The Ferdinand Berthoud FB 3SPC.2-1 puts the GPHG-winning Chronomètre FB 3SPC into 18-carat rose gold, paired with a sandblasted nickel silver movement and a beige-varnished inner bezel ring for a near-monochromatic look. Non-limited, and priced at S$245,000.
The following post is based on information from Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud’s press release and technical specifications, supplied by Sincere Fine Watches.
Editorial commentary appears in italics.
The Ferdinand Berthoud FB 3SPC.2-1 (ref. FB 3SPC.2-1) retails at S$245,000, inclusive of GST. It is a non-limited edition and joins the existing white gold FB 3SPC.1 in the collection.
Commentary
This is a colourway exercise rather than a new watch, and it is worth being clear about that up front. What has changed is the case metal, from white gold to 18-carat rose gold, and the movement finish, which is now sandblasted nickel silver rather than the previous treatment. The rest — calibre, architecture, chronometer certification — is carried over. Whether that is enough depends on how you felt about the original.
For what it is worth, the new combination on the Ferdinand Berthoud FB 3SPC.2-1 works. Rose gold, beige velvet-finished brass and untreated nickel silver sit within a narrow tonal band, and the result reads as considered rather than flat. The blue CVD-treated gold hands, the seconds hand, the power-reserve arrow and a scattering of blued screws are the only things breaking the register, and they are doing a lot of work. Against the white gold FB 3SPC.1, this version is warmer and quieter; it is also, arguably, the more classical of the two.
The substance of the Ferdinand Berthoud FB 3SPC.2-1 is still in the regulating organ. Setting aside the constant-force route used on the FB 1 and FB 2, the FB 3SPC uses a cylindrical balance-spring with two hand-formed terminal curves, a bespoke collet and a variable-inertia balance with four fine-adjustment screws and eight load screws. That combination earning COSC certification is not trivial: the COSC process is built around serial production, and Ferdinand Berthoud submits pieces that are individually made, assembled and regulated. We argued at the time that the FB 3SPC deserved the GPHG Chronometry prize, and it duly won it in 2023.
Release Details
When it launched in 2022, the Chronomètre FB 3SPC was groundbreaking for its combination of a variable-inertia balance, a cylindrical balance-spring and chronometer certification. The model’s technical virtuosity was recognised quickly, culminating in the Chronometry prize at the GPHG 2023.
Rooted in chronometric performance and perpetuating the legacy of Ferdinand Berthoud and his nephew Louis Berthoud, all of the Manufacture’s models are highly precise. Where the FB 1 and FB 2 achieved this using constant-force mechanisms, a different approach was adopted for the FB 3SPC, setting aside the conventional flat balance spring in favour of a cylindrical one. After three years of research, Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud created a cylindrical balance-spring with two hand-formed terminal curves, a specially designed collet and a variable-inertia balance.
The Ferdinand Berthoud FB 3SPC.2-1 is housed in a 42.30mm case in ethical 18-carat rose gold, 9.43mm thick, with a transparent sapphire porthole at 9 o’clock and an exhibition back. The nickel silver movement is presented in a sandblasted finish and framed by a beige-varnished inner bezel ring, so the model appears almost monochromatic. The tonal contrast between each element is nuanced.
Beneath the domed sapphire crystal, the hours and minutes are indicated by faceted, skeletonised, open-tipped hands in blue CVD-treated 18-carat gold. They contrast against the beige-varnished inner bezel ring and small seconds track at 6 o’clock. The seconds hand and the arrow-shaped power-reserve hand at 2 o’clock, together with several screws, introduce the only other flashes of blue.
Inside the Ferdinand Berthoud FB 3SPC.2-1, the hand-wound calibre FB-SPC runs at 3 Hz with 72 hours of power reserve from a slip-spring barrel that uncouples automatically at full wind. It carries 47 jewels across 230 components and 16 bridges, with gilded gear trains, straight-grained natural nickel silver regulating organ bridges and a brass barrel cover, all hand-finished. A crown-activated stop-seconds mechanism is fitted.
Only a few dozen Ferdinand Berthoud timepieces are made each year at the workshops in Fleurier. The FB 3SPC.2-1 is worn on an alligator strap with an 18mm rose gold pin buckle, with a folding clasp available on request. More information is available at ferdinandberthoud.ch, and in Singapore through Sincere Fine Watches.
Ferdinand Berthoud FB 3SPC.2-1 Specifications
Reference: FB 3SPC.2-1
Movement: Calibre FB-SPC, mechanical hand-wound. Ø34mm (15’’’), 6.84mm thick, 47 jewels, 21,600vph (3 Hz), 230 components, 16 bridges. Mainplate and bridges in sandblasted nickel silver, gilded gear trains, straight-grained natural nickel silver regulating organ bridges, brass barrel cover.
Technical characteristics: Slip-spring barrel with automatic uncoupling at maximum wind; variable-inertia balance with four fine-adjustment screws and eight load screws; cylindrical balance-spring with hand-crafted Berthoud terminal curves; Swiss lever escapement; crown-activated stop-seconds. Officially chronometer-certified by the COSC.
Functions: Central hours and minutes, small seconds at 6 o’clock, power reserve at 2 o’clock
Power reserve: 72 hours
Case: Ethical 18-carat rose gold, Ø42.30mm, 9.43mm thick. Transparent sapphire porthole at 9 o’clock, domed sapphire crystal glareproofed on both sides, exhibition back in rose gold with glareproofed sapphire pane. Rose gold crown, Ø8.50mm.
Dial: Peripheral inner bezel ring in velvet-finished beige brass with black-varnished engraved numerals; seconds subdial at 6 o’clock in velvet-finished beige brass
Hands: Diamond-polished, skeletonised, open-tipped hours and minutes in blue CVD-treated 18-carat gold; seconds hand with openworked counterweight; arrow-shaped power-reserve hand
Strap: Alligator leather (125 x 70mm) with 18mm 18-carat rose gold pin buckle; folding clasp available on request
Water resistance: 30 metres
Price: S$245,000