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Tourbillon Watches · Page 53

Up Close: Franc Vila FVF1 C2 Tourbillon Superligero SJX Watches
Aug 18, 2022

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...

H. Moser & Cie. Introduces the Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon “Cortina Watch” SJX Watches
Aug 8, 2022

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...

Patek Philippe Shows Off Its 2021 Rare Handcrafts Featuring Sky Moon Tourbillon, Minute Repeater QP, Golden Ellipse, Ladies First, And Nautilus Watches - Reprise Quill & Pad
Aug 7, 2022

Patek Philippe Shows Off Its 2021 Rare Handcrafts Featuring Sky Moon Tourbillon, Minute Repeater QP, Golden Ellipse, Ladies First, And Nautilus Watches - Reprise

In 2021, Patek Philippe drew attention to the decorative arts that help make its watches so exceptional, further staking claim in the preservation of many of the traditional skills and techniques that date to the manufacture’s roots. The manufacture introduced six versions of familiar watch models that highlight Patek Philippe's Rare Handcrafts.

Introducing: The Legacy Machine Perpetual From MB&F; Hodinkee
Jul 14, 2022

Introducing: The Legacy Machine Perpetual From MB&F;

Max Büsser and his cohorts at his horological think tank, MB&F, have, without question, created a bewildering variety of watches over the years that have used horology as a jumping off point for the exploration of a highly idiosyncratic vocabulary of watchmaking, in which mechanics put themselves at the service of an aesthetics that freely mingles everything from pop culture to science fiction to sometimes alarming arachnomorphism, and beyond. However, what MB&F thus far has largely not addressed itself to is the world of traditional complications – other than the tourbillon, used by MB&F for its aesthetic impact, you will look in vain for anything beyond a simple calendar or a moonphase. Now, however, MB&F and Büsser have gotten into the complications game in a big way: they’ve launched their own perpetual calendar, and, what’s more, they’ve done so with an in-house movement, with a variation on the perpetual calendar mechanism unlike anything we’ve seen so far.

Greubel Forsey Introduces the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture SJX Watches
Jul 5, 2022

Greubel Forsey Introduces the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture

Greubel Forsey’s house style is often contemporary in design but traditional in decoration and construction, an approach best embodied by its watches with an open-worked movement for the dial. Now the brand has reimagined its usually classical movement aesthetic and combined it with a sleek and sharp case to create the Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture. While the Architecture is fundamentally an iteration of the brand’s fastest-rotating and inclined tourbillon, it is powered by an all-new movement with swooping bridges and satisfyingly sharp lines. And the new calibre is contained within a sleek titanium case with an integrated strap, one no doubt inspired by its bestselling sports watches. Initial thoughts When I first saw images of the watch, my instinctive reaction was that it lived up to the name – it is impressive and architectural. I like the complex forms within the movement, which creates immense depth while also being slightly organic thanks to the curved, polished bridges. And the streamlined case is impressively detailed, especially on its flanks and edges. In fact, the Architecture is a major step forward over its predecessors in terms of architecture, no pun intend, in how it creates a strikingly more modern aesthetic for the movement while preserving the signature Greubel Forsey elements like the enormous bridge for the canon pinion that holds the hands or the jewels in chatons. One ingredient of its successful architecture is the shrewd and genero...

Behind The Lens: Beat Haldimann H1 Flying Central Tourbillon - Reprise Quill & Pad
Jun 25, 2022

Behind The Lens: Beat Haldimann H1 Flying Central Tourbillon - Reprise

In GaryG's view, every successful independent watchmaker has elements of a “house style” that may attract some buyers and put off others, but nonetheless set them apart. And, at the highest level, this style goes beyond “branding” to become an expression of the personality and artistic vision of the creator. Beat Haldimann and his small team distinguish themselves by focusing on technical virtuosity of the highest order as typified by the Haldimann H1 Flying Central Tourbillon.

INTRODUCING: The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “AMG ONE OWNERS” Time+Tide
Jun 17, 2022

INTRODUCING: The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “AMG ONE OWNERS”

If you’ve ever been catching some public transport and spotted someone wearing a six-figure luxury watch, you know the feeling of seeing something extraordinary in an ordinary context. The Mercedes-AMG ONE is possibly the most extreme example of this concept - a hypercar using Formula 1 technology to achieve over 1000 horsepower in a street-legal … ContinuedThe post INTRODUCING: The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Constant-Force Tourbillon Edition “AMG ONE OWNERS” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

INTERVIEW: Takuma Kawauchiya unpacks the wonders of the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon Time+Tide
Jun 12, 2022

INTERVIEW: Takuma Kawauchiya unpacks the wonders of the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon

With hair neatly parted and pocket square cheekily stuffed into his breast pocket, Takuma Kawauchiya doesn’t look like a former guitarist in a rock band that once toured around the world. But music’s loss has been the watch world’s gain in a very big way. The Grand Seiko R&D engineer and watchmaker is responsible for the T0 Constant … ContinuedThe post INTERVIEW: Takuma Kawauchiya unpacks the wonders of the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant Force Tourbillon appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

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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