tourbillon

Breguet Marine Tourbillon Ref. 5839 High Jewellery Chronograph Watch

In the watch world diamonds seem to make just about everything better. This Ref. 5839 Marine Troubillon High Jewellery watch is a diamond encrusted version of the Ref. 5937 from a few years ago. Breguet outfitted the watch case and dial with an impressive amount of diamonds, but still was able to retain that signature Breguet Marine watch look.

The 43mm wide 18k white gold case as about 11.77 carats of stones on it. One of the neatest parts is how Breguet was able to maintain the coined edge of the case using specially cut diamonds. Also not the unique pattern the diamonds create for the bezel. On the dial smaller diamonds are set in the middle of the dial and don't overshadow the hands. The dial itself is silvered 18k gold. Overall Breguet did a great job giving a men's jewelry watch a functional face.

Inside the watch is a Breguet caliber 554.4 manually wound tourbillon movement with the time and a chronograph complication. The watch has 50 hours of power reserve with special features that include a silicium balance spring and escapement wheel.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 5839, 5839BB6D9ZU DDOD, breguet, diamonds, high, marine, tourbillon, watch

Girard-Perregaux Cat's Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Timepieces / Watches

For half a million dollars you can get a lot of watches or this lovely new high jewelry watch from Swiss Girard-Perregaux. The Cat's Eye Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie timepiece has an 18k white gold case and is 32mm wide by 38mm tall in the typical Cat's Eye oval shape. It has a stunning amount of large diamonds all over it. According to Girard-Perregaux the watch required over 700 hours of work to create, containing over 20 carats of diamonds. The precious stones come in various cuts and are placed all over the case, crown, and dial.

Inside the watch is a Girard-Perregaux in-house made caliber GP09700-0006 manually wound tourbillon movement. The Tourbillon escapement is visible on the dial using a traditional GP style bridge. The movement has a power reserve of about three days. Attached to the strap is a gray satin strap with a white gold buckle... and more diamonds. Price for this very impressive haute joaillerie watch is $490,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews website aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: cats eye, diamonds, girard-perregaux, haute joaillerie, tourbillon, watch

Girard-Perregaux 1966 Tourbillon 220th Anniversary Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Simple tourbillon watch lovers are probably thrilled with the offerings this year. Many brands are releasing uncomplicated (relatively speaking), classic tourbillon based watches - and here is Girard-Perregaux's entry. The watch is meant to celebrate the 220th anniversary of the brand that began in 1791. They call it the 1966 Tourbillon with Gold Bridge 220th Anniversary Edition watch - it looks lovely in a 40mm wide 18k gold case with a warm dial with blued steel hands and Breguet style Arabic numerals. The tourbillon has a bit of a unique look with one of Girard-Perregaux's iconic "golden" bridges over the tourbillon. Extremely classic and handsome. The movement is the in-house made GP 9610 that is manually wound and has 48 hours of power reserve. On the back of the watch are some special commemorative engravings for this special Anniversary Edition watch. Girard-Perregaux will produce just 50 1966 Tourbillon 220th Anniversary edition pieces - look for them soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Girard-Perregaux 1966 Tourbillon LE watches

Tags: 1966, anniversary, edition, Girard-Perregaux, tourbillon, watch, watches

Android Virtuoso Tunsgten Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Android Virtuoso Tunsgten Tourbillon Watch

Highly anticipated among the ShopNBC watch crowd of US timepiece consumers is this Android Virtuoso Tungsten Tourbillon watch. While by no means a first of its kind, the propulsion of this type of watch in to the mainstream of US watch buying is interesting. Set as a budget-friendly tourbillom movement-based timepiece, this watch still carries with it a $3,000 price. Does this mark an interest in tourbillon movements by "regular" watch loving Americans?

A tourbillon is a type of rotating escapement that was originally designed to make mechanical watches more accurate. Most Swiss watches that feature a tourbillon complication are priced in the the tens of thousands of dollars is not more. They are often found on very high-end timepieces and are known to be very difficult to make. For years China has been making their own tourbillon movements as well. No one claims that these compete directly with their Swiss counterparts, but the availability thereof does help satiate the desires of watch aficionados who cannot afford more traditional types of tourbillon movement-based watches.

Tags: android, tourbillon, tungsten, virtuoso, watch

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David Yurman Ancestrale Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

David Yurman Ancestrale Tourbillon Watch

Shopping at a David Yurman store and want a really expensive watch? They have high-end watches, but if that isn't enough for you, then check out the David Yurman Tourbillon, more specifically the David Yurman Ancestrale collection Tourbillon. The Ancestrale collection is named after a variety of Cognac and contains a few pieces. The tourbillon is the top of the line model being 43.5mm wide in 18k rose gold case with that "rope" design on the side of the case that is common to the brand. Not sure who makes the movement, but the manually wound tourbillon based movement has a power reserve of 120 hours and displays only the time. The tourbillon escapement is skeletonized and doubles as the seconds hand. The slate dial has a few textures and applied gold hour markers. Attached to the Ancestrale Tourbillon watch is a Cognac brown alligator strap. Is the watch nice? Yes, but not likely nice enough to lure educated watch lovers who are already familiar with tourbillons movements from other brands.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: ancestrale, david yurman, tourbillon, watch

Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch Hands-On

One of the more "interesting" options when it comes to acquring a high-end timepiece is to get something from Romain Jerome. The collection that put them on the map was the Titanic DNA range of watches -and this Steampunk Tourbillon is the newest flagship for that collection. Available in gold (as seen above), the watch is mixed with oxidized steel that is meant to look like metal harvested from the actual Titanic. According to Romain Jerome, a small percentage of the metal is actually from the sunken Titanic ship. This is why they use the "Titanic DNA" term.

The Steampunk collection takes the concept further to make the dial look inspired by the ship's engine room. There are piston-like elements on the highly detailed dial that look like a diorama. It is quite fun to inspect all the little details. The hands of the watch are meant to look like anchors. At 46mm wide, the case is still quite comfy although it is large. The polished 18k rose gold mixed with the oxidized steel makes for a very interesting look. Inside the watch is a Swiss Concepto made automatic tourbillon movement. Look to the back of the watch for another anchor - here done in gold as the rotor of the movement. Really an amazing talking piece and cool addition to a high-end collection. Price for this model is 169,000 Swiss Francs.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch

Tags: dna, hands-on, review, Romain Jerome, steampunk, titanic, tourbillon, watch

Roger Dubuis King Square Hearts Tourbillon Watch For Valentine's Day

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Roger Dubuis King Square Hearts Tourbillon Watch For Valentine's Day

This Roger Dubuis watch is going to cost a fortune. Chances are, no matter how rich a man is to be able and buy this watch, he getting the short end of the Valentine's day stick. Good thing only 28 of these are going to be made. This way you can always say, "baby, I totally wanted to get you one, but they were sold out by the time I got there!" Now I know why high-end women's watches are made in really limited editions.

The watch, in 18k white gold, is a 36mm wide square with a tasteful decoration of diamonds all over the case. Like the men's version, the Roger Dubuis in-house made movement has been thoroughly skeletonized with an assortment of heart-shaped motifs. Two of them have pink colored synthetic sapphire crystals to emphasize the shapes. The manually wound movement has a tourbillon and appears as though almost nothing is there. Around the periphery of the dial is a flange ring with hour and minutes indicators. The hour indicators are done with rubies. The watch is matched to a red-satin strap and hopefully comes with a guarantee that you get at least six months of no nagging. No price yet, but the six figure cost would make cupid blush.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: heart, king square, KS36-88SQ-22-23S9000F, ladies, roger dubuis, tourbillon, valentines day, watch

Bvlgari Gerald Genta Magsonic Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

After Bvlgari engulfed the brand Gerald Genta (that it already owned), it took most of the brand's contemporary timepieces and "Bulgarized" them! Sorry, I had to say that - it made me laugh. What this means is that they took existing designs and reshaped them a bit to bit Bulgari's DNA.I was impressed they they decided the Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon should be kept alive. They barely made any changes to it at all actually! I first wrote about this watch when it was called the Gerald Genta Arena Metasonic Sonnerie. Renamed the Bvlgari Gerald Genta Magsonic Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon, the watch seems to only change the case material (looks to be in rose gold now), and the text on the ring around the dial.

Because the watch is so complex with its tourbillon and sophisticated chiming functions, Bulgari created an iPad app that explains the watch. An incredible piece, this was originally retailed for $900,000 - I wonder what it goes for now in Bvlgari form.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Bvlgari Gerald Genta Magsonic Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon Watch dial

Tags: bulgari, bvlgari, magsonic, sonnerie, tourbillon, watch

Hysek Furtif Skeleton Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

In French "Furtif" means stealthy - so assume that its use in this new Hysek watch's name is a joke. There is nothing "under-the-radar" whatsoever about this new square skeletonized watch. Reminding me of a Roger Dubuis in theme (and movement), this Hysek Furtif Skeleton Tourbillon features a square titanium case and in-house made movement with the time and a flying tourbillon. While the piece is interesting, I am not really inspired by the design through pictures. Maybe I need to see it in person. The articulating lugs are interesting, and I like the gold crown and screws - to match the gold elements on the dial. Skeletonization of a movement and dial in an angular watch often looks good.

In a sense I write about the Hysek brand because I am a fan of the man who started it - Jorg Hysek. Problem is that Mr. Hysek is no longer affiliated with the brand (and has his own stuff like HD3). For super villains of the world who need a piece on their wrist to match their complex, dark, and stealthy mannerisms, this watch might do. What I really want to see if a guy in shorts mowing his lawn with one of these one. The watch will be limited to just 30 pieces and be available soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: furtif, hysek, skeleton, tourbillon, watch

Chopard L.U.C Tourbillon Esprit de Fleurier Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Chopard L.U.C Tourbillon Esprit de Fleurier Limited Edition Watch

Applying classic decorative techniques (called "fleurisanne engraving) known in the small (but popular for watch making) Swiss town of Fleurier, Chopard will offer just 15 pieces of this limited edition in-house made L.U.C Tourbillon Esprit de Fleurier watch. The movement - as you should be able to tell - is hand-engraved throughout with floral motifs. You see just part of it through the partially skeletonized dial, but the entire movement is decorated with that style. Plus, Chopard uses 18k gold for the main movement plates.

The movement itself is the calibre 4TT3NGM hand-wound movement with a massive power reserve of 216 hours (8 days) - through four barrels. There is a power indicator on the dial telling you when to it needs to be wound. Other functions include a tourbillon (that doubles as the subsidiary seconds hand) as well as hour and minute hands in blued steel. The movement is also a COSC certified Chronometer.

The Esprit de Fleurier comes in a 40.5mm wide case in 18k white gold. Chopard cleverly made this a "two-tone" watch without making it obvious. Very nice for lovers of traditional watches with decorative effects. Just 15 pieces will be made by Chopard, and they won't be cheap.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: chopard, esprit, fleurier, L.U.C, tourbillon, watch

Cartier Tourbillon & Crocodile Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

As a high-end marquee watch for women, Cartier will unveil this Troubillon & Crocodile timepiece at the SIHH watch show in January. I didn't know that Cartier had a thing for reptiles, I thought it was just big cats. Times change I guess. Not a ton of details on the watch yet. I don't know how large the case is, or what material it is in. Though I am guessing a case size of at least 40mm in width, and done in 18k white gold.

The case is decorated with a number of diamonds, and the fantastically rendered 3D crocodile on the dial is also in gold and diamonds. What a stunning jewelry creation. It sits on a black dial accompanied with a few lotus flowers. Inside the watch is a partially exposed in-house made Cartier calibre 9458 MC manually wound movement with a flying tourbillon. The movement is placed to the side of the dial for an asymmetrical position. The Tourbillon & Crocodile won't be part of a limited edition per se, but will likely be made only to order after a few pieces are made by Cartier. More info on this next year.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com .

Tags: cartier, crocodile, tourbillon, watch

Richard Mille RM017 Tourbillon Extra Flat Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Richard Mille RM017 Tourbillon Extra Flat Watch

I was asked a while ago about the future potential of "ultra thin" tourbillon watches. I said that while I am sure a few would come out here and there, I didn't see it having lots of legs with collectors. That will be tested in 2011 and 2012 and brands begin to offer thinner tourbillon movements based on the "thin watch kick" that we are currently experiencing. It also makes sense because there really aren't too many more places we can go with tourbillons aside from flat. Part of the problem is that tourbillons require a certain amount of room as it is, and making them too flat starts to take away from the visual appeal of them in my opinion. Regardless, Richard Mille is about to release their own "ultra thin" tourbillon. What other case to put it in than their rectangular shaped "Extra-Flat" RM017.

The case is 8.70mm thick, so Richard Mille needed to develop a think tourbillon movement to place inside of it. They did, and the movement uses titanium plates which makes for an interesting look. It manually wound has about 70 hours of power reserve. There is a power reserve indicator on the dial, as well as a "function selector." Rather than pull the crown out, you press it in like a button to selection functions such as "set, wind, etc..." Trust that being Richard Mille, there will be a number of beautifully complex features in the movement that help justify the price.

The watch case itself is 38mm wide and almost 50mm tall. Here it is done in 18k rose gold with titanium. The case is really quite comfortable and comes with a rubber strap. I love the caseback window done in a tonneau shape to recall the case shape of most of Richard Mille's other timepieces. The RM017 Tourbillon Extra Flat will be limited to 50 pieces and available sometime next year.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: flat, richard mille, rm017, thin, tourbillon, watch

RSW High King Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

A new tourbillon from RSW is here. This new version of the High King timepiece will sport a tourbillon style escapement. I previously wrote about the RSW High King collection here. The case is 44mm wide in steel with some 18k pink gold accents. Design is very avant garde, but still legible and wearable. Like other High King watches the movement features a retrograde date dial as well as a power reserve indicator. The movement is manually wound, but has a power reserve of 120 hours - which along with the power reserve indicator makes it not too tough to live with.

While the design is interesting, I don't feel as though it offers enough over the standard High King models. The price for the RSW High King Tourbillin is 79,000 Swiss Francs - quite high for a mostly steel watch with a relatively standard tourbillon. Plus, the tourbillon really doesn't offer a design over the standard model to merit that incredible price increase. At 20,000 - 30,000 Swiss Francs this piece would be a much more attractive option.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: high king, rsw, tourbillon, watch, watches

Piaget Caliber 600P Is Thinnest Tourbillon Watch Movement In The World

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Piaget has a long history with ultra-thin mechanical watch movements. They pride themselves on having records such as the thinnest manually wound movement, as well as the thinnest automatic movement. Now they have created the thinnest manually wound movement with a tourbillon escapement. Considered to be very complex and hard to make, tourbillons aren't usually attempted in thin variants.

Piaget has succeeded in making its Caliber 600P movement just 3.5mm thick - which includes skeletonized bridges and a flying tourbillon. The movement is seen here in mostly 18k rose gold with diamonds set into much of the mainplate. The movement is 22.4mm wide by 28.64mm tall, has a power reserve of 40 hours, and looks to be made to fit in rectangle Piaget Emperador style watch cases. You can click "READ MORE" below to see a new Piaget promotional video that showcases the watch as well as the making of the movement.

Ultra-thin tourbillon movements are destined to remain highly niche, even more so that regular tourbillon, but it makes sense for Piaget to hold the honor (at this time) of making the thinnest one around. The 600P is an horological achievement under Piaget's belts, but in 2011 the Swiss brand will be setting another record with a tourbillon movement.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 600p, caliber, piaget, thin, thinnest, tourbillon, watch, watches

Continue reading “Piaget Caliber 600P Is Thinnest Tourbillon Watch Movement In The World”

Corum Romvlvs Billioniare Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

In the luxury world, "millionaire" doesn't sounds nearly as sexy as it used to. With the existence of watches that cost a million dollars, having just a few million dollars in the bank isn't gonna get precious stone peddlers excited. So we've stepped things up to making "billionaire" the new "millionaire." The former of which is exactly the type of person who might be interested in this new, highly limited watch from Corum.

I have to say that I have seen this watch, and it is mighty impressive. My favorite part is the Roman numerals on the bezel - done entirely in diamonds. Swanky! As is en vogue today, Corum "suspends" the manually wound tourbillon movement in plates made out of sapphire crystal. The watch case design is based on the Corum Romvlus (Romulus) collection of watches. It is a collection I happen to like a lot, but isn't found in the US very often. And this is one Romvlvs piece that no one will find very often with just five pieces ever to be produced.

Set in a large 45mm wide 18k white gold case, the movement and dial are likely to be the second thing people notice about the "Billionaire" what. First is the rich coating of diamonds that the watch case gets. It has 164 large diamonds on the case, with another 44 on the bezel. This watch is 'carat rich.' While I am not sure of the price of the watch, its name should give you something hint as to when the cost is fathomable. Again, the Corum Romulus Billionaire Tourbillon will be limited to just 5 pieces, and for some people might just be the perfect arm hand.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: billionaire, corum, tourbillon, watch

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