 is no longer able to purchase movements or components from Swatch Group, which ceased supplying them in 2017. The idea is to be able to reliably service Habring2 watches for the foreseeable future. Though the basic elements of the Valjoux/ETA 7750 were the starting point for the A11R, it obviously has a number of upgrades and improvements over the original movement, including of course the split-seconds complication itself, and such elements as amagnetic escapement, with a nickel-phosphor alloy lever and escape wheel. The Habring2 Perpetual-Doppel, with perpetual calendar module from Dubois-Depraz. The Perpetual-Doppel is a full perpetual calendar, with indications for the?day of the week, month, date (of course) and the phase of the Moon. There is no running seconds hand C the two center chronograph split seconds hands, and the 30 minute register at 12:00, do for the chronograph functions. The perpetual calendar works are modular and by Dubois-Depraz. Initial Thoughts The Perpetual-Doppel is very much in line aesthetically with some of the more recent Habring2 production C the company's design language has gone from exceedingly spare, in the early days (almost anti-design, in a way that reminded me a little bit of ochs und junior, of all things, although I think in the case of Habring2 it was less deliberate and more a result of a watchmaker's natural focus on essentials) to a bit more confident, although the sense of restraint is still definitely there. However, there's a subdued richness to the Perpetual-Doppel that is perhaps more overt than what was hinted at in last year's Doppel-Felix. This is appropriate to a perpetual calendar, especially to one that is so relatively conservative in its dial layout, and the way in which the various surfaces catch the light, and turn back alternately warm and cool colors to the eye, feels more deliberate than anything I've seen from Habring2 to date; it's a most handsome watch C and in keeping with the Habring2 philosophy of offering high complications at less nose-bleed prices, it's relatively affordable for a mechanical rattrapante chronograph with perpetual calendar, at 21,500 in steel. Where someone might take issue with the watch is probably not in its execution but in its dimensions; it is a 43mm x 12mm watch, but surprisingly enough, while it's 1mm larger in diameter than the 42mm Doppel-Felix, it's actually 0.5mm thinner, and this despite the addition of the perpetual calendar model. These don't feel like exercises in deliberately elegant watchmaking in the traditional sense of the word C there is too much of a sense of solid engineering for that, but if the Perpetual-Doppel does not have the elegance of a nattily turned-out boulevardier, it does have a muscular charm all its own, and radiates a sense of quiet integrity C another example of good, honest watchmaking from Habring2. The Basics Brand: Habring2Model: Perpetual-DoppelDiameter: 43mmThickness: 12mmCase Material: 316L stainless steelDial Color: galvanized silver with rose gold numerals and black/red printWater Resistance: 30 meters The Movement Caliber: Habring2 A11PFunctions: Time; monopusher rattrapante chronograph with seconds and 30 minute register; perpetual calendar with moonphaseDiameter: 30mmThickness: 8.7mmPower Reserve: 48 hoursWinding: ManualFrequency: 4 Hz (28,800 vph)Jewels: 27Chronometer Certified: No, however balance spring is "chronometer grade" from Carl Haas Pricing & Availability Price: 21,500Availability: Currently availableSee more about the Perpetual-Doppel at Habring2.com.