Tourbillon Watches · Page 13

Hands On: Breguet Four-Minute Tourbillon No. 1890

In the coming weekend, one of the most important watches of this auction season will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s Breguet’s 250th anniversary thematic sale November 9 – Breguet no. 1890, a pocket watch with tourbillon and natural escapement made by the firm by Breguet while Abraham-Louis Breguet himself still helmed the company. The gilt dial with a regulator-style layout might seem familiar – the recent Classique 7225 reproduces this dial design. In fact, Breguet no. 1890 isn’t the only watch in this style; it belongs to a series of pocket watches all equipped with a four-minute tourbillon and échappement naturel from the early 19th century that were among the finest watches of the time. Breguet built just eight four-minute tourbillons with natural escapement, all of which thankfully survive, and only three with gold dials. King George III ordered the most famous example – almost identical to this watch – during the Napoleonic wars. For context, that would be like Churchhill (who owned a Breguet himself) ordering an A. Lange & Söhne watch during the Second World War. As such, it was signed Recordon, Breguet’s London agent, to disguise its French origins. Whirling About Regulator Almost 225 years ago, the French Ministry of the Interior granted A.-L. Breguet a patent for his most famous creation, the tourbillon – a clever exercise in lateral thinking. For a mechanical watch to keep the same time across all vertical positions the combined balance, st...

In-Depth: Balancing Mainspring Dimensions Inside the Barrel

In a past story, we explained how multiple mainspring barrels can be paired in parallel or in series, for either lengthening a movement’s power reserve or increasing the torque discharged into the going train. In this article we expand on this topic to analyse the inside of the barrel by exploring how mainspring size balancing influences the torque output and power reserve.   Enthusiasts tend to throw around the loosely-defined term “mainspring packing” - especially when criticising a movement’s unsatisfying power reserve. This term refers to how a watchmaker can get a higher power reserve by balancing a spring’s dimensions and the space it occupies inside a barrel. While this sounds simple, the reality is more complicated.  Skeletonised barrel showing the tight coiled mainspring inside the Piaget Altiplano Tourbillon Concept. In order to set the record straight, it’s necessary to analyse the topic thoroughly. This requires getting a bit technical, but an interpretation is included for those less interested in the underlying maths. This theory-heavy deep-dive tries to unravel the concept of mainspring packing and explores why optimisation is not a very straightforward business. The core elements This section covers the basics of mainspring and barrel geometry and establishes their relation with power reserve and torque. In order to see how specific dimensions affect both torque and power reserve, we will resort to some known functions and a little geometric...

H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Tourbillon Pierre Gasly Edition

J.P. Morgan Jr.’s Watches Emerge, Including First-Ever Cartier Mystery Clock

Philips’ upcoming sale in Geneva from November 8-9 includes two timepieces owned by John Pierpont Morgan Jr., widely known as Jack Morgan. Heir to a financial empire, Morgan was the first chairman of what is now JPMorganChase, and more pertinently, inherited the sensibilities of his father, J. Pierpont Morgan Sr., in collecting and gifting. Morgan Sr. was a collector on a grand scale, and across categories. The catalogues of his collections spanned volumes – two books for Chinese porcelain, four for miniatures, and a single volume for his watches and clocks, albeit a 350-page tome that weighed almost 6 kg in its original edition. The penchant for collecting was passed on to Jack Morgan, who evidently had sharp tastes in watches and clocks. The two timepieces going on the block at Phillips illustrate that. One is the first-ever Cartier mystery clock, a Model A sold to Morgan in 1913. And the other is one example of the “Morgan caliper”,  a series of minute repeating, split-second chronograph, tourbillon pocket watches made for J.P. Morgan & Co., which were gifted by Morgan Sr. and Jack Morgan to the firm’s partners and important associates. Titans of finance In 1913, Louisiana senator Arsène Pujo formed the Pujo Committee to investigate the growing concentration of financial power in the United States. The committee found that an inner circle of partners at J.P. Morgan & Co. and its two largest proxies held 341 directorship positions across the boards of 34 majo...

Audemars Piguet Concludes RD Series With Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5

Audemars Piguet reimagines the chronograph for the next century.

Introducing - The New CIGA Design Everest Summit Central Tourbillon

CIGA Design has carved out a distinct lane in contemporary Chinese watchmaking: bold industrial design, visible mechanics, and aggressive value. Founded by industrial designer Zhang Jianmin, the brand built early recognition with skeletonised mechanical pieces and unconventional case forms, then vaulted onto the global stage with the award-winning Blue Planet, cementing its credibility beyond the […]

CIGA design’s Everest Summit frames a central tourbillon with real Everest bedrock

The GPHG-winning Chinese firm celebrates the world's tallest mountain with a techy tourbillon piece with a dial made from Everest itself.The post CIGA design’s Everest Summit frames a central tourbillon with real Everest bedrock appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Introducing - The New Slim d’Hermès Neo Brandebourgs Tourbillon

Creativity, impeccable artisanship, and a good dose of poetic licence are hallmark traits of Hermès watches. With such a rich repertoire of luxury goods, design features often migrate from one product line to another, as seen in the beautiful, handcrafted dials inspired by the brand’s colourful silk scarves. The latest transversal exchange concerns the decidedly […]

Introducing - The New, More Compact, Still Fascinating Hautlence Sphere Series 3

After its comeback in 2022, Hautlence (an anagram of Neuchâtel) doubled down on unconventional time displays with the Sphere Series 1, followed by the darker Sphere Series 2, both pairing a multi-axis spherical jumping hour with a retrograde minute. Those watches reintroduced the brand’s TV-screen silhouette and reminded collectors why Hautlence sits in the front […]

ArtyA’s new Purity Wavy Central Tourbillon is a mesmerising merry-go-round of crazy sapphire

A massive 16mm central tourbillon shrink-wrapped in some mad bit of colour-changing sapphire? It could only be an ArtyA.The post ArtyA’s new Purity Wavy Central Tourbillon is a mesmerising merry-go-round of crazy sapphire appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

CIGA Design Scales Higher With The New Everest Summit Central Tourbillon

When CIGA Design first released the Everest Central Tourbillon, it caught plenty of us off guard. Here was a young Chinese brand taking on one of horology’s most challenging mechanisms while doing it in a watch that actually felt emotionally grounded. Brad’s hands-on review from last year summed it up nicely: this was a watch […] Visit CIGA Design Scales Higher With The New Everest Summit Central Tourbillon to read the full article.

Introducing: The Gravity-Defying Zenith Defy Zero G Sapphire - 46mm Of Transparent Or Blue Sapphire Goodness

Let me ask you a simple question: if you had to choose between a tourbillon and a Gravity Control System, which would you pick? Well, then again, you might require more information before answering my question since the system I mentioned might not be a household name. Therefore, let me introduce the gravity-defying Zenith Defy […] Visit Introducing: The Gravity-Defying Zenith Defy Zero G Sapphire - 46mm Of Transparent Or Blue Sapphire Goodness to read the full article.

The Tourbillon Explained: Spectacular But Useless? Moser Pioneer Tourb

Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.

Breguet Reverses Polarity with the Classique 7225

Breguet’s 250th anniversary got off to a good start and the momentum continues with the Classique 7225, another take on one of the brand’s most inventive movements. Guaranteed to run within an impressive one second a day, the Classique 7225 contains the cal. 74SC that boasts a high-frequency balance wheel running at an uncommonly rapid 10 Hz, or 72,000 beats per hour. To achieve that without overwhelming friction, the balance pivot is magnetic, allowing it to “float” as it oscillates. The 10 Hz balance was launched some 15 years ago, but its predecessor, the Classique 7727, did not enjoy particularly attractive aesthetics. The Classique 7225 solves the problem with a striking dial modelled on an important series of tourbillon pocket watches from the early 19th century. To accommodate the dial layout, the cal. 74SC incorporates an additional constant seconds that can be instantaneously reset. Notably, the 7225 is not a limited edition, unlike its compatriot, the Classique 7235 launched at the same time. Initial thoughts The 7225 shows that Breguet’s revival is certainly well underway, stewarded by Gregory Kissling, who has been in the top job for slightly over a year. The 7225 isn’t a major revamp of the 7727, but it is far, far more appealing watch. The magnetic-pivot movement was ingenious at launch, and still is, but the 7727 was under-designed and over-logo’ed. With the 7225, Breguet’s ultra-chronometer finally has visual and tactile appeal. And it keeps...

First Look - The New Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon in Full Rose Gold

The Defy Skyline collection by Zenith has quickly become the modern pillar of the brand’s angular, integrated, and technical sports collection. We’ve seen the series stretch into complications and materials, most notably last year’s steel and black ceramic Skyline Tourbillons built around the high-frequency El Primero calibre 3630. The latest chapter elevates form and finish. […]

Defying gravity is Zenith’s modus operandi with new Defy Zero G and Skyline Tourbillon 160th Anniversary releases

Zenith continues to celebrate its 160th anniversary with three high-complication novelties.The post Defying gravity is Zenith’s modus operandi with new Defy Zero G and Skyline Tourbillon 160th Anniversary releases appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

This Watch Is Insane - Moser x MB&F; Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon

Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.

Mineral Stones for Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Flying Tourbillon

It took a while, but Audemars Piguet’s Code 11.59 has matured enough that the new debuts are more likely to be interesting than not. The Code 11.59 Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon 38 mm with stone dials aren’t a novel proposition, but they are a trio of good looking watches that use the dial design of the Code 11.59 to maximum effect, while also scaling down the case to 38 mm and relying on the impressively constructed cal. 2968. Audemars Piguet (AP) has experimented with various unusual materials for the Code 11.59 dial – the onyx version was launched three years ago – all of which have evidently been commercially successful, explaining the three new models with dials in mineral stones of red ruby root, blue sodalite, and green malachite, respectively. Initial thoughts The Code 11.59 was widely panned at launch in 2019, occasionally unfairly, but it’s evolved in the right direction since. The new tourbillon line-up illustrates this. The wide, relatively deep-set dial of the Code 11.59 makes it a good platform to show off dial patterns and textures, especially when executed in a minimalist way as it is done here. Mineral stone dials are recent fad, so the new Code 11.59 tourbillons aren’t revolutionary, but they look good. The three watches are each in a different colour of gold, but share the same case dimensions of 38 mm by 9.6 mm, making them smaller and thinner than the original, 41 mm version of the Code 11.59 tourbillon. The downsizing gives the case a sur...

Introducing: The Bell & Ross BR-X3 Night Vision - Carbon, Lume, And Tactical Cool

Bell & Ross’s X series has been one of the brand’s most interesting evolutions to follow. The BR-X1 was pure concept-watch territory, a showcase for skeletonized tourbillons and high-end engineering that pushed the brand into experimental horology. Then came the BR-X5, a more accessible, sporty, and urban expression of the same design DNA. The BR-X3, […] Visit Introducing: The Bell & Ross BR-X3 Night Vision - Carbon, Lume, And Tactical Cool to read the full article.

Introducing - Titanium or Tremblage…the New Versions of the Moritz Grossmann Tourbillon

Moritz Grossmann continues to explain its vision of watchmaking from Glashütte with two new interpretations of its most complex watch, the Tourbillon Titanium and the Tourbillon Tremblage. These two new versions are mechanically identical to the original model, introduced initially in 2013 when the Grossmann calibre 103.0 established the brand’s first in-house tourbillon, notable for […]

Introducing: Montblanc Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon Château de Versailles

You should have been there. The Yew Tree Ball (Le Bal des Ifs) was a masquerade ball held in 1745 by King Louis XV of France after the wedding between his son - the Dauphin Louis - and Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain. The ball took place in the gilded Hall of Mirrors (Galerie […] Visit Introducing: Montblanc Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon Château de Versailles to read the full article.

Introducing - The new Czapek Antarctique Plique-a-Jour Enamel

Czapek unveils the second special series created to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the brand’s rebirth in 2015. Following the Antarctique Tourbillon introduced in April, this new release presents an exceptional interpretation of the maison’s integrated-bracelet sports watch, distinguished by a plique-à-jour enamel dial.  Plique-à-jour is an intricate and delicate enamelling technique distinguished by its […]

Introducing - New GMT and Gold editions of the TAG Heuer Carrera Extreme Sport

The Carrera Extreme Sport series by TAG Heuer returns for 2025 with three new references: a travel-ready Twin-Time chronograph that merges a true GMT into the openworked Extreme Sport template; a rose-gold chronograph that disrupts the collection’s tool aesthetic using precious metal; and a Tourbillon Extreme Sport F1 75th Anniversary limited edition that celebrates seven-and-a-half […]

TAG Heuer tributes 75 years of Formula 1 with a triple Carrera Extreme threat

The 2025 Carrera Extreme Sport collection sees TAG Heuer introduce chronograph, GMT, and tourbillon novelties.The post TAG Heuer tributes 75 years of Formula 1 with a triple Carrera Extreme threat appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.