Tourbillon Watches · Page 8

Girard-Perregaux Chimes the Time In-House

Girard-Perregaux (GP) is starting the year with an ambitious new calibre inside the Minute Repeater Flying Bridges, the in-house GP9530. Also equipped with a tourbillon, the symmetrical, skeleton movement is a micro-rotor automatic, making for an exciting pairing of complications. Notably, even during GP’s heyday as a manufacture, it depended on specialists for its repeater movements. The GP9530 is the brand’s first in-house minuter repeating calibre (though it does borrow from an earlier striking movement created with the help of a complications specialist). The strikework is exposed on the dial, while the reverse reveals the winding mechanism under circular bridges. Initial thoughts In the past couple of years GP has been slowly making a comeback, after a few slow years, as a serious and motivated manufacture. The comeback started with the release of the reworked constant-force escapement and accelerated with last year’s unveiling of the workhorse GP4800 and the GP9620 skeleton tourbillon. This is in some ways a return to form. Historically GP was a powerhouse in this respect, making complicated movements under its own name as well as supplying movements, both complex and simple, to other high-end brands. At that time, however, GP still did source repeater movements from the likes of Christophe Claret. In time, the evolution of the industry reduced the need for such outsourced movements, and the marquee’s lustre dulled. The Minute Repeater Flying Bridges and its ...

Otsuka Lotec Introduces the No. 8, a New Design Inspired by Abbey Road Mixing Consoles Featuring Jumping Hour and Retrograde Minute Displays

Otsuka Lotec has emerged as one of the most exciting Japanese independent brands, a corner of the enthusiast world that is greatly expanding at the moment. Otsuka Lotec has found a niche with (mostly) affordable watches with a steampunk aesthetic, with lots of exposed gearing and an overtly mechanical look and feel. I’m an owner of the No. 5 Kai, and it’s one of the most satisfying watches in my collection – there’s really nothing else quite like it, at least under $10,000. Prior to this week, the latest release from the brand was an ultra high end complicated piece with a tourbillon and chiming mechanism with a retail price soaring into the low six figures, but they’ve returned to earth with the all new No. 8, which once again combines complications unexpectedly and gives the wearer a unique view of the mechanism inside.  Like the haute horlogerie adjacent No. 9 linked above, the No. 8 features a square case fashioned from stainless steel. Time is read via a jumping hour display on the left side of the dial, and a retrograde minute display on the right (there is also a running seconds indicator at roughly the 12:00 position). Figuring out how to read the time when you first encounter a watch like this is part of the fun, but once you grasp what’s going on, it’s quite intuitive. The current hour and minute are easy to see at a glance if you look for the red indicators that correspond to each. A video posted on Otsuka Lotec’s YouTube channel makes the drama...

A Wishlist for Watches & Wonders 2026

Each year I find it surprisingly difficult to crystalise what I want to see from Watches & Wonders – perhaps I find it hard to hope for things I know will never come. Sometimes dreams aren’t logistically possible. For example, a compact Spring Drive chronograph probably isn’t reasonable given Grand Seiko already has its hands full scaling production of another new Spring Drive movement. At other times, imagination is bound by brand strategy: Cartier could easily steal the show with a quartz Crash Must priced along the same lines as a Tank Must – but never will. But I believe that the following watches, which I’d like to see from Patek Philippe, Grand Seiko and Credor, and Tudor are plausible enough to hope for. The following images were created without the use of generative AI. Patek Philippe In 2023, Patek Philippe launched the ref. 5316/50P, a minute repeating tourbillon with retrograde perpetual calendar and smoked sapphire dial. It remains among the brand’s best complicated offerings, other than the ref. 6301p, at least in my view. Last year Patek Philippe followed up with the ref. 6159G, which featured a smoked sapphire dial and the same perpetual calendar on a more pedestrian base movement. But if there is one reference more deserving of the smoked sapphire treatment than any other, it is the ref. 5236p in-line perpetual calendar, as imagined below in platinum. In 2021, Patek Philippe revived the historic in-line perpetual calendar, which is strongly asso...

You know you’ve got a problem when your obsession with watches influences your car purchasing decisions

Both Jamie and Borna have ended up buying cars that have a unique connection to the world of watches (and they're not Bugatti Tourbillons).The post You know you’ve got a problem when your obsession with watches influences your car purchasing decisions appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

The Dancing Cage: 10 Best Tourbillon Watches

In my experience, few things in high-end watchmaking catch the eye like the tourbillon. Its hypnotic motion is mesmerising, turning timekeeping into a visual performance. The post The Dancing Cage: 10 Best Tourbillon Watches appeared first on Quill & Pad.

Moser’s Streamliner Goes All-Ceramic for the First Time

H. Moser & Cie. dips its toes into ceramic for the first time with the Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic, a bold watch that blends an original design with the high-tech proprieties of ceramic. Despite being a variation of a well-known model at its core, the new Streamliner is unexpectedly different and appealing, especially with a hand-finished ceramic bracelet, an unusual feature even in its segment. Initial thoughts The use of ceramic materials in watches is no longer a novelty. The inert and hard material is appealing for its near-invulnerability to scratches and high tech feel. Ceramics are typically employed for either for aesthetic or technical purposes, but usually for watch cases, while ceramic bracelets are almost exclusively the preserve of large brands that can afford working with the hard-to-machine material.  Though still a niche brand, H. Moser & Cie.’s bestselling Streamliner is dressed entirely in ceramic, with a ceramic case paired with a ceramic bracelet. An all-ceramic bracelet is a rare sight from a brand of Moser’s scale. The matte, brushed finish of the ceramic exterior is at the opposite end of the colour spectrum compared with the bright red yet minimalist dial, giving this the signature Moser look. The granular, glossy finish of the fired enamel dial contrast and complements the matte, stealthy sheen of ceramic.   The watch is paradoxical in some ways. Pairing Moser’s first ceramic case and bracelet with a tourbillon is somewhat incong...

New: H. Moser Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic

Moser releases their first ever watch with a ceramic case, and they chose to launch this on the Streamliner Tourbillon Concept.

Buying Guide - Honouring the Tourbillon with Six Showstoppers

Since its invention by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801, the tourbillon has remained one of the most mesmerising mechanisms in watchmaking. Often regarded as a complication in its own right, despite not actually indicating anything most of the time, it is a very complex and extremely precise testament to the maker’s abilities, whoever it is. Rotating […]

Hands-on - The Superb Moritz Grossmann Tourbillon in Titanium

The tourbillon… is it a visual stunt or a useful component? If you chose to put one in a watch to do the work it was designed to do, you might as well keep it hidden. If the purpose is to mesmerise the onlooker with its rhythmic ballet, make it big, make it seen, so […]

Introducing: Richard Mille's RM 41-01 Tourbillon Is A Soccer Timer Done In The Brand's Quintessential Way: Extreme

Richard Mille doesn't do half measures, so while you can get soccer timers from other brands, you can't get anything close to this.

Introducing: The H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic

The brand explores ceramic cases and bracelets for the first time in this new take on the Streamliner, pairing grey ceramic with an eye-catching red dial.

H. Moser Introduces their First Ceramic Watch, the Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic

When it comes to high end watches, we all have our little rabbit holes that we’re particularly and endlessly fascinated by. For me, H. Moser tourbillons have been points of obsession since the first time I encountered one. There’s something about Moser’s contemporary approach to design acting as a counterpoint to the classical way a tourbillon is typically executed that I find really appealing. One of my favorite experiences reviewing a watch remains my time with the Streamliner Tourbillon Vantablack, which is certainly the most insane thing I’ve ever been trusted with for a watch review, and for sentimental reasons as well as just being an incredibly impressive piece of horological art, it’s probably among my favorite watches of all time.  Today Moser launches a new tourbillon, in a new material, that has me thinking of that solid gold, Vantablack Streamliner once again. The Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic is the brand’s first ever watch in ceramic, and returns to the “Concept” dial format, something that inspires many hot takes on Instagram, but is a style I’ve always loved.  The Streamliner is Moser’s sportiest watch, so it makes sense they’d debut an inherently sporty material on this platform. The 40mm case and bracelet are made entirely of ceramic in an anthracite gray color, and surfaces have been given a combination of satin finishing and polishing. Getting the finishing right on a high end ceramic watch is where the real “flex” i...

New: Girard-Perregaux La Esmeralda Tourbillon “A Secret” Eternity Edition

Girard-Perregaux celebrates the Year of the Horse with an interesting watch they christened as the La Esmeralda Tourbillon "A Secret" Eternity Edition.

Introducing - H. Moser & Cie. Releases its First Ceramic Model with the Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic

In just six years, H. Moser & Cie.’s fluid Streamliner luxury sports watch collection with integrated bracelets has grown exponentially. An indication of the roadmap Moser envisioned for the Streamliner, the first model of 2020 featured a sophisticated flyback chronograph. Now home to models ranging from central seconds to perpetual calendars and from small seconds […]

H. Moser & Cie. Joins The Ceramic Crew - Introducing The Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic

Ceramic watches have been around for ages. The high-tech material with remarkable qualities and an unmistakable appearance has a significant fan base, and plenty of brands recognize that. Not Moser. The brand from Schaffhausen, known for its unconventional ways, never ventured into the world of ceramic watches until now. But the retro-futuristic H. Moser & […] Visit H. Moser & Cie. Joins The Ceramic Crew - Introducing The Streamliner Tourbillon Concept Ceramic to read the full article.

Introducing - Girard-Perregaux Pays Tribute to the Year of the Horse with a Special La Esmeralda Tourbillon

Since yesterday, China has started the New Year festivities, celebrating the Year of the Horse. Like every year, we’re seeing watch brands launching dedicated limited editions, as listed here. A bit late to the show, Girard-Perregaux is presenting its own take on the concept. But what the brand has done is, undoubtedly, the most exclusive horse-themed […]

Introducing - The New Horage Molokini GMT Diver Collection

Founded by Andreas Felsl and Tzuyu Huang in 2007, Horage approached watchmaking from an unconventional angle: rather than starting with design and sourcing movements, the company began by developing in-house calibres. Now Horage has a portfolio built around modular movement families, the automatic K1, the micro-rotor K2, the K-TOU with a tourbillon regulator and K-TMR […]

Hands On: Daniel Roth Extra Plat Skeleton Rose Gold

Daniel Roth announced a subtle shift in its direction with the recent Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton. While the brand’s prior models like the tourbillon were essentially remakes of models made by the brand in the 1990s, the Extra Plat skeleton is an entirely new model that shares practically nothing with historical designs save for the case shape. Because the Extra Plat skeleton is, well, skeleton, it ably shows off the quality of execution on both sides. Beyond finishing, the movement also stands out for details that illustrate the taste of its constructor(s). It’s telling that the movement could have been done more simply without anyone noticing, but it wasn’t. Initial thoughts Daniel Roth’s resurrection got off to a strong start, underpinned by watches with top quality execution. The initial models, however, were remakes of 1990s originals. A brand with Daniel Roth’s ambitions (and well-resourced backer) won’t go very far with only replicas of historical models. The Extra Plat Skeleton illustrates the people behind the brand understand that. The Extra Plat Skeleton, in contrast, is the first all-new model rolled out by Daniel Roth in its current form. It encapsulates all of the strengths of the brand, namely the capable, high-end watchmaking of La Fabrique du Temps (LFT) and the distinctive double-ellipse case. While the Extra Plat Skeleton is powered by a movement derived from that in the Extra Plat, it is clearly a different calibre. And because the movemen...

New: Henri Grandjean Magician

The return of a legend. Henri Grandjean, now re-established as an independent watchmaker with a new triple axis tourbillon which they call the Magician.

Introducing: Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon In Titanium With A Red Dial

A new look to a classic, very hot watch from Vacheron Constantin.

Arnold & Son: From Marine Chronometers to Constant-Force Tourbillons

Vacheron Constantin Introduces A New Overseas Tourbillon In Titanium With A Deep Red Dial

Vacheron Constantin unveils a new Overseas Tourbillon model with a captivating deep red sunburst dial. The aperture at 6 o’clock provides an unobstructed view of the tourbillon regulator, with the 22K gold peripheral rotor allowing light through the case back’s sapphire display. This model is the third iteration of the Overseas Tourbillon in a Grade […] Visit Vacheron Constantin Introduces A New Overseas Tourbillon In Titanium With A Deep Red Dial to read the full article.

Three New “Codes” To Crack: Two 38mm Code 11.59 By Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Watches And One 41mm Tourbillon

Let bygones be bygones. When the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet collection debuted in January 2019 at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), the reception was mixed, to put it mildly. Since then, the collection has evolved and become increasingly refined. The upgrade that won me over was the elaborate stamped dial that […] Visit Three New “Codes” To Crack: Two 38mm Code 11.59 By Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Watches And One 41mm Tourbillon to read the full article.

Introducing - The Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon

In recent years, Audemars Piguet has decisively refined the Code 11.59 collection, transforming it into a serious platform for contemporary haute horlogerie. For 2026, the brand unveils a fresh interpretation of the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon, now with an ivory-toned signature dial and a sophisticated mix of white gold and black […]