Atelier Mephalie The Conductor

The Conductor: A Repeater You Can Watch

The Li Collection is where Atelier Mephalie puts its most complicated work, and The Conductor is the watch that makes the most of the caliber. It turns the chime into a small performance. A group of hand-finished silver musicians occupies the upper dial, with violinist, cellist, pianist, and conductor arranged as a miniature ensemble. When the repeater is activated, the conductor becomes part of the mechanism, moving both arms in response to the striking sequence. Pull the slide, and as the hammers sound their high and low notes, the conductor moves both arms in time with the strike.

The scene is a waterfront concert after dark, and the trio takes its cue from the interplay of piano, violin, and cello in Beethoven's Triple Concerto. Below the musicians, the water is rendered in deep blue guilloché, turned by hand by Chinese guilloché craftsman Cheng Yucai. The pattern was inspired by light moving across a lake, and a single musical note rests on its surface.

A typical dial pattern takes Cheng seven to eight hours to complete, and more complex designs can take 20 to 30 hours or more. The Conductor is cased in stainless steel, 42mm across and 11.9mm thick, and limited to 99 pieces.

Technical Specifications

Movement: In-house hand-wound minute repeater, 37mm diameter, 6.89mm thickness, 28,800vph (4 Hz), 45-hour power reserve, 39 jewels

Striking Mechanism: On-demand minute repeater sounding hours, quarters, and minutes; activated by a slide on the case flank; conventional gongs; flying governor

Acoustics: Striking sequence of up to about 23 seconds; volume above 80 decibels

Accuracy: -10 to +25 seconds per day

Case Diameter: 42mm

Crystal: Sapphire

Case Back: Sapphire display

Strap: Alligator leather, tapering from 21mm to 18mm

Warranty: 2 years

The Conductor (Li Collection)

Reference Number: L011

Caliber: CAL.L 37-689R&A

Functions: Hours, minutes, minute repeater, automaton

Case: Grade A 316L stainless steel, 11.9mm thickness, 50.4mm lug-to-lug

Dial: Hand-turned guilloché by Cheng Yucai, with hand-engraved figures and automaton

Hands: Hand-polished

Edition: 99 pieces