Tourbillon Watches · Page 49

One To Watch: How This Young French Watchmaker Is Making Tourbillons Cool

With one subscription watch already in rotation, 25-year-old Remy Cools is just getting started.

H. Moser & Cie. Introduces the Streamliner Tourbillon Bucherer Blue

It’s been six years since Bucherer inaugurated Bucherer Blue, a line of special-edition watches made specifically for the Swiss retailer by watchmakers ranging from Tudor to Audemars Piguet. Dressed in the Bucherer’s corporate colour of dark blue, the Bucherer Blue collection has become one of the retailer’s defining qualities. The latest to join the collection is a sports watch from H. Moser & Cie., the Streamliner Tourbillon Bucherer Blue, which features a flying tourbillon on a smoked grey dial framed by a ring of blue sapphires. Initial thoughts Visually simple in the typical Moser style but far from plain, the Streamliner Tourbillon is an attractive watch to begin with. It retains the no-frills look of a sports watch yet while managing to dial up the technical features with a double-hairspring flying tourbillon at six o’clock. The Bucherer Blue edition takes the idea of contrasting simplicity and complexity further with a gem-set bezel that certainly adds sparkle without taking away from the clean lines of the Streamliner. At a distance the bezel might evoke the coloured bezel inserts that are common in sports watches, though up close it is undeniably bling. But the gems blend well into the design as the uniform colour of the stones and graduated, geometric pattern they form both suit the Streamliner aesthetic perfectly. And the dial is a restrained, pale grey – naturally in Moser’s trademark smoked finish – that doesn’t compete with the sapphires...

In-Depth: Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture

A hallmark of Greubel Forsey’s unique brand of watchmaking is its inclined, high-speed tourbillon that completes two and a half revolutions per minute. In fact, it was the first tourbillon by Greubel Forsey (GF) when the brand made its debut in 2004. Almost two decades on, the brand’s quintessential regulator has been installed in something entirely different with the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture. While the inclined tourbillon remains, the Architecture is almost entirely new as a watch, comprising a brand-new case design containing a reconstructed movement – that is a tangible realisation of architecture – which together form a cohesive whole. Initial thoughts The Architecture may seem like just another GF sports watch at first sight, so one might dismiss it as being merely a repurposed movement modified to fit into the brand’s bestselling sports watch case. But it is more than that. The inclined tourbillon has been transformed into something refreshingly novel where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. And it manages to be novel despite high-end sports watches being increasingly common. In short, it’s one of the most notable watches in the GF line-up. Despite the familiar mechanics of the tourbillon, the details of the movement have been comprehensively reimagined to emphasise the brand’s distinctive approach to movement construction, one that prizes three-dimensionality in design matched with impeccable finishing. This incremental improv...

Our Predictions In The Ladies Complication Category Of The 2022 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG): Is A Tourbillon Really A Complication?

The best thing about these six GPHG 2022 Ladies’ Complication watches is the variety of complications. Yes, we still have two traditional tourbillons, but the other four complications are anything but traditional. But, our panel asks, why are the tourbillons for ladies not competing in the main tourbillon category?

Girard-Perregaux Introduces the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges Bucherer Blue

As one of the world’s biggest watch retailers, Bucherer has long enjoyed unique relationships with leading watchmakers. Starting in 2016, Bucherer commissioned a series of special editions from a diversity of brands, including the well-known Tudor Black Bay Bronze Blue. Girard-Perregaux (GP) is the latest marque to create a special run for the Swiss retailer with the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges Bucherer Blue. This variant of GP’s trademark complication once again is inspired by the retailer’s corporate colour: instead of a flat black in the standard version of the watch, the titanium bridges of the movement are highlighted in dark blue. Initial thoughts As with most of the Bucherer’s other editions, the new Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges is a change in livery, but one that transforms the feel of the watch. Going from a muted black to a vibrant blue is a simple tweak, but one that adds to the visual appeal by making the architecture of the movement more apparent. The blue treatment makes the bridges stand out and emphasise their graceful, arched form, a quality that is less obvious in the standard version because of its near-monochromatic finish. The standard version with its black bridges All that makes for a contemporary look that’s more striking, a perfect fit for a calibre that’s essentially an ultra-modern take on a concept dating to 1860. At the same time, the modern yet restrained aesthetic is appropriate given Bucherer’s status as ...

Introducing: The Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT Goes Green

Earthy tones for AP's wildest travel watch.

INTRODUCING: The Zenith Chronomaster Open Boutique Edition

The concept of the open heart dial is nothing new, but it’s not necessarily a popular one. For the last few decades, watch snobs have dismissed open heart dials because of how often they appear on lower-end mechanical watches, sometimes as imitations of tourbillons or placed seemingly at random. Although the luxury market tends to … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The Zenith Chronomaster Open Boutique Edition appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Introducing: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extra-Thin RD#3 In 37mm

Color me purple, it's a smaller RD#3.

Vanguart Black Hole Tourbillon: Featuring A Flying Tourbillon Orbited By ‘Vortex’ Display Disks And A Joystick Controlling Time – Reprise

The Vanguart Black Hole Tourbillon concept is based on the concept of a black hole, a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape, even light. While that and the levitating flying tourbillon that emerges from the center of this watch might be enough to wow anyone, there's still more: a joystick that controls the direction of time and this watch's great looks.

Franck Muller Unveils the Fully Gem-Set Vanguard Revolution 3 Tourbillon

As Cortina Watch celebrates its Golden Jubilee this year, it has progressively rolled out a series of commemorative editions, including a pair from Patek Philippe in the form of a unique Dome Clock (that’s unfortunately not for sale) and a special Calatrava ref. 5057G (that fortunately is). Now the Singapore retailer has taken the covers off its most extravagant anniversary edition yet, the Franck Muller Vanguard Revolution 3 Skeleton Cortina Watch 50th Anniversary. The anniversary lineup is made up of five unique versions of Franck Muller’s triple-axis tourbillon wristwatch, each set with 28.4 carats of baguette-cut gemstones. One of the five watches is complete – the others are still being put together – and is on display at an exhibition in Singapore taking place from now till September 13, 2022. The diamond-set version with a rainbow-finished movement that’s now on show in Singapore Initial thoughts Franck Muller is one of the leading practitioners of lavishly-jewelled complicated watches, while Cortina Watch has long been a champion of high-jewellery watches, so the anniversary Vanguard tourbillons make sense both ways. While the large-format bling has a niche appeal, the Vanguard Revolution 3 movement is interesting in itself. In fact, the movement is quintessentially Franck Muller in how it highlights the tourbillon. Here the tourbillon regulator is less about mechanics than visual spectacle. Not only does the tourbillon twi-axial and spherical, it also ...

Introducing: AP Goes Titanium In Striking New Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon (Live Pics)

Fifty never looked so good.

In-Depth: The George Daniels Spring Case Tourbillon Is The Most Important Watch Of The Auction Season

It's up for grabs at Phillips this November. Here's what you need to know about this highly significant George Daniels timekeeper.

Baume & Mercier Watches: A Complete History and Guide to the Collectio

Baume & Mercier is a watch brand that prides itself in its pursuit of classical watchmaking mixed with timelessly elegant style and in offering its timepieces at a price point that defines "affordable luxury." If you're new to Baume & Mercier watches, there's likely a lot about this nearly two-century-old watchmaker that you don't know. Here we explore the history and watchmaking milestones of Baume & Mercier, from its origins in 1830 to today.  1830: The Brothers Baume Baume & Mercier is the sixth-oldest watchmaker* currently in operation, having begun its existence in 1830, founded by Louis-Victor Baume and his brother Pierre-Joseph Celestine Baume. In the beginning, the company, at the time known as “Frères Baume" (“Baume Brothers”), sold its pocket watches out of a shop in the Swiss Jura village of Les Bois. By the 1850s, Frères Baume had built its business, and its reputation for quality watchmaking, enough to set up a branch in London, a major market and an important center for international expansion - first throughout the United Kingdom, then into India, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and other nations that at the time were part of the British Empire.  The watches the Baume brothers produced toward the end of the 19th Century included high complications like chronographs, calendars, tourbillons, and minute repeaters. They were also renowned for their precision and accuracy, winning 10 Grand Prix awards and seven gold medals for time measurement ...

Greubel Forsey Introduces the GMT Balancier Convexe

Having made its debut in Greubel Forsey’s watches a decade ago, the world time is one of the brand’s distinctive complications with its large titanium globe. While the original iteration of the world time wristwatch came to an end last year with the all-black final edition, Greubel Forsey has taken the covers off its successor, the GMT Balancier Convexe. The three-dimensional world time sphere has been retained, but almost all else has been redesigned on the new model. Beside adopting the streamlined aesthetics of the brand’s bestselling sports watches like the Balancier S2, the display now has local and world time arranged concentrically in a traditional, Louis Cottier-style display in a first for the brand. Initial thoughts Despite its complex looks and US$400,000 price tag, the GMT Balancier Convexe is relatively simple for a Greubel Forsey. In fact, it’s the brand’s first world time watch without a tourbillon. As a result, the new GMT is as much about design as mechanics. The GMT demonstrates how GF is implementing its sports watch styling across practically all of its line-up. The GMT has a streamlined “Convexe” case and does away with the asymmetrical bulge traditionally used to accommodate the globe. Because of its curved profile and hidden lugs, Convexe case allows the GMT to pass as a moderately sized watch despite being 46.5 mm in diameter, allowing it to wear smaller. To go along with the sporty case style, the dial has been given a new look. ...

Hautlence Returns with the Linear Series 1

The sister company of H. Moser & Cie., Hautlence is a maker of highly contemporary watches that’s been on ice for several years as its owners completed Moser’s resurrection. Now Hautlence is making a comeback with a trio of watches led by the Linear Series 1. Adopting the TV-shaped case that’s historically the brand’s signature – but now matched with an integrated rubber strap – the Linear Series 1 features a retrograde hours on a straight-line scale along with a flying tourbillon at six o’clock. Initial thoughts Hautlence was founded in 2004 and found success during the subsequent boom in the luxury watch industry. Its fortunes faded together with that era of good times, so it is perhaps fitting that the brand is now being revived in the midst of another boom. The Linear Series 1 smartly returns to the TV-screen case that defined the brand since its inception. When combined with the open dial it is distinctive at a distance and recognisable as a Hautlence. Naturally the case design has been tweaked for today’s tastes, so it gets an integrated rubber strap. The sporty stance of the new look is appealing, although the integrated strap and folding clasp means it won’t fit perfectly on all wrists. Mechanically the Linear Series 1 is the result of a Moser base movement and an Agenhor module (that was originally developed for RJ-Romain Jerome), so it has solid technical credentials. Besides a retrograde hours, the movement also have a flying tourbillon with do...

Why The A. Lange & Söhne Tourbillon Pour Le Mérite Is One Of The Most Historically Important Modern Wristwatches – Reprise

Why is this timepiece important from a holistic view of horological history? The reasons are manifold and include the unheard-of technology nestled within its movement, the audacity of a German newcomer in challenging Swiss status quo, and the symbolic value for A. Lange & Söhne's rebirth as well as the golden age of mechanical timepieces.

H. Moser & Cie. Introduces the Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack

Debuted just two years ago, the Streamliner was Moser’s first try at an integrated-bracelet sports watch and it was a success. With its distinctive case and bracelet, the Streamliner is very much a watch that caters to the tastes of today, which has unsurprisingly made it the brand’s bestseller. The latest in the line up, however, is a change in tone. With a dial that’s minimalist as usual, the Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack is unabashedly extravagant in 18k red gold from end to end, putting it in stark contrast with the uniformly steel Streamliners that came before. Initial thoughts The best part of the latest Streamliner is its design, which manages to blend several elements in a coherent manner: luxury, mechanical complexity, and of course simplicity. With this new launch, the Streamliner is finally available in gold. While all past models were in steel, the Streamliner Tourbillon is surprisingly attractive despite being so different. In fact, the case and bracelet are arguably made even more compelling in precious metal, since the material lends the watch both heft and elegance, while the glow of the rosy metal brings out the surface finish. In contrast to the extravagant case and bracelet, the dial is spare and contrasts well against the gold case. Coated in Vantablack, an ultra-black substance, the dial is sparsely furnished with plain hour markers and no minute track, making it the simplest amongst the Streamliner collection. That said, the rounded hands a...

Introducing: Seeing Red Gold With The H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack (Live Pics and Pricing)

Plus the flyest flying tourbillon.

New: Bianchet Tourbillon B1.618 Openwork Orange Carbon

Another newish (est 2017) independent brand Bianchet releases a new version of their only watch - the Tourbillon B1.618 now in Orange Openwork.

Introducing the H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack®

Up Close: Franc Vila FVF1 C2 Tourbillon Superligero

Short for “Franc Vila Founder”, FVF is a tale of redemption. Founded by the namesake designer, FVF is the second act of the Spanish watch designer, one he embarked on after his first went off the rails as many independent watch brands tend to do. FVF’s inaugural watch is the FVF1 C2 Tourbillon Superligero. It’s an original look and at a glance there’s nothing linking it to the creations of the original Franc Vila brand – a good thing in my estimation. But look closely and hints of the earlier designs emerge. Most importantly the FVF1 reveals itself as an impressively executed watch – the movement has an interesting construction, excellent finishing, and an original aesthetic. Mr Vila has made his comeback in style. NB: The watch pictured is a prototype that’s been worn so it shows wear. The FVF1 has a flying tourbillon, roller day indicator, day and night display, and a 100-hour power reserve Rising from the ashes Born in Valencia but now a longtime resident of Switzerland, Mr Vila founded his namesake brand in 2005 and rode the wave that buoyed modern, flamboyant independent watchmaking for the next decade or so. Propelled by Mr Vila’s convivial personality, Franc Vila became one of the hot brands of the era. During those heady days, it could sell several dozen tourbillons and minute repeaters a year, making it one of the top clients of now-defunct complications specialist BNB Concept. A classic from the original Franc Vila brand, the Tourbillon Planèta...

Watch Of The Week: Ming's First Tourbillon Reminds Me How Much I've Grown

My love for watches has sent me down paths I never expected – this Ming is at the center of it all.

H. Moser & Cie. Introduces the Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon “Cortina Watch”

A great deal of meaning is placed on anniversaries in watchmaking and Cortina Watch is celebrating its Golden Jubilee in 2022 with a slew of limited edition watches and a very special clock. The latest timepiece for the Singapore retailer’s milestone anniversary is the H. Moser & Cie. Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton “Cortina Watch 50th Anniversary”. A variant of the Endeavour tourbillon, this 10-piece limited edition watch features the brand’s signature fumé dial in blue, along with a one-minute flying tourbillon equipped with an uncommon cylindrical hairspring.  Initial thoughts The watch combines the elegant and minimal design typical of Moser with the more contemporary that results from the cleanly open-worked movement. And despite being based on an existing model that was just introduced in March of this year, the Cortina edition is still impressive, largely thanks to the skeletonised movement. The cylindrical hairspring maybe be an anachronistic novelty rather than a practical innovation, but one that is rare in modern watchmaking, visually interesting, and historically significant, being rooted in 19th century marine chronometers. Moser aesthetics At 42 mm in diameter, the Cortina edition has the same dimensions as the standard model in white gold. In contrast, the Cortina version is in 18k red gold. Time is indicated on a domed sub-dial at 12 o’clock with the graduated “Funky Blue” finish that is synonymous with Moser. But unlike most othe...

Five more tourbillons from our list – this time, a bit more wallet friendly

As we hinted in our list from last Sunday's top tier tourbillons, we will be recommending six more this week with a somewhat more friendly budget.