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Tourbillon Watches · Page 35

Hands-On With The CIGA Design Central Tourbillon Mount Everest Homage Edition Fratello
May 3, 2024

Hands-On With The CIGA Design Central Tourbillon Mount Everest Homage Edition

A tourbillon is less relevant now than ever. What was once advantageous in a pocket watch became less so in a wristwatch, which is naturally subject to a broader range of motion. With cheaper quartz modules outperforming all but the most accurate mechanical movements, a tourbillon remains a display of watchmaking ability and intricacy. A […] Visit Hands-On With The CIGA Design Central Tourbillon Mount Everest Homage Edition to read the full article.

Introducing - Bianchet Partners with Maserati MSG Racing & Launches Two Limited Flying Tourbillon Grande Date Monochrome
May 2, 2024

Introducing - Bianchet Partners with Maserati MSG Racing & Launches Two Limited Flying Tourbillon Grande Date

In 2021, Bianchet debuted in the watch industry with the Tourbillon B1.618 Openwork, establishing the brand’s design language and paving the way for future releases – like the 2023 Flying Tourbillon Grande Date. In 2023, Maserati returned to the world of open-wheel single-seater motorsport after a hiatus of 65 years. However, instead of the roar […]

Hands On: Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon 150th Anniversary SJX Watches
May 2, 2024

Hands On: Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon 150th Anniversary

You can never be too rich or too thin – a quote attributed to Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, but it might as well have come from Piaget, which just debuted the thinnest tourbillon wristwatch in history, the Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon 150th Anniversary. Covered in-depth at launch, the AUC Tourbillon is just 2 mm thick, including the case and crystal; that makes the watch thinner than a Swiss five-franc coin. While its record-breaking dimensions are headline-grabbing, it’s the watch’s overall design and ergonomics that make it look and feel almost miraculous on the wrist. The AUC Tourbillon next to the five-franc coin; it’s also slimmer than the two-franc coin, and equivalent to about 20 sheets of A4 printer paper Initial thoughts Record-chasing, whether in terms of thickness, weight, water resistance, or complications, is a common theme in the watch industry, but the results are often gimmicky and impractical. When I heard that Piaget would be introducing the thinnest tourbillon in history, I rolled my eyes. But my perspective changed as soon as I picked up the AUC Tourbillon, a moment that stands out in my memory as a highlight of Watches & Wonders 2024. The watch is thin, of course, but the immediate impression is one of substance; it feels far more substantial than it looks. This is in part due to the M64BC cobalt alloy case, the extreme rigidity of which makes the watch’s 2 mm thinness possible. Furthermore, the ergonomics of the case, which is...

Glashütte Original Introduces the PanoMaticInverse “Dresden Tribute” SJX Watches
May 2, 2024

Glashütte Original Introduces the PanoMaticInverse “Dresden Tribute”

A tribute to the German city of Dresden, the PanoMaticInverse Limited Edition depicts the city where the predecessor of Glashütte Original was founded in 1845. It retains the inverted movement construction that characterises the model, displaying the escapement on the dial, but here the three-quarter plate on the front sports a hand-engraved rendering of Dresden landmarks, the Frauenkirche and Academy of Fine Arts, while the bridges on the reverse are engraved with the Elbe promenade. Initial thoughts Although the brand itself was founded after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Glashütte Original (GO) has its roots in the very beginning of watchmaking in the Glashütte area. Because the brand was formed from the East German state-owned watchmaking enterprise, it was vertically integrated from the beginning, making it a true manufacture. It is somewhat under-appreciated compared to its neighbour, A. Lange & Söhne, although the two brands focus on different segments of the market, with Glashütte Original offering more affordable timepieces. The brand’s steel watches, for example, usually retail for under US$15,000. However, GO is capable of German haute horologerie, as demonstrated by its top-of-the-line timepieces like the Senator Chronometer Tourbillon. The PanoMaticInverse “Dresden Tribute” is one of the brand’s high-end offerings, with a retail price of US$47,400. Even though that’s a big number, the watch delivers substantial tangible quality. In addition to th...

The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” is a True Super Watch Worn & Wound
Apr 24, 2024

The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” is a True Super Watch

Each year at Watches & Wonders, we see a handful of novelties that I think can fairly be described as Super Watches. These are the truly audacious creations that are, effectively, out of reach for all but that 1% of the 1% that has the coin and the inclination to buy into something incredibly niche, that’s incredibly expensive, that (honestly) might be years away from actually being produced and successfully delivered. The Grand Seiko Kodo, I think, is a good example of a Super Watch. It stopped everyone in their tracks, had an eye watering price point, and was the ultimate artistic and mechanical expression of the brand that made it. This year had a few Super Watch candidates (including another Kodo) but I think the winner walking away was a watch from A. Lange & Söhne that took the radical step of combining all the things people love about the brand into one watch. A Super Watch, if you will.  The Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” was easily my favorite watch name to say aloud during the show. When someone would ask me what my favorite watch of the week was (a question you’re asked about fifty times per day, minimum) I’d reflexively say “Oh, the Lange,” and then continue, probably looking skyward while counting out the watch’s cumbersome title on my fingers, like a school kid figuring out a math problem, “the Datograph, perpetual, tourbillon, lumen,” (I’d always screw it up here) “in honeygold!” I’d be really proud of myself f...

First Look - The Striking New Arceau Duc Attelé, a Remarkable Hermès Creation Monochrome
Apr 24, 2024

First Look - The Striking New Arceau Duc Attelé, a Remarkable Hermès Creation

In watchmaking, creativity is a constant topic of conversation. Few can match the innovation of Hermès, and many can learn from the brand’s approach. The new Hermès Arceau Duc Attelé, featuring a central triple-axis high-frequency tourbillon and a minute repeater, showcases impeccable craftsmanship and construction. Seamlessly blending the equestrian theme into its design, this timepiece […]

H. Moser & Cie. Launches the Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton “Alpine” SJX Watches
Apr 24, 2024

H. Moser & Cie. Launches the Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton “Alpine”

With its sponsorship of Renault’s Formula 1 team, H. Moser & Cie. has created a limited edition for the occasion, the Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Alpine Limited Edition. This combines the brand’s unusual cylindrical tourbillon with its sporty Streamliner presented for the first on a strap instead of a bracelet. Initial thoughts  In the wake of its deal with the Alpine Motorsports, Renault’s sports car division, Moser’s latest limited edition is hardly a surprise. The concept of an open-worked tourbillon in a modern, sporty case is not a new one, but this is technically novel thanks to the tall cylindrical hairspring inside the tourbillon carriage, made possible thanks to Moser’s sister company that produces hairsprings. Fortunately this is not a typical F1 watch dressed in team colours and sporting a logo. The entire face is devoid of branding and Alpine’s trademark blue instead forms the transparent sub-dial at 12 that contrasts with the anthracite bridges below.  The removal of the bracelet, however, also removes some of the character of the Streamliner. This looks less distinctive than the typical Streamliner on a bracelet. That is not a permanent problem since a bracelet can be installed, and since the case is steel, at presumably moderate cost. The Alpine edition retails for CHF89,000, a CHF10,000 increase over the recent Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton that has a bracelet but no cylindrical hairspring. All things consider, the premium is...

Just Because - The Battle for the World’s Thinnest Watches (incl. Video) Monochrome
Apr 16, 2024

Just Because - The Battle for the World’s Thinnest Watches (incl. Video)

Some of the standout highlights of the 2024 Watch Week in Geneva undoubtedly revolved around ultra-thin watches. Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo Ultra COSC now reigns as the world’s thinnest mechanical wristwatch, boasting an astonishing 1.70mm profile. Meanwhile, Piaget clinched the record for the thinnest tourbillon ever with its Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon, measuring a mere 2mm! […]

The Louis Vuitton Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon Poinçon De Genève Sapphire Frank Gehry Fratello
Apr 15, 2024

The Louis Vuitton Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon Poinçon De Genève Sapphire Frank Gehry

I knew Canadian architect Frank Gehry for his work on the beautiful and impressive Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. However, through Louis Vuitton, I learned that he was also responsible for the Fondation Louis Vuitton building in Paris (2014) and the Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul (2019). The latter inspired a remarkable watch, the […] Visit The Louis Vuitton Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon Poinçon De Genève Sapphire Frank Gehry to read the full article.

Introducing - The New Speake-Marin Openworked Tourbillon Ultra-Violet Monochrome
Apr 13, 2024

Introducing - The New Speake-Marin Openworked Tourbillon Ultra-Violet

In 2020, Speake-Marin expanded its One&Two Openworked series by introducing a mesmerizing 60-second flying tourbillon model. Since its debut, the brand has continually unveiled new iterations, each crafted in limited numbers. These timepieces, sporting the hallmark eccentric layout, showcase the flying tourbillon complication positioned at 1:30. Among these, the latest addition, the Openworked Tourbillon Ultra-Violet, […]

H. Moser Introduces a Skeletonized Streamliner Tourbillon in Steel Worn & Wound
Apr 12, 2024

H. Moser Introduces a Skeletonized Streamliner Tourbillon in Steel

Just in time for Watches & Wonders 2024, H. Moser & Cie. has unveiled the Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton Double Hairspring. In other words? Moser has produced a dramatically skeletonized flying tourbillon movement with their signature double hairspring, and they’ve put it in a Streamliner. It’s been a few years now since H. Moser & Cie. released the very first Streamliner, and there can be no doubt that in a very short time, that watch has come to represent the brand in a very real way. Since the launch of the H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Flyback Chronograph four years ago, Moser’s somewhat quirky entry into the integrated bracelet market has seen a steady stream of new releases and added complication, and today sees yet another new execution. This isn’t one of those new releases that shows us a bunch of things we’ve never seen before, but rather draws from several disparate threads that have been floating around the Moser universe and ties them together into a single, compelling package. The Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton builds on the premise of the Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack that Zach reviewed back in 2022. But where that watch hid its movement behind literally as black a dial as you can possibly find, this year’s release goes in another direction, one more in line with another 2022 Moser release, the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon. What results is a watch that is exactly what you might expect, given the name on the tin. The Streamliner Tourbillon Sk...

Comments 1

  1. Anonymous
    So the rotating cage just averages out gravity's effect on the balance wheel across the full rotation? That's actually elegant. Makes sense why these cost so much.

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