Round-UpThe Queen Of Fine Watchmaking Complications: Presenting The Ten Best Tourbillon Timepieces
The tourbillon—the holy grail of fine watchmaking—captivates interest from horological experts all over the globe, with only a handful of watchmakers having mastered the complication. We bring you 10 of the finest tourbillon watches that have each made a mark in their own way
May We Recommend
Arguably the most intriguing complication in fine watchmaking, the tourbillon on a timepiece is more than just a conversation starter, and most tourbillon watches feature partially or completely open-worked dials. The French word ‘tourbillon’ translates to ‘whirlwind’ in English, which basically describes its function. The tourbillon is a cage that holds the watch’s regulating organs—the balance spring, lever and escapement—and rotates constantly to negate the effects of gravity on the components within. Developed by Swiss watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet in 1795, and patented in 1801, the tourbillon is still one of the most complex complications that only a handful of watch manufactures have mastered. The skill and sophistication involved in creating tourbillon watches is the reason why it is considered as royalty among fine watchmaking complications.
Tourbillon Watches: Angelus U50 Diver Tourbillon
The Angelus U50 Diver Tourbillon is more than a diver’s watch, with a skeletonised dial housed in a robust 45mm titanium case that offers a water resistance rating of 300m. Short, curved, open-worked lugs aid ergonomics. With no real dial to speak of, the internal bezel ring stands out in blue and yellow, with a matching yellow-framed running seconds sub-dial between nine and 10 o’clock. Blue lacquered hands are filled with Super-LumiNova, as are hour markers on the narrow flange. At 6:30 is the tourbillon. While this horological marvel doesn’t enhance a dive in any way, it does look good on the timepiece, making the Angelus U50 Diver Tourbillon more a statement about being up for adventure, rather than an actual diving tool. The manually-wound A300 calibre, with its skeletonised bridges, is displayed gorgeously, with the tourbillon placed conspicuously on the dial.
Tourbillon Watches: Arnold & Son Ultrathin Tourbillon
English watchmaker John Arnold came up with the idea of the tourbillon, even if his friend Breguet actually executed it. It is not that surprising that Arnold & Son—who build on the legacy of John Arnold himself—frequently feature tourbillons in their collections, be it the Time Pyramid, Grandes Complications, Tourbillon Chrono 36 or Métiers d’Arts lines. The Ultrathin Tourbillon, with a thickness of just 8.3mm, has the A&S8300 calibre housed within. While this is no longer the slimmest tourbillon movement out there, it definitely is among the thinnest. The 41.5mm case of the Ultrathin Tourbillon is made from red gold or platinum, and features a domed sapphire crystal glass over a ‘cosmic green’ dial. This dial is achieved by mixing gold powder and aluminium flecks to evoke a starry sky. The timekeeping sub-dial at 12 o’clock is balanced by the tourbillon at six, as a contemporary nod to the legendary watchmaker’s marine chronometers that displayed information in a highly symmetrical fashion.
Tourbillon Watches: Bovet Fleurier Virtuoso III
Intricate detailing on the dial, and integrated complications within the manual-winding calibre 16BM02AI make the Bovet Fleurier Viruoso III a stunning blend of both form and function, and a true execution of haute horlogerie. Its 43.3mm convertible rose gold case doubles up as a wristwatch, pocket-watch and table clock, as part of the brand’s Amadéo system. Then there’s the two-faced dial, with jumping hours and retrograde minutes on one side, and a regular timekeeping sub-dial decorated with Roman numerals in rose gold on the other side. Carved rose gold bridges and plates of the movement are decorated with blued screws and rubies, and frame the sub-dials at 12 on either face of the watch. These timekeeping sub-dials of the Bovet Virtuoso III are coloured a rich green and decorated with a guilloche pattern. These are offset beautifully by the open-worked tourbillon at six, displayed prominently on both faces of the dial.
Tourbillon Watches: Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral
Featuring the first-ever peripherally mounted floating tourbillon on a timepiece that’s wound by a peripheral rotor, the Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral is fascinating for its functional brilliance. Pioneers in peripheral technology, Carl F. Bucherer were the first to present a tungsten rotor moving around the periphery instead of being mounted on top, making the movement thinner, more accurate, and improving visibility in the caseback view. Similarly, the tourbillon at 12 o’clock is mounted peripherally on the movement and supported by ceramic ball bearings, rather than on the base plate via a bridge. The 18-karat rose gold case measures 43mm, and houses a silver dial with rose gold hands and indexes. A matching hand on the tourbillon cage indicates the seconds.
Tourbillon Watches: Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon With Three Flying Bridges
Often, Girard-Perregaux timepieces serve as a bridge between the past and the future, and the Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges is no exception. The maison crafted all three bridges from rose gold, coated with black PVD, with only the gilded vertical flanks of the bridges exposed. ‘Neo’ bridges act as the movement’s baseplate, supporting the barrel, gear train and tourbillon. All the components on the open-worked dial are arranged at different heights, giving the dial a sense of depth, further enhanced by the darkened bridges against the rose gold of the case. The case itself measures 44mm and features a ‘box’ crystal over the dial. The tourbillon cage at six o’clock has 79 components and weighs only a quarter of a gram. Skeletonised hands in rose gold against the black PVD of the bridges with two pink rubies decorating them make this a beautiful and highly legible rendition of the brand’s Three Flying Bridges collection.
Tourbillon Watches: H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton
The ‘Tourbillon Prize’ winner at the GPHGs last year, H. Moser’s Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton displays the brand’s HMC 811 calibre gloriously on the skeletonised dial. An opaque timekeeping sub-dial partially obscures the movement, but the tourbillon at six o’clock, with a cylindrical hairspring instead of a spherical one, is the showstopper. The timepiece is housed in a 42.8mm round case that’s characteristic of the brand’s Pioneer collection, with a curved sapphire crystal glass protecting the movement within, and a 120m water-resistance that makes the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton fascinating in more ways than one—or two. The bridges on this movement have been darkened, thus highlighting the lighter elements underneath. On turning the watch over, a fully-skeletonised gold rotor allows for a beautiful view of the calibre.
Tourbillon Watches: IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Tourbillon Retrograde
IWC’s Portofino collection received a massive upgrade with two complications—a tourbillon and a retrograde date display—in the Portofino Hand-Wound Tourbillon Retrograde. The watch was a breakaway from the collection’s minimalism, but the complications made up for that. The Portofino Hand-Wound Tourbillon Retrograde features a power reserve indicator at three, a retrograde date display at nine o’clock and a skeletonised tourbillon at six. It is powered by the manually-wound calibre 59900 with an eight-day power reserve. Framing the dial and tourbillon movement is a 45mm rose gold case with a large, practical crown that eases winding of the watch every 192 hours. Rose gold leaf-shaped hands and thin indexes with a Roman numeral at 12 o’clock enhance the elegance of the IWC Portofino Hand-Wound Tourbillon Retrograde timepiece.
Tourbillon Watches: Jacob & Co Astronomia Solar Constellations Planets And Yellow Stone
A stunning display of semi-precious stones on the dial of a watch, the Jacob & Co Astronomia Solar Constellations Planets and Yellow Stone timepiece is set in a 45.5mm, 18-karat rose gold case. Decorated with constellations, the blue titanium base turns anti-clockwise, even as the three-armed display above it turns clockwise. On the centre of this display is a massive citrine gemstone with 288 facets—the ‘Jacob cut’—representing the sun. On each of the three arms is a rose gold-plated skeletonised timekeeping sub-dial, a miniature globe lacquered in blue and gold, and an open-worked tourbillon cage whose base is attached to the rotating arm. Other planets made from semi-precious stones are fixed onto secondary arms. The entire mechanism is visible through the domed glass above and through windows along the casebands.
Tourbillon Watches: Omega De Ville Tourbillon Numbered Edition
Pioneers in anti-magnetic technology, Omega present their De Ville Tourbillon Numbered Edition in a 44mm case in 18-karat Sedna gold, with a stunning tourbillon taking centre stage on the timepiece. Inside is the brand’s co-axial Master Chronometer calibre 2640, with a three-day power reserve, indicated on the hand-bevelled 18-karat Sedna gold bridges and mainplate visible through the caseback. The symmetry and finishing on the movement are astounding. The most fascinating aspect of the tourbillon visible on the dial side is its ability to resist magnetic fields up to 15,000 gauss. The one-minute tourbillon—with a rose gold arrow indicating the seconds—features hand-polished bevels in black ceramised titanium. A black PVD treatment mutes the sun-brushed Sedna gold dial, letting the hour markers, floating hands and tourbillon shine through.
Tourbillon Watches: TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon
The rugged aesthetic of the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon comes from its titanium case treated with black PVD, and paired with a carbon bezel and lugs. This robust 45mm timepiece with a water resistance rating of 100m, houses a COSC-certified tourbillon movement, the calibre Heuer02T, with timekeeping and chronograph functions and a one-minute tourbillon. Housed at six o’clock, the tourbillon bridge has a black finishing that matches the rest of the dial. The monochromatic aesthetic of the skeletonised timepiece is disrupted by the word ‘chronometer’ in red on the flange between eight and nine o’clock. Outlines of the two chronograph recorders at three and nine match the finishing on the hands and indexes which are filled with Super-LumiNova. The watch is paired with a perforated rubber strap, giving the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon a geared-up-and-ready-to-go appeal.
What makes the 200-something-year-old complication more fascinating is the skill required to create the mechanism. Even Breguet, inventor of the tourbillon, only created 50 tourbillon watches with the complication in 25 years, that’s how complex it is. As we move into the future, more brands offer tourbillon watches in their collections today. And, although the number is still relatively small, the message delivered with each of these tourbillon watches is unique.
Shop The Story
-
Omega De Ville
529.53.43.22.01.001
-
Angelus Urban Collection
0TDAT.B01A.K008T
-
Arnold & Son Ultrathin Tourbillon
1UTBX.F01A.C208A
-
Arnold & Son Ultrathin Tourbillon
1UTBR.U01A.C209A
-
Bovet Fleurier
AIVI031
-
Carl F. Bucherer Manero
00.10920.03.13.01
-
Girard-Perregaux Bridges
99296-52-001-BA6A
-
H. Moser & Cie. Pioneer
3811-1200
-
IWC Portofino
IW516501
-
Jacob & Co. Astronomia
AS300.40.AA.AE.ABALA
-
TAG Heuer Carrera
CAR5A8W.FT6071
