Revolution
Carole Forestier-Kasapi, director of fine watchmaking at Cartier has been an industry trailblazer since her tenure at Ulysse Nardin. Having overseen the high profile ID concept watch project, Forestier-Kasapi has addressed some of haute horology’s nagging issues namely- lubrication and energy loss in geared movements. Since production of the exemplary Cartier Astrotourbillon and the Rotonde […]
Revolution
“I’ve heard tell what you imagine sometimes comes true” – Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Of all the complicated watches I’ve owned or worn - despite the varying claims of their makers that their dual oscillators, tourbillons, double tourbillons, resonance, triple tourbillons, constant-force mechanism, chain and fusée, ultra-light honeycomb baseplates and so on, […]
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The Lange Tourbograph is one of my favourite watches of all time…the complication is exquisite…a fusee chain tourbillon with split seconds chronograph. Created initially to be launched in 1994 together with the other iconic timepieces to showcase the new A. Lange & Sohne, this watch was so complicated, that it was decided to delay theRead More
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Presenting the Harry Winston Historie de Tourbillon 1, the first in a series of watches which in the maison's mind are the landmarks of the tourbillon.
Revolution
With all that he’s achieved on the movement front: the world’s lightest mechanical watch movements (tourbillons, no less, created with I-beam aluminum-lithium bridges), the first carbon-nanofiber and titanium baseplates, the first movement designed after the steel trellis frame of a Ducati motorcycle, the first movement with an orthorhombic-titanium-aluminide baseplate, inspired by the honeycomb inner structure […]
Revolution
It’s an uncanny thing about every new Piaget creation, how they all instantly seem to just belong. Even when it comes to the most novel of novelties from the brand, look away for a scant minute and once you turn your attention back to them, it’s hard to imagine a time when they weren’t a […]
Revolution
The Louis Moinet Vertalis Tourbillon “Red Stromatolite” Whatever your spiritual beliefs, there is near-universal agreement that the spirit is but a brief tenant in the body, and even today, to live out one’s biblical assurance of threescore and ten years is to consider oneself relatively lucky. We unhappy mortals, therefore, are like to surround ourselves […]
Revolution
The Rotonde De Cartier Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon Cartier has, over its 108-year history with the men’s wristwatch, occasionally produced some visually and aurally arousing timepieces. One such watch, a magnificent yellow-gold Tortue minute repeater from the 1920s, was proudly on display during the brand’s Time Art exhibition in Singapore, which traced its history in […]
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Glashutte Original is one of the few truly self sustaining watchmakers in the industry. The value addition and self reliance was born out of neccessity, when they operated as GUB during the GDR times. And continued to the modern GO re-founded by Pfeiffer in the early 1990s. For BaselWorld 2012, GO announced a very complicatedRead More
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Francois Paul Journe. A talented watchmaker. I had the pleasure of meeting with FP way back when he was yet a nobody…and had just made his first tourbillon remontoir d’egalité. The original looked like it was made in his garage, and indeed it was. But recently, I had the pleasure of spending a week withRead More
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When Breguet announced the Double Tourbillon in , I was skeptical. Skeptical because it sounded more like a showoff watch than one which has true horological significance and beauty. But recently, I was reacquainted with the 5347, and came away quite impressed. Breguet Classique Double Tourbillon Ref. 5347 The watch features a double tourbillon, eachRead More
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Exclusive pictures of the Stainless Steel Lange Tourbillon “Pour le Merite” In the early days of the manufacture, the leadership of the company, principally Mr Gunter Blumlein made some difficult decisions to make special edition watches for special customers…he subsequently stopped this practice, as it creates considerable headaches for the company to dedicate resources toRead More
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Greubel Forsey’s continued exploration of the tourbillon is a fascinating one. Incline double tourbillons, quadruple tourbillons, inventions with tourbillons, secrets with tourbillon, and now a GMT with a 3 dimensional rotating globe with an incline double tourbillon. So they take their wonderful 24 incline tourbillon, moved things around a bit, so as to createRead More
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Laurent Ferrier is a very small firm based in Geneva. They practically burst into the scene with a ultra classical watch featuring a tourbillon and immaculate finishing in 2010. That was the Galet Tourbillon. They added a peek-a-boo style dial to the Galet in 2011. And this year, they introduced the Micro Rotor –Read More
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Up close and personal with the Girard Perregaux Esmeralda, pocket watch with three golden bridges. I reported on the remake of the famous Tourbillon with 3 golden bridges pocket watch some time ago during the exhibition of the GP treasures in Singapore. What I did not say then, was I was privillaged to be allowedRead More
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Roger Dubuis Excalibur Skeleton Double Tourbillon. Interesting watch. I was commissioned to photograph this watch for Revolution Magazine. The final approved photographs appeared in Revolution Asia 28. The electronic version is available for free download of Revolution magazine issue 28 here. I photographed the watch with my trusty Hasselblad H3D-39 with the HC 4/120 macro.Read More
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Parmigiani Fleurier Pershing Tourbillon One of the watches which caught my jaded eyes last year (2011) was the Parmigiani Fleurier Pershing Tourbillon with open work dial. Beautifully finished, fully in-house production (movement, dial, case, finishing all done within the company) Parmigiani is an amazing company. Started by watchmaking genius Michel Parmigiani some 30 years agoRead More
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As promised on Friday, here are the high resolution photographs of what was to me, the highlight of the show. The historically important Esmeralda, a wonderfully decorated, beautifully restored pocket watch tourbillon with three golden bridges. Historically important Girard Perregaux Pocket Watch with Three Golden Bridges And to give a flavour and spice to theRead More
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I was invited to view a very exclusive mobile phone…with built in pocket watch with a tourbillon, crafted in titanium. A lot of thought has gone into this phone…though the mobile technology is not really state of the art, the completeness of the thinking behind the idea is amazing. Built like a clamshell phone…vaguely familiarRead More
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On Monday I showed the beautiful rose gold final version of the Jaeger LeCoultre Gyro Tourbillon. Today is another, arguably even more interesting, and certainly more complicated JLC timepiece. The aptly named Grande Tradition Grand Complication. The dial is an amazingly beautiful blue, engraved with the stars and firmament, the flying tourbillon makes its wayRead More
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Jaeger LeCoultre has been pushing the envelope of high horology for some time. With the Gyrotourbillon announced in 2004. The original series is produced in a platinum case, and I had the opportunity to photograph and view the final run of 30 pieces in rose gold. The Gyrotourbillon has grown more beautiful in its newRead More
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I wrote about Laurent Ferrier’s Gallet Tourbillon before. See this post for the earlier post. I caught up with Laurent and his crew in Geneva during the recent GTE where he was showing a peek-a-boo dial…which features a fan shaped opening on the dial which opens to reveal a favourite picture…painted by no other thanRead More
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Hublot is an amazing company…in the early days, they pushed innovation with scented rubber straps…which even today, is an interesting concept. But since Jean Claude Biver, the marketing supermo who started Blancpain in the 80s started to helm the company, it took off. Literally. Jean Claude introduced the concept of fusion…the fusion of old andRead More
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Greubel Forsey is one of the independent watchmakers to watch…they are very innovative, and creates timepieces which are wonderful to the eye…like landscapes…and fully deserve what I call watchscapes…landscapes of watches. Started by two veterans from Renaud et Papi – the firm bears the name of the founders…Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey. Robert is French,Read More
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