REUGE - iReuge

The first mechanical music station for mobile phones.

Press release

As the world vibrates at the launch of the iPhone, the iReuge will soon sing to yours

When Reuge, manufacturers of mechanical music for nearly a century and a half, decided to create a link between unique age-old know-how and cutting-edge technologies, it came up with the iReuge, the first mechanical music station for mobile phones – a premier expression of the music boxes of tomorrow. By combining technology and tradition in the iReuge, the company has written a decisive page in its history thanks to an innovative induction system that transmits the energy required to charge a mobile phone. The iReuge music box’s mechanical musical movement is activated and plays a melody once a mobile phone, set to the vibrate mode, starts to vibrate. Initially available from December 2011 exclusively on www.Reuge.com, the world will soon be resonating to the tune of the iReuge.

Through an ingenious mechanical system, a mobile phone set to vibrate is able to initiates 3 different Reuge musical movements. © Reuge

Innovation as a Philosophy since 1865

On the eve of its 150th anniversary, the legacy of Reuge remains unique through a combination of tradition, quality, exclusivity, modernity and creativity. Building on its vast heritage, the brand looks to the future with the launch of the iReuge to reaffirm its direction towards the contemporary.

Developed by Reuge in collaboration with the design duo, Philippe Loup and Eric Meyer from Lausanne, the iReuge is the result of a combination of many trades. In fact, creating a music box requires over 30 complex manufacturing steps that can only be provided by exceptional craftsmen. By surrounding itself within a multidisciplinary team, Reuge succeeded in meeting this technological challenge. The iReuge was therefore borne out of a harmonious synchronicity of artisans, from designers to creators, and master cabinetmakers to craftsmen, as well as from developers and electrical engineers combined.

In line with current trends, the iReuge is itself a device that offers mechanical music. It stands as hybridization of old and new, traditional mechanics and modern electronic technology, distilling all aspects of beauty, tradition and the contemporary. While extracting the best of yesterday and including a part of tomorrow, each iReuge fuses ergonomics with elegance to the delight of the senses. By offering additional features via a luxurious and exquisitely styled casing, the iReuge raises to the rank of a functional as well as aesthetic work of art.

The iReuge impresses with its contemporary design and timelessness. Through an ingenious mechanical system, a mobile phone set to vibrate is able to initiates 3 different Reuge musical movements.

Once the mobile phone vibrates, a musical movement consisting of 72 notes plays. Whether it is a call, message, or alarm, the magic of mechanical music is activated. An on/off button also triggers or stops the music on demand. But that is not all. Additionally, the iReuge is a charger for a mobile phone thanks to an avant-garde system of electrical induction.

With its desire to combine mechanical music and technology of the moment, Reuge affirms its intention to bring a new dimension to the art of mechanical music.

Once the mobile phone vibrates, a musical movement consisting of 72 notes plays. © Reuge

The iReuge is manufactured with the finest of traditional methods at the Reuge company, while the 72-note musical movement is manufactured and assembled by hand in workshops throughout Saint-Croix, the cradle of mechanical music.

Its sublime black-gloss lacquer box, graced with Macassar ebony, is enhanced by bronze polished glass. At the heart of this case of precious wood, the musical movement is fitted with a nickel-plated finish and steel blue screws decorated with Côtes de Genève engravings – an object that has all the qualities of a complicated watch movement.

The iReuge is available from December 2011 exclusively on www.Reuge.com, for the suggested retail price of CHF 9,900. An initial limited production of 25 will be available at the end of the year.

The iReuge does not include an iPhone.

We believe that the iReuge is at the forefront of an entirely new playground for exploration for a brand whose range of possibilities is only limited by the limits of our creativity.

Kurt Kupper, CEO of Reuge, states : « Revolutionizing the image of the music box, to give it the status of a decorative object, to raise the awareness of our aesthetically inclined clients with contemporary designs – these were the challenges for the Swiss company, Reuge, at the dawn of the 21st century. A challenge that, through the combined efforts of the entire Reuge team, the LOUP Design Studio, and designer Eric Meyer, has been achieved with brilliance through the introduction of a tradition-laden mechanical music box to the modern world, and giving it its rightful place among shapers and leaders in society. Each time the iReuge has been presented it has generated much interest and attraction. This type of momentum has served to push our manufacturing and innovative boundaries, and I am excited to mention that another new innovative concept will also be launched at the same time at the end of this year - the nomad project - developed in partnership with a renowned designer in the watch industry. »

The design duo, Philippe Loup and Eric Meyer, talk about the project’s inception : After the 90’s, a time of minimalism, and the 2000’s, a rather decorative period by contrast, we both visualize the future in terms of hybridizations. Playing on differences. Merging the opposites. Taking the best of both worlds. Discovering how to humanize technology. This new territory can be expressed as a fusion of chemistry between the past and future, between artisans and industrial processes, and an alliance of high quality with simple materials. It was through these types of discussions, and inspirational encounters with Reuge, that the iReuge was born. The goal was to create a new product designed to reposition Reuge to be in ‘tune’ with the times. »


Check out the iReuge on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_i2oj3Ixhk

The iReuge is available from December 2011 exclusively on www.Reuge.com, for the suggested retail price of CHF 9,900. © Reuge

IREUGE

Music case

Base: black lacquered wood. Gloss finish.
Upper part: Macassar ebony. Gloss finish.
Protected by bronze polished glass, with nickel-plated hinges.

Musical movement
A contemporary 72-note movement, with 3 tunes
Nickel-plated finish, with blue screws. The base-plate is decorated with Côte de Genève engravings.
Winding of the musical movement: a winding-key is fixed on the spring-housing barrel, allowing for manual
winding of the mechanical movement.

Start of the music: a play/stop button starts and stops the music on demand.
The iReuge concept and how it works:
- Musical function: when your mobile phone vibrates, the iReuge musical movement starts to play music
automatically whether for a call, a reminder or an alarm.
- Charging function: when your mobile phone is placed on the iReuge platform, it automatically charges
thanks to a clever induction system. A light signal indicates that your phone is currently charging.


Tunes
- 0011 March of the Toy Soldiers, P. I. Tchaïkovsky
- Waltz of the Flowers,  P. I. Tchaïkovsky
- Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,  P. I. Tchaïkovsky
- 0029 The Magic Flute (Glockenspiel),  W. A. Mozart
- Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Minuet),  W. A. Mozart
- Turkish March,  W. A. Mozart
- 0044 Canon (3 parts),  J. Pachelbel
- 0088 Polonaise (Till the End of Time),  F. Chopin
- Tristesse,  F. Chopin
- Impromptu,  F. Chopin
- 0697 Lyric Waltz (Jazz-Suite 2),  D. Chostakovitch
- Waltz No 1 (Jazz Suite 2),  D. Chostakovitch
- Waltz No 2 (Jazz Suite 2),  D. Chostakovitch
- 0698 Solveig's Song (Peer Gynt-Suite 2),  E. Grieg
- Anitra's Dance (Peer Gynt-Suite 1),  E. Grieg
- In the Hall of the Mountain King (Peer Gynt-Suite 1),  E. Grieg
- 0701 Hungarian Dance No 1,  J. Brahms
- Hungarian Dance No 19,  J. Brahms
- Hungarian Dance No 5,  J. Brahms
- 0707 Autumn Leaves,  R. Williams
- What a wonderful World,  L. Armstrong
- Summertime,  G. Gershwin
- 0708 Children’s Songs (3 parts),  Chick Corea
- 0709 Guantanamera,  J. Fernández Diaz
- Chan Chan,  C. Segundo
- Quizás, quizás, quizás,  Q. Farrés
- 0731 Should I stay or should I go (3 parts),  The Clash
- 0736 The Wall,  Pink Floyd
- Smoke on the water,  Deep Purple
- Imagine,  John Lennon