A golden bird that only the owner can see: Tiffany & Co. hides the Bird on a Rock inside a new chronograph

The history of Tiffany watches dates back to 1847, when the company began selling watches, and Charles Lewis Tiffany recognized early on the demand for precise and carefully crafted models. In 1866, the Tiffany & Co. Timing Watch, now recognized as Tiffany’s first chronometer, was introduced. Two years later, the model was renamed the Timer, and the current watch bears that name—the same name under which the company has continued to operate since 1868. The 1868 renaming coincided with the opening of a watchmaking workshop in Switzerland, while in 1874, a manufacturing factory was opened in Geneva to produce more complicated models, including chronographs and calendar watches.

The new, second edition of the Tiffany Timer arrives in September in titanium and platinum, in a series of 100 pieces, marking 160 years of that history. It follows the first edition introduced earlier this year—a platinum case with a Tiffany Blue dial, limited to 60 pieces.

The new model has a 40 mm diameter case made of satin-brushed titanium with a platinum bezel. The chronograph pushers follow the curved profile of the case and simultaneously protect the crown, so that one shape performs two functions. The dial is adorned with a dark blue sunburst texture, while the subdials, the outer seconds circle of the chronograph and the date window are in Tiffany Blue, reminiscent of the colors of Tiffany's Blue Books catalogs over the years. The indexes are made of steel, and the hands are in white gold.

Turn the watch over and the scene changes completely. Through the sapphire crystal on the back, set on an open winding rotor, a reconstruction of the bird from Jean Schlumberger’s Bird on a Rock brooch is visible, faithful to his original design. The bird is 1.4 centimeters wide, hand-carved from a single piece of 18-carat yellow gold, then hand-polished with diamond abrasives and gentian wood sticks to achieve varying degrees of shine along its contours.

While Schlumberger imagined his bird sitting on a cut stone, here it rests on a component that powers the movement.

Underneath that bird is a custom-made El Primero 400 caliber—an integrated, ring-wheel chronograph that Zenith introduced in January 1969 as the first automatic chronograph of its kind. The balance beats at 36,000 vibrations per hour, giving the chronograph an accuracy of one-tenth of a second. The dial layout reflects the caliber in its most legible form: chronograph seconds on the periphery of the dial, chronograph minutes at three o'clock, chronograph hours at six o'clock, running seconds at nine o'clock, and a date window at six o'clock. The power reserve is 50 hours.

The caseback is engraved with "Limited edition of 100," which faces the wrist. Whoever buys this watch will be the only person to ever see the bird in motion.

Pictures: The MenWith Briefing