Earlier, we published our hands-on comprehensive review of the F.Berthoud Régulateur Squelette. That was a detailed exposé of the inner workings of the watch, detailing the finishing and aesthetic choices. We had only managed to get hold of the octagonal cased FB 1RS.6 then. But now, we have the live photographs of the round cased FB 2RS.2, and show this to you here.
As a pre-requisite, the essential reading to bring you up to speed is our review of the FB1 RS.6 found here:
Pictorial Review: F.Berthoud Régulateur Squelette FB 2RS.2
The only difference between the FB 1.RS.6 and the FB 2.RS.2 is the case. The former is cased in the F. Berthoud signature octagonal case with a round, sloped bezel. The FB2 is in the more classical round shape, first seen in the Chronomètre FB 2RE.
The more traditional case suits the skeletonized movement quite well, allowing a good impression of depth as one gazes into the dial side.
The finissage is top notch, as is the norm for F. Berthoud. This is as good as it gets. Everything is done right, and correctly. No corners are cut. And it shows up as impeccable. Perfect as far as these imperfect eyes can see.
The dial is magnificent, with all the elements of the movement laid bare. The contrast between the rose gold case, knurled crown, and the darkened movement places seen through the silver dial elements is superb. The legibility is uncompromised, even for a skeletonized dial.
From the case back, the spectacle continues. The FB-T.FC-RS features its huge tourbillon, showcased in style, with its arrow shaped cock pointing in between the fusée-chain arrangement. The barrel, complete with maintaining power mechanism and the fusée is featured with the same marvelous finishing and designed to showcase virtuosity at its finest. The chain wraps around the barrel in a figure of 8 fashion, equalizing the tension to the pivots.
Seen below, the tourbillon from the back. Stylized with its three armed carriage design, held in place by the arrow shaped cock. The cage and cock are black polished, with anglage. And the tourbillon pivot jewel sits in a gold chaton.
On the wrist, the 44 mm x 14.26 mm case wears nicely on the wrist, perhaps even better than its brother, the octagonal FB 1RS.6. Aesthetically, we had preferred the closed case FB 1RS.6-1’s use of negative space in the FB 1 case to the FB 1RS.6. But we think the blank spaces would not work as well in the round FB2 case. And feel that the skeletonized version is better suited as a round case. While the full dial version nicer in the octagonal case.
Photo Notes
Photographed in the Chopard Boutique in Ngee Ann City, Singapore. Hasselblad H3D-39 with HC 4/120 and HC 2.8/80 with H28 extension tube. Profoto strobes. We chose not to present this as a Watchscape series, as the watch as shown to us was a traveling prototype, and had tiny dust particles and a cellophane covering on the case back. This is not apparent in the 1200 pixel wide images we show here. But in wallpaper sized images measuring 2560 pixels wide, they show up, and will take considerable Photoshop time and skill to fix.
