rand Siècle, majestic, plain and unadorned, transparent, integrated or disintegrated, floating, aquatic, aerial, centred, off-centre or multiple – in one single horological season, more forms have been invented than between the time of the tourbillon’s original invention by Breguet in 1801 and the renaissance of mechanical watches in the late 1980s, in other words virtually two centuries. And the pace is not abating. Even its relative democratisation has scarcely dented the tourbillon’s aura. Its importance no longer lies in its regulatory function (which, as we have known for a long time, is useless in a wristwatch), but in the scope it affords for expression. A tourbillon lends itself to every configuration.

Constantly advancing design and 3D visualisation tools also play a role here. When are we going to see the first tourbillon dreamed up and designed by Artificial Intelligence, we might ask ourselves? In the meantime, tourbillons continue to strut their stuff. In one single horological season, more forms have been invented than between the time of the tourbillon’s original invention by Breguet in 1801 and the renaissance of mechanical watches in the late 1980s

In one single horological season, more forms have been invented than between the time of the tourbillon’s original invention by Breguet in 1801 and the renaissance of mechanical watches in the late 1980s

BOVET 1822 AMADEO FLEURIER 45

A seven-day skeleton tourbillon with reversed hand-fitting, the Amadeo Fleurier Amadeo is entirely skeletonised by the watchmakers themselves, who incorporated their own technical constraints into its execution; the engravers then incorporated their “fleurisanne” engravings. Taking pride of place at 6 o’clock, the tourbillon occupies the space with majesty, as if beneath the sculpted, emblazoned pediment of some grand and noble abode. From 100,000 to 200,000$.

F.P. JOURNE TOURBILLON SOUVERAIN RÉGENCE CIRCULAIRE

François-Paul Journe confidently affirms that his Tourbillon Souverain, with its “constant force” winding system and a rare dead-beat seconds system, is “thanks to its chronometric performance, the most accurate on the market today”. In this model, the F.P. Journe 1403 Calibre is presented on a dial in handengraved white gold with the Régence Circulaire geometric pattern. You can’t get much more classical than this throwback to the Regency style of the eighteenth century, which in the eyes of the Geneva-based watchmaker represents, stylistically and technically, the “golden age of time measurement”. From 100,000 to 200,000$

HARRY WINSTON HISTOIRE DE TOURBILLON 9

This triaxial tourbillon is the ninth iteration of a “history” that began back in 2009, under a previous ruler, but which has been faithfully continued by Nayla Hayek. Histoire de Tourbillon has already supplied numerous exploded, strange, off-centre and quirky double or triple-tourbillon variations. But the ninth chapter of these exercises in style and watchmaking skill is, for once, much more classic in appearance. It showcases the triple rotating cage suspended in a shaft of light. Ceding the best place to the tourbillon, the jumping hours and dragging minutes are retrograde and occupy the upper section of the openworked dial. Price on request

A. LANGE & SÖHNE TOURBILLON ENAMEL

The new white enamel dial adds the perfect finishing touch to the 1815 Tourbillon! First issued in 2014, it is emblematic of the horological approach of this Saxon watchmaker. Technically faultless, with a stop-second feature and reset which is accurate to the second, what renders it sublime is its indisputably excellent finish and almost clinical legibility. The white enamel perfectly sets off the complexity and density of the tourbillon’s architecture. From 200,000 to 500,000$

BREGUET CLASSIQUE TOURBILLON EXTRA-PLAT AUTOMATIQUE 5367

Simplicity is the essence of true classicism: this timepiece is reduced to its simplest expression and displays nothing but the essential in the most minimal way possible: hours, minutes, a tourbillon cage with a small-seconds dial, Breguet numerals, and blued hands on a grand feu enamelled dial. What more is there to say. From 100,000 to 200,000$

CARL F. BUCHERER MANERO TOURBILLON DOUBLE PERIPHERAL

A large tourbillon beats majestically at 12 o’clock, occupying the entire upper section of an unadorned dial devoted solely to its function of telling the time. But on the back, the movement is fully exposed thanks to the peripheral winding mass. Thus viewed from below, the tourbillon’s cage appears as if unattached and suspended vertiginously in space, rotating freely. In actual fact, it is driven peripherally by three ceramic ballbearings. This is the first time that a peripheral automatic winding system and a peripherally mounted tourbillon have come together in one watch. A certified chronometer with a stopseconds function, the CFB T3000 was developed from start to finish by the watchmaker’s own engineers and watchmakers. From 50,000 to 100,000$

LOUIS VUITTON MONTRE TAMBOUR MOON MYSTÉRIEUSE TOURBILLON VOLANT

Aligned vertically from 12 to 6 o’clock, a coaxial double barrel – concealed beneath a Monogram flower – the wheels for the hours and minutes and the flying tourbillon carriage hover. This gossamer-light ensemble floats in space, the effect reinforced by the absence of any connection between the winding crown and the double barrel. This trompe-l’oeil effect is achieved thanks to two sapphire discs using the now proven principle of the mysterious movement, subtly adapted by La Fabrique du Temps. From 200,000 to 500,000$

GIBERG NIURA

The first watch from the stone-setter and goldsmith Andreas Altmann, this tourbillon is also a genuine, rare horological gem. At the centre lies its driving force, the Giberg Tourbillon Volant Trilevis 6118 manufacture calibre, a flying, double-barrel tourbillon that displays the hours and the minutes and has a power reserve of 72 hours. But it is so closely integrated into the structure that surrounds it that the watch takes second place to the jewellery. From 200,000 to 500,000$

DAVID CANDAUX 1740 HALF HUNTER TOURBILLON

Providing excellent protection for the dial glass, hands and movement from shocks under extreme conditions, “Half- Hunter” was the nickname of these antique captain’s watches partially encased in metal, allowing only portholes for viewing the required indications. David Candaux reinterprets this model in a resolutely contemporary manner, by inserting a twice-inclined tourbillon beneath one porthole, and beneath the other a domed dial displaying the hours and minutes. Designed, built and decorated by the hand of a master. From 200,000 to 500,000$

RICHARD MILLE RM 71-01 TOURBILLON AUTOMATIQUE TALISMAN

Here, the ultra-technical character of Richard Mille watches is combined with the jeweller’s art. Not simply by setting it with stones, but thanks to a close technical, architectural and visual dialogue between the two. With Talisman, Richard Mille is displaying the “new impetus of the brand towards the feminine world”, a market in which he intends to invest. His director of Ladies’ Collections, Cécile Guénat, is the linchpin of this rapprochement, which makes no concessions to mechanical considerations: Talisman is thus the brand’s first automatic tourbillon, while exalting its jewellery credentials. From 200,000 to 500,000$

MECCANICHE VELOCI ICON TOURBILLON

Known for its multiple time zone Quattro Valvole watches and their dials divided into four distinct subdials, here Meccaniche Veloci presents its first tourbillon in this configuration. The tourbillon occupies one of the portholes, while the three others show three different time zones – one way of showing that a tourbillon can be adapted to suit every possible configuration and style. Even the most disruptive. From 50,000 to 100,000$

HYSEK IO SKELETON CENTRAL TOURBILLON

Set out like an amphitheatre that converges towards the central arena where the tourbillon rotates, the architecture of the IO tells the time in apertures starting from the top and leading intuitively from the hour to the minutes, then to the seconds of the flying tourbillon. But to display hours and minutes in an aperture calls for discs that rotate beneath the dial. These, entirely blanked and driven peripherally, are concealed beneath a fine, semi-transparent matrix above the skeletonised movement, which is driven by a micro-rotor. From 100,000 to 200,000$

HUBLOT BIG BANG TOURBILLON SAPPHIRE

The caseband, bezel and case back are cut from a sapphire block; there are no bridges: just a tourbillon lug, also in sapphire, and a fully skeletonised movement. Even the strap is in transparent rubber – in fact everything has been done to make this Big Bang as transparent as possible. “Sapphire opens up endless possibilities,” claims Ricardo Guadalupe, Hublot’s CEO, who talks of “crystalline mechanics”. From 100,000 to 200,000$

REBELLION WEAP-ONE ASYMMETRICAL FLYING TOURBILLON

This watch features a flying tourbillon suspended between the hour and minute rollers, all housed in a detachable sapphire tube so the watch can also be used as a mini desk clock. The multi-axis tourbillon is suspended between two rotating plates, with one turning in 60 seconds and the other turning in 30. The double rotating axis creates asymmetrical movement in the tourbillon in all positions. The innovative design is the brainchild of Concepto and Fabrice Gonet. From 200,000 to 500,000$

BULGARI OCTO TOURBILLON SAPPHIRE

This unique skeletonised watch literally glows, with the calibre’s bridges serving as hour markers. The bridges are both functional and decorative, coming in a luminescent blue that lights up at night and covering the flying tourbillon cage located at 6 o’clock. Another point of interest: pressing the crown displays a red dot in an aperture at 3 o’clock, signalling that the watch is in timesetting mode. Press again to turn time setting mode off and the red dot will disappear. From 50,000 to 100,000$

KERBEDANZ MAXIMUS

A new black version of “the biggest tourbillon in the world” (27 mm in diameter) features on this wristwatch. The super-size tourbillon is covered by a curved glass dome and rotates every six minutes (not every 60 seconds). The moment of inertia of the balance wheel is very high, ensuring a high rate of stability. Another interesting aspect of this watch is that the wearer has to rotate the case back to wind the four barrels that power the watch. From 100,000 to 200,000$

MB&F HM7 HOROLOGICAL MACHINE NO. 7 AQUAPOD FLYING TOURBILLON

The original design inspired by the radially symmetrical shape of jellyfish came out in 2017. This year’s version is in titanium with a green sapphire crystal bezel. The organic 3D design is dominated in the centre by a flying tourbillon. Like all diving watches, it features a rotating bezel, in this model in the form of a lifebuoy. While the watch can be worn in the water (watertight up to 5 atm), it is not suitable for deep sea diving. Like many jellyfish, the watch glows in the dark and three panels illuminate the tourbillon by night. From 100,000 to 200,000$

TAG HEUER CARRERA CHRONOGRAPH TOURBILLON CHRONOMETER “TÊTE DE VIPÈRE”

The midnight blue ceramic case houses the HEUER-02T movement, which combines an automatic chronograph and a tourbillon, both certified “Tête de Vipère” by the Besançon Observatory. This chronometer and excellence certification is recognised as the most exacting worldwide, focusing not just on the movement, like the COSC certification, but on the watch as a whole, which is submitted to a 16-day testing process. From 10,000 to 20,000$

GIRARD-PERREGAUX NEO TOURBILLON THREE BRIDGES SKELETON

In 2014, Girard-Perregaux revisited the design of the Tourbillon with Three Bridges to create the Neo Tourbillon model. The new black version still features the iconic Three Bridges, updated with a curved, arched and perforated design. The modern relevance of the signature architecture is clear in the new version, which has been fully skeletonised for the first time. There is no baseplate and the calibre is suspended, like a work of art, and magnified under a sapphire box. From 100,000 to 200,000$

PANERAI LO SCIENZIATO LUMINOR 1950 TOURBILLON GMT

In order to make the watch as light as possible, the titanium case was made using new technology to create an extremely complex hollow structure without compromising water-resistance (10 bar), integrity or resistance to stresses and pressure. The DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) technique was used to make the watch, which involves 3D printing powdered titanium layer by layer using a fibre optic laser. The different layers (each only 0.02 mm thick) gradually combine to create a solid structure that would be impossible to achieve using traditional machining. The appearance of the watch is completely uniform and smooth and considerably lighter than a traditional design. From 100,000 to 200,000$

FRANK JUTZI L’ART DU TOURBILLON

Independent watchmaker and member of the AHCHI, Frank Jutzi’s latest creation, l’Art du Tourbillon, is a new series of automatic tourbillon wristwatches in 18 karat gold or stainless steel, embodying a respectful homage to the art of traditional Swiss watchmaking. The classic case and movement design is embellished with a spectacular multilevel dial, and the signature Frank Jutzi polished and sculpted arrow ploughshare hands that originate from his native village. From 20,000 to 50,000$

ANDREAS STREHLER TRANS-AXIAL REMONTOIR TOURBILLON

In his quest for precision, Andreas Strehler has developed a new movement which combines his Remontoir d’égalité (constant force mechanism) with a tourbillon. Internal influences on the already largely linear power supply from the epicyclically limited twin mainspring barrels is filtered through the constant force mechanism and transferred to a tourbillon escapement mounted on the same axis to eliminate the influence of gravity on the escapement. This escapement is hand wound, using Andreas Strehler’s own true conical gear wheels (quite unique in the watch industry). From 100,000 to 200,000$

ULYSSE NARDIN EXECUTIVE TOURBILLON “FREE WHEEL”

The “Free Wheel” design is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Imagine that all the major components of a watch have been separated and deposited onto a black sapphire background and put on show in a large glass box—that’s what this watch is like. The tourbillon, power reserve indicator, barrel gear-train and hands look as if they’ve been scattered almost at random, with bridges in the shape of boomerangs placed on top. It’s a splendid design that works surprisingly well. From 50,000 to 100,000$

CORUM BUBBLE TOURBILLON

Is this the sign of a possible new Haute Horlogerie Bubble collection? Or is it simply an example of how a tourbillon can be just for fun? The signature Bubble shape, with its curved sapphire glass dome and generous dimensions (47 mm), is perfect for housing a classic central tourbillon. The hour and minute markers are on the flange, indicated by two triangular markers. The minute hand is black and the hour hand is blue. The tourbillon indicates seconds. From 50,000 to 100,000$

ANGELUS U50 DIVER TOURBILLON

If you really want to dive with a tourbillon, the U50 Diver Tourbillon, the first of its kind from Angelus, is the watch for you. The watch features a helium valve so it can be worn during saturation dives up to 300 metres. The movement was specifically designed to be visible, with sturdy bridges and wheels, and barrels firmly fixed between the two plates. The open design doesn’t interfere with telling the time thanks to the contrast between the blue and yellow flange and hands finished with Super-LumiNova. From 20,000 to 50,000$

SPEAKE-MARIN TOURBILLON VERTICAL DOUBLE OPENWORKED

A 46 mm Piccadilly case houses two vertically-positioned tourbillon cages on a transparent background. The entire movement had to be rethought to accommodate the open-worked tourbillon on the left side so that the two bridges could keep the tourbillon away from the plate. The two tourbillons are aided by a rate stabiliser that connects both plates through the balance spring and helps compensate the speed of the two tourbillons for perfect accuracy. From 200,000 to 500,000$.

All mentioned prices are indicative and correspond to price segment.

TO READ MORE
Europa Star Watch Curator ’18 is a selection of 147 watches classified under 13 specific trends:
Tourbillons - Globes - Sun, Moon & Stars - Purity - Open-worked - Skulls - Sport - Tough - New displays - Barocco - Vintage & Neo-vintage - Connected - Calibres.