DIABLOTINE (FLYING SECONDS)

The diablotine (flying seconds) is the synonym, in horological vocabulary, for the “Foudroyante” (flying seconds) seconds: a Hand that completes a full Lathe in one second through a series of rapid jumps, timed by the Frequency of the oscillator. The number of jumps per second depends on the Calibre — for example, six for a Movement beating at 21,600 vibrations per hour, eight for 28,800 — each jump corresponding to a fraction of a second. Like the “Foudroyante” (flying seconds), the diablotine (flying seconds) is generally linked to a mechanism of Chronograph and allows reading intervals of Time shorter than a second. Its operation is often based on a star-wheelStar (wheel) associated with a rapid-lathe system, periodically released then blocked. The vivid term evokes the almost diabolical liveliness of the hand’s movement. Complication of both display and precision, the diablotine (flying seconds) testifies to the ingenuity deployed to make the fine subdivision of time visible.