ByRoberta Naas,
Senior Contributor.
Compose a melody using only four notes—then make sure it sounds worthy of one of the most complicated mechanical wristwatches ever built.
That was the challenge facing Eric Singer, longtime drummer for KISS, when Blancpain invited him to help create a custom chime for its Grande Double Sonnerie, a multimillion-dollar grand complication introduced late last year.
The watch is no ordinary chiming minute repeater. Blancpain’s Grande Double Sonnerie combines grande sonnerie, petite sonnerie and minute repeater functions with a flying tourbillon and retrograde perpetual calendar. What truly sets it apart though, is that it offers the wearer a choice of two audible sounds: the coveted classic Westminster Chimes or a specially created Blancpain four-note original composition by Eric Singer.
