For Cartier, one of the themes of the year 2017 is the mystery clock, a concept that they have now transferred to watches. The Rotonde De Cartier Skeleton Mysterious Hour Watch sets the hour and minute hands floating in space; the Rotonde de Cartier Minute Repeater Mysterious Double Tourbillon instead showcases the tourbillon which rotates…
With the 1770 Flying Tourbillon Openwork, Manufacture Royale gives the existing Androgyne Royale a different, even more elemental case. While in the Androgyne Royale there were an indication of the hours by means of 12 screws on the bezel, in the new 1770 Flying Tourbillon watch for 2017, the case is smooth and circular, and…
The three new versions of Manufacture Royale’s 1770 Micromegas Révolution were first presented at Salon QP, London, in 2016, and then in Geneva in January 2017. It is a lovely double tourbillon, made in three limited editions, each of just three watches. They are also innovative in their colours, bright and sophisticated. Meet Micro and…
The Speake-Marin Crazy Skulls is a surprising watch, enormously ambitious, because it combines two of the most complex complications of all, the tourbillon and the minute repeater, with an animated dial that tells a story of love and death. There are a lot of design ideas here. It’s a notable achievement for a brand founded…
The Moon Orbiter GMT by Romain Jerome is a new version of a watch first launched in 2015. Back then it was a very unusual watch, with a rectangular case and lugs with spring-loaded shock absorbers. This new version, presented in 2016, is a bit more conventional in appearance, with a circular case. The extra…
The Marine Tourbillon by Ulysse Nardin is a fine watch at an interesting price, considering that it has an in-house tourbillon movement. The self-winding UN-128 calibre is entirely new, with silicium escapement and balance spring, and a 60-hour power reserve. The watch has the classic marine chronometer looks, with a 43 mm case in stainless…
In 2017, Jaeger-LeCoultre presents three new versions of watches in the Duomètre range, all with magnetite grey dial and pink gold case. The Sphérotourbillon is a superb watch, packed with significant content, refined over the course of the years. This version of the Sphérotourbillon looks far more modern than the previous model presented in 2012,…
The Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph is the highest-priced watch in the new Da Vinci collection by IWC, and it includes three complications: tourbillon, chronograph and retrograde date. It is powered by the new in-house 89900 calibre, self-winding, running at 28,800 vibrations per hour, 4 Hertz. It has some significant technical features. Advanced materials in the 89900…
It takes a lot of effort to understand the logic behind Greubel Forsey’s editions. This version of the Tourbillon 24 Secondes is an “Edition Historique” that marks the end of the series of this particular model. Three versions of the Tourbillon 24 Secondes have been made: Asymétrique, Contemporain and Vision, and the watch illustrated in…
MB&F continue to make some of the most original machines out there. Their latest, HM7 (the HM stands for horological machine) is inspired by the underwater world, after their explorations of space, the air, and the road. HM7 has a profile that recalls a jellyfish, but there are lots of other visual links, such as…
This is the first watch presented by Richard Mille in 2017, and it reflects the partnership that he signed with McLaren in 2016, a ten-year agreement. It is based on Richard’s authentic passion for McLaren: he watched the McLaren team’s debut in Monaco in 1966. The watch incorporates high-tech materials such as titanium and Carbon…
Mobilis is an inverted double tourbillon by the brand Louis Moinet. The two tourbillons in the bottom half of the dial rotate in opposite directions, and are both linked to the gear train in the top half. It’s a mesmerizing sight to watch, because, with sapphire glass front and back, the two tourbillons seem to…
Double hairspring? But wasn’t it Audemars Piguet claiming a world first with their Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked? In actual fact, Laurent Ferrier launched the Galet Classic Tourbillon Double Hairspring back in 2010, when it won an award at the GPHP Geneva watchmaking prizes. This year, 2016, Laurent Ferrier has combined that movement with…
The Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Earth and Moon, reference WHRO0013, is the latest version of a watch introduced in 2014, with lapis lazuli dial and a stylized globe at 12 o’clock. This year’s version features two discs of meteorite stone, one on the 24-hour subdial at the top of the watch, and one on the…
The Reverso Tribute Gyrotourbillon by Jaeger-LeCoultre is an object of extraordinary beauty. Even though at 51.1 mm by 31 mm it’s a large piece, it is slim at 12.4 mm thickness. The contrast between the simple Art Deco lines of the platinum case and the complexity of the movement and its decoration makes the watch…
The Bell & Ross BR-X1 Tourbillon Chronograph is one of the three watches that the brand has presented in a marine chronometer style. Its complex square case is 45 mm in size, made in rose gold and rosewood, evoking the 19th century chronometers used on board ships. It has the commendable water resistance rating of…
Montblanc‘s Bohème ExoTourbillon Slim 110 Years Anniversary is a 10-piece limited edition, reference 115939. It celebrates the 110th anniversary of fMontblanc’s foundation, and the serpent motif on the dial is based on the Rouge et Noir fountain pen which became a classic when it was introduced in 1906. Normally you think of Bulgari when the…
For the first time, Montblanc introduces its in-house ExoTourbillon to the women’s Bohème collection. The dial of the ExoTourbillon Slim is in mother-of-pearl; the bezel is set with 58 diamonds (about 1.39 carats). The red gold case is 38 mm in diameter, and 9.37 mm thick, 3 bar water resistance. The watch has a black…
Corum’s Bubble is a super-ironic piece, with its domed watchglass and large size. Corum shows that there is lots of room for developing Bubble even further with two five-piece limited editions, the Bubble Tourbillon Chronograph, and the Bubble Tourbillon GMT. The Bubble Tourbillon Chronograph has a large well on the dial for the tourbillon at…
Lucea, Bulgari‘s latest line of watches for women, has been with us for just two years, and it has attained a success that perhaps surprised even Bulgari. This year, many new models were presented, with new sizes, new colours, a full diamond pavé version, and this complication. Bulgari Lucea Il Giardino Paradiso is a jewellery…