The Golden Bridge mechanical movement made its mark as soon as it was introduced in 1980. Over thirty years ago, this exceptional baguette movement, with its innovative construction, opened a new chapter in the history of watchmaking. Offered for the first time in 2011 in an automatic version – with linear winding – it is poised to open a new era in the legend of this unique movement. This automatic version is presented as a grand premiere in a red gold or
white gold case, and is naturally being produced in a limited edition.
Few mechanical movements have left such an indelible mark on the history of watchmaking. The legendary Golden Bridge, first introduced by Corum in 1980, has since revealed all its power. This impressive baguette movement, built in a linear fashion and requiring unparalleled watchmaking expertise, has been responsible for some of the La Chaux-de-Fonds brand’s most fabulous timepieces. In 2009, the Golden Bridge baguette movement inspired the creation of the contemporary, racy Ti-Bridge, while 2010 saw the arrival of the first tourbillon Golden Bridge movement. In 2011, this fantastic line enters a new era with the arrival of the self-winding Golden Bridge movement featuring a linear oscillating weight.
Corum’s exclusive new CO313 caliber, an automatic baguette movement with linear winding, has undergone more than four years of development and laboratory testing to verify materials, friction forces and winding coefficients. Featuring a platinum linear weight – visible on both sides of the case – and a sliding-flange mechanism, this Golden Bridge movement beats at a frequency of 4Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour) for a power reserve of 40 hours. Featuring 194 components, the exclusive CO313 caliber is equipped with a variable-inertia balance – a guarantee of high
precision over time – and a miniaturized barrel so as not to break the verticality of the whole. The mainplate and bridges are in 18-carat gold (matching the gold of each case), with a new vertical guilloché decoration to accompany the linear movement of the weight and further underline the power of this in-line movement.
The complexity of such a movement – the CO313 caliber is one of the very few movements with a linear weight on the market – lies in resolving the inertia issues inherent in any movement of this type. Hence the use of a precious, dense metal, in this case platinum, for this linear mass, which throws its 4 grams over less than 1 cm before being cushioned by a system of O-rings and bouncing back to make its run in the other direction, thus guaranteeing the movement sufficient energy.
The principle behind the development of the Corum CO313 calibre was to offer a floating, linear mass guided by rails. The rails are made of Teflon PTFE-treated steel, while the areas where the carriage comes into contact with the rails are made of beryllium copper. This combination provides optimum efficiency for the entire assembly, while the transmission of the energy obtained through winding is made possible by a rack fixed to the mass and always geared with a reversing system – unidirectional winding – equipped with ceramic balls and able to dispense with lubrication.
Housing this exceptional caliber, the new Golden Bridge Automatic is housed in a new tonneau-shaped case in red or white gold, larger than its predecessors (37.2 by 51.8 mm) and slightly curved to offer maximum comfort to the wearer. Alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces, it allows the Golden Bridge Automatic movement to be admired not only from the dial and caseback sides, but also from either side of the case middle.
No less than four sapphire crystals, all with anti-reflective treatment, are required to build a case that resembles a showcase containing a precious object. Black or grey, depending on the version, the two-part dial hides nothing of the fabulous mechanism and reveals the linear mass in motion.
Available with a black crocodile strap and gold pin buckle, Corum’s new Golden Bridge Automatic will be produced in 2011 in a limited edition of 130 in red gold and 70 in white gold. An exclusivity that reflects the exceptional character of this first-ever automatic Golden Bridge movement.
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