SJX Watches
Sylvain Pinaud Returns with 30-Second Tourbillon
With wind in his sails following the successful Origine series, independent watchmaker Sylvain Pinaud returns with his most ambitious project yet, the succinctly named Tourbillon. The watch looks and feels a lot like its time-only predecessor, but the movement is in fact completely different, with twin mainspring barrels and a fast-rotating 30-second tourbillon. The Tourbillon in platinum with a white agate dial. Initial thoughts Appetite remains strong for high-end time-only watches, but the leading independents are increasingly leaving simplicity behind and treating their collectors to additional complications. Mr Pinaud’s Tourbillon exemplifies this shift. Despite the greater complexity of its movement, the Tourbillon is no larger than the simpler Origine. In fact, it’s about 1 mm smaller in diameter. That’s impressive considering it fits an extra mainspring barrel and adds a zero-reset seconds functionality to its namesake tourbillon. This latter functionality - specifically its heart cam - is on full display through an opening in the running seconds sub-dial at nine o’clock. But its the 30-second tourbillon that gives the watch its name, and which warrants special scrutiny. Fast-rotating tourbillons - which rotate more quickly than once per minute - are quite rare. They require more energy and greater care in assembly, since they almost invariably use lighter components. In the case of the Tourbillon, the slender three-armed cage is made of titanium, r...
