SJX Watches
Corum Introduces the Lab 02
While Corum’s high-end watchmaking is typically associated with the tiny Golden Bridge movement, the brand’s latest creation is a surprisingly intriguing calibre with a novel construction. The Lab 02 is a tourbillon with vertical power reserve and double-disc date – entirely constructed as a “flying”, or “floating”, movement. Almost all of the wheels are secured only on one side, leaving them seemingly suspended in midair. Initial thoughts The Lab 02 has a genuinely interesting movement inside. A “flying” construction is not new, but it is usually applied to a key parts, like the barrel or tourbillon, for aesthetic effect or to keep the movement as slim as possible. Here the whole movement is flying, which results in a strikingly airy mechanical landscape. In fact, the Lab 02 is essentially a more complex execution of the concept behind the Ulysse Nardin Executive Tourbillon Free Wheel. Because of its construction, the movement is large, which means the watch is huge – 45 mm wide and 13.4 mm high. But it is a necessity due to the mechanics and probably enhances the visual effect of the movement construction. Harder to swallow is the price of 180,00 Swiss francs that puts the Lab 02 in a price segment where many well-established haute horlogerie brands compete. That’s especially so given the movement finishing appears adequate (neat and clean but mostly done with mechanical means) rather than excellent. Admittedly, most other watches in the price segme...
