L'Epée Delivers the Sleek and Graceful La Regatta Clock

Very few sports, or indeed very few human activities, merit the term “graceful” as much as sculling. Long, streamlined craft cutting the water like a stiletto and leaving barely a ripple are among the most elegant forms of human displacement on earth. And that sense of grace conceals both the incredible power of the oarsman and the arrow-like precision of their craft.

L’Epée 1839 harnesses and pays homage to the grace of sculling with La Regatta, a sleek vertical clock invoking the shape of the long thin scull, with both the power (8-day power reserve) and precision of the most elegant of watch sports. Our modern lives are often busy and, at times, even chaotic, La Regatta invokes a sense of peace and calm.

Sculling is an activity conducted on calm water, and it’s the seemingly effortless power and speed combined with the serenity of the environment that soothes the minds of spectators. In a similar fashion, the power and precision of the La Regatta clock are not immediately obvious, imparting a sense of placidity in an otherwise hectic world.

In sculling, nothing is concealed; you can see every movement of the scullers and every movement of the mechanisms enabling their seats to slide back and forth to maximize efficiency. And similarly, nothing is concealed on La Regatta, the movement is fully open to view front and back, allowing full appreciation of its power and precision.

The long blade-like hands of La Regatta echo the sleek shapes of the elongated triangle shells and make for effortless reading of the time. At 9:15, the hands are positioned like the blades of a scull, which do not pull through the water but anchor in the water to propel the craft. The visible isochronous oscillating balance wheel governs the beat, just like the coxswain of a quad scull.

Whereas sculls derive their stability largely by their speed and the skills of their rowers, La Regatta requires less input to enjoy. Its gracefully elegant, tall and narrow 520 mm (20 inches) height, is supported by a substantial base, ensuring a low center of gravity and maximum stability.

Sculling requires perfect balance, both in the symmetry of position and delivery of power. La Regatta mirrors that symmetry with its mainspring balance in line and in harmony with its escapement, ensuring power is delivered smoothly and precisely.

The full gear train of La Regatta’s movement is arranged in a single line, evoking both the backbone of the rowers that transmits power from their arms to the craft and the single line of multiple scullers in a quadruple boat. And La Regatta’s balanced aesthetics are not simply one-dimensional, the mainspring barrel is on the opposite side of the movement of the escapement, distributing weight and power evenly throughout its form just as sculling does.

Sculling is more than a sport, it’s an activity in which the participants are always moving forward: a perfect allegory for the passage of time. Sculling requires a balanced combination of strength, power, and grace; it’s a symphony with every stroke a note; it’s a ballet on the water. Sculling requires perfectly synchronized tempo, symmetry, and balance, all of which are also essential in a high precision clock.

The powerful 8-day movement of La Regatta is wound on the back of the movement by a key, which also sets the time. La Regatta embodies speed, lightness, and simplicity, but most of all, just like sculling, La Regatta exudes grace.

La Regatta launches in a limited edition of 99 pieces in each of six colors: Champagne, Silver, Black, Red, Green, and Blue.

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