A brief look at the dazzling complication of luxury watchmaking, the Tourbillon.
Tourbillon, meaning hurricane in French, was first introduced to the world of watches by the famous watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet. The system, developed and patented in the late 1700s, was originally designed for pocket watches. In those years, a concept called the wristwatch was not yet known. The regulating organ of pocket watches, the balance spring, was constantly exposed to gravity from the same angle due to the natural position of the watch in the pocket. This situation caused negativity in the accuracy values of the watches. In the solution developed by Breguet, the balance spring was exposed to gravity from different angles by rotating around itself while oscillating back and forth. In other words, the rotation of the balance around itself ensured that the differences in the operating frequency were balanced in the positive and negative directions. This allowed the watch to keep time with much greater accuracy.
Years passed and watches moved to wrists. Watches worn on the wrist, regardless of whether they are hand-wound or automatic, were freed from inactivity in the pockets and switched to a very active lifestyle with the natural movements of the arm and the wrist. As a result, the effort of Breguet to move the balance around itself and in a single plane was applied to the caliber naturally by the movement of the arm. So, the Tourbillon had lost its practical function. What do you think was the response of the watch industry to this situation? Tourbillon movements crafted with greater craftsmanship and elegance, of course...
In today's world of horology, multiple Tourbillon types continue to beat at the heart of movements. The two most common types of Tourbillon on the market are defined as "Flying" and "Carousel". In the traditional Tourbillon movement, the balance spring and escapement are attached to a cage, completing their rotation. At the center of the rotation system is the escapement fork. In the carousel, there is a balance spring in the center of the rotation system and the escapement completes its forward-backward movement while making a full turn around the balance. Don't get confused, the Blancpain Tourbillon Carousel model introduced in 2013 was home to both standard type and Carousel Tourbillon systems. It is also known as the Flying Tourbillon, as the carousel can operate independently of any plate or support point.
Video by IBG Worldwide
The double-axle Tourbillon, patented by Anthony Randall in 1977, takes the high complication game one step further. The feature of this system is that the tourbillon balance rotates simultaneously in two different planes.
This will not be enough, especially for some watch manufacturers, as it is possible to come across 3-axis Tourbillons. Of course, at this point, it is impossible not to mention Jaeger-LeCoultre's gyrotourbillon model. It is a great pleasure to watch JLC models, which are known as one of the most refined versions of multi-axis Tourbillons.
The special movement that Zenith has included in the Christophe Colomb model, designed with the logic of a roly-poly toy and featuring the Tourbillon cage, which can be positioned perpendicular to the gravity, offers a completely different perspective. Because the purpose here is not to rotate the balance continuously but to keep it in the same position. It is almost against the purpose of the tourbillon's creation, by hitting the system with its own weapon.
There is no rule of thumb as tourbillon balancing systems must always rotate in balance planes. One of the best examples of this situation is used by Panerai. These special movements used in high watchmaking Luminor and Radiomir models come in the form of versions of dual-axis Tourbillons that are free of traditional Tourbillon features.
Irrespectively of its necessity or not, if you have a Tourbillon on your wrist, it is more likely that you look at it to enjoy the magnificent scene rather than keeping the track of time.
