onzenuub 307 Posted February 18, 2009 I cannot take credit for this, however I have always wanted a more technical explanation on what a tourbillion does. Here is the best I have found so far and wanted to share. Found this on RG. Quote: Tourbillon: torque On the 7th of Messidor of the Ninth Year of the French Republic, Abraham-Louis Breguet, a French citizen of Swiss descent, was granted a patent for an amazing machine called a “tourbillon regulatorâ€. Thus appeared the most complex, the most expensive and, from what can be gathered, the most useless part of a watch mechanism. Physics aside We all learned at school that gravitation is insuperable. And the teachers were not wrong: anti-gravitational devices only break the laws of physics on the pages of science-fiction novels; in real life, apples continue to fall with enviable persistence on the heads of potential Newtons. But an exception – probably the only exception – to that rule is the Tourbillon (whirlwind), which protects timekeeping from the universal forces of gravity. Well, that’s what it’s supposed to do, but does it? Here, we will try and find out. In preparing his application for a patent back in 1801, Breguet wrote: “With the aid of this invention, I have been able to compensate for the anomalies caused by shifts in the centre of gravity of the escapement and obtain even friction on all pivots and bearings… I have also eliminated many other factors that people before me have tried to overcome without particular successâ€. The great master worked on his favourite brainchild for five long years, constructing it with the precision of a jeweller and implanting this new organ into the body of the watch with the meticulousness of a micro-surgeon. Expressed in words, the principle behind the tourbillon is fairly simple. The heart of any watch consists of a balance wheel, springs, an anchor and an escape wheel. These to a certain extent are subject to the force of the Earth’s gravitational pull, which comes permanently into play due to the ever-changing centre of gravity of the system and, consequently, influences the precision of the movement. Breguet did not try experimenting with shapes or the mutual repositioning of parts, but approached the problem of arrhythmia from a different angle. He placed the whole moving mechanism in a rotatable casing that would complete one revolution per minute in the opposite direction. Thus, errors due to gravitation could be evened out and the hands of the watch would move with a precision that approached perfection. Abraham-Louis Breguet died in 1823, having sold no more than 35 of his tourbillon watches. This small number is explained, on the one hand, by the fact that the new device was little understood (it was, at the very least, a hundred years ahead of its time) and, on the other, by its high price. It was expensive because it consisted of dozens of microscopic parts, the total weight of which was no more than a single gram. Modern tourbillons (including the three-dimensional, which will be dealt with below) consist of between 40 and 90 parts with a total weight of 0.2 to 0.6 grams! And they would be well worth their enormous cost, if it were not for one thing. Originally, the tourbillon was designed for a pocket watch – that is for a mechanism that for most of its working life was kept in a vertical position. A wristwatch, on the other hand, can be in fairly constant motion and at times due to rolling can experience high overloads. Does this mean that a wrist-worn tourbillon is useless? Unfortunately, it does. And that has been confirmed by numerous authoritative opinions and laboratory tests. Even Breguet himself recognized that on a horizontal plain, his tourbillon revolved pointlessly, and became a sophisticated, but ultimately useless ornament on the watch face. When the watch frequently changes its position, the effect of the tourbillon cannot be traced. Worse still, in certain circumstances, it can even have a negative effect on the precision of the watch’s movement (although not a critical one)! By the end of the 19th century, leading watchmakers were agreed that the invention made by the father of haute horlogerie was for all practical purposes useless. And if you then take into consideration the fact that the tourbillon uses up a lot of the balance energy and makes the working of the watch extremely complicated, then without much exaggeration, you could say that its function was frankly harmful. But that’s not the way it is referred to. On the contrary, it is extolled and eulogized, and people pay tens of thousands of dollars for the little ‘holes with the wheels’, that have long become the distinguishing mark of the powerful of this world. And no one has the slightest interest in whether there is any point in the hypnotic pulsations of these extremely complex creations of the human hand. Art requires no logical foundation. But we have digressed. And the story doesn’t end here. How to reduce the influence of external forces on the delicate mechanism of a watch has troubled many – both before and after Breguet. The majority of inventors have racked their brains not so much over how to improve the basic concept of the tourbillon as how to make it cheaper so that watches of this kind could be bought by more people. In 1895, the Dane Bane Bonniksen offered a pretty good alternative to the ‘handmade diamond’ with what he called the carousel regulator. It worked approximately according to the same principle as Breguet’s invention, but moved far slower (one revolution every 52 minutes and 30 seconds) and with a lot less effect. One might have said – a lot less effectively, if we had not already been into just how ineffective the tourbillon was. Typology and interpretation Those of a more classical bent preferred to make complex improvements to the original design. Thus, in 1927, Alfred Gelwig invented the ‘flying’ tourbillon, the rotor of which was attached only on one side. The delicate mechanism of the tourbillon is suspended within the casing of the watch by a barely visible pivot to give the illusion of flying – and make the hearts of the most sophisticated connoisseurs and experts flutter with delight. Today, apart from the classical minute tourbillon, there are a number of well-known modifications that complete a revolution in thirty seconds, four minutes and six minutes. These are made from titanium, aluminium and other super-light alloys – the noble metals being quite unsuitable for this work. We have already mentioned that watchmakers always try to make their tourbillons visible – either full face or from the reverse side of the casing – in the reasonable assumption that to hide such beauty in a mass of gears and cogwheels shows complete lack of respect for ones own work, and is almost bordering on the sinful. This tradition has been kept going to the present day. For particularly demanding clients, there are skeletized and transparent models available, the disks of which have been cut from sapphire glass and rock crystal. But in recent times, many consumers who have been satiated with the luxury of such toys prefer their tourbillons to be modestly concealed and visible only from the reverse side of the watch cover. The deliberate, ostentatious display of one’s own financial potential is increasingly being seen as plain bad taste and a clear indication of a nouveau riche mentality. The tendency to give chic a more intimate character is gaining strength, and one doesn’t have to be a Nostradamus to predict several premieres in this category at the coming Baselworld and Geneva SIHH – the two gigantic exhibitions of the watch-making industry. The third millennium has already succeeded in making its noticeable contribution to international… or, to be more precise, to Swiss tourbillon construction. The most prestigious complexity has been the three-dimensional and even more attractive tourbillons. By way of an example, we can take the two models Franck Muller Revolution 2 and Jaeger LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon I. This spherical miracle of mechanics consists of two carriages – an external and an internal, each of which moves at its own speed. Thus, in the Gyrotourbillon I (90 parts, weighing 0.33 grams), the external carriage revolves around itself once a minute, while the internal carriage revolves similarly once every 24 seconds. Originally, it was planned to speed it up to three revs per minute, but then the gold balance wheel could not be so well seen. So the speed had to be slowed a little. Functionality as usual yielded to aesthetics. The prices of watches fitted with tourbillons start somewhere in the region of $25?30,000 and then soar skywards, reaching the million dollar mark with the Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon, produced in a total of four models a year. Custom-made models can cost even more. Naturally in such a situation, the masses feel unjustly cut out of the running – after all, everyone wants to belong to the elite and own an anti-gravitational device! Not that super master craftsmen and their powerful patrons take much interest in feelings of that kind, but even so history can show examples of tourbillons that have been made with a view to a wider public. For instance, there is the amazing creation of the House of Swatch called the Diaphane One. Strictly speaking, this is not exactly a tourbillon, but a carousel, though when you look at the price-tag, you forget nuances of that kind. In 2001, Swatch launched its 2222 Diaphane One for the ridiculous price of 2,222 euros! Part of the watch was decorated with diamonds, sapphires and rubies (the colours of the French flag) as a tribute to the new Swatch boutique on the Place Vendome – the only place where they were sold. The extravagant gimmick on the part of Nicolas Hayek, President of the Swatch Group was an immediate success, and will always be remembered by those who were there at the time. Naturally, the whole edition was bought up in record time. And for the dessert – a thematic overindulgence by Jorg Hysek, who last year presented a model with a double face, each of which was fitted with its own tourbillon. You could admire each in turn. As the fashionable Swiss proverb has it: “One tourbillon’s good – but two are better.†And there’s no arguing with that. by ALEXANDER VETROV ANTIGRAVITATION: A SELECTION Blancpain Tourbillon Grand Date One of the most respected brands in the Swatch Group, it has always been known for its uncompromising loyalty to the mechanical traditions of the watchmaker’s art. Stylistically, the Tourbillon Grand Date from the Leman Collection resembles Chopard’s creation with the one difference that the tourbillion is a ‘flying’ one and placed at the top, under the figure 12. The figure 6 at the bottom is taken by two date windows, while on the left – at the figure 9 – there is a seven-day reserve movement display. Only 100 models of this watch have been made: 50 in pink and 50 in white gold. Chopard L.U.C. 4T Famous for its original jewellery novelties, Chopard is also one of the companies on the small list of those who produce watchmaker’s gauges. The special features of the L.U.C. 4T consist not in the tourbillon itself (which has no particularly distinguishing characteristics), but first in its nine-day movement reserve, which is fairly large for a tourbillon watch and, secondly, in the revolutionary construction of the balance wheel with its inertia mini-blocks. Basically, this model could serve as a good example of a classical ‘watch with a hole’. Only 100 models of this watch have been made: half in pink gold; half in platinum. Breguet Classique Grand Complication The hour hand turns on a supplementary face above; the minute hand is in the centre; and the second hand is threaded to the tourbillon pivot. This is approximately what the first tourbillon regulator watches looked like. The whole thing frequently included a cover with an opening for the face that chastely concealed all the expensive beauty beneath. Breguet, incidentally, still produces these classical models. To describe perfection of this kind – is the same as trying to describe the smile on the face of the Mona Lisa. The series is produced in yellow gold and platinum. Arnold & Son Tourbillon GMT It is an established fact that the founder of the John Arnold Company enjoyed a friendly relationship with Abraham-Louis Breguet and frequently exchanged watchmaking secrets with him. And there was quite a bit to exchange: during the latter part of the 18th and the early part of the 19th centuries, England was the world centre of mechanics including watch mechanics. In 1808, the Swiss watchmaker installed a tourbillon into a watch made by Arnold and gave it to the latter’s son as a gift with the inscription: “In tribute to the memory of Arnold from Breguetâ€. Two hundred years later, those who continue the work of Arnold & Son have decided to pay back the debt of honour by creating an impressive looking model with a tourbillon that shows the time simultaneously in three time zones. The watch is in a solid British style ornamented with flowering Alpine edelweiss. Fifty five models only of this watch have been made: twenty five in yellow gold; ten each in white gold and platinum; and five skeletons in pink gold and in platinum. Parmigiani Forma XL Tourbillon An original approach to a miracle – dated 2004. This particular miracle is a 30?second tourbillon of the company’s own manufacture set in a cushioned casing. The doubled speed of the carriage ensures that the mechanism runs more smoothly. A pleasant addition to the ‘royal’ function is the sound, eight-day running reserve, the display of which is located near the figure 12. The watch has only been produced in a limited (the manufacturers do not give an exact figure) number in pink gold and platinum. Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Gold Bridge The new version of the Tourbillon with a gold bridge is noticeable for its laconic design: three figures, two hands and one tourbillon. It consists, incidentally, of 72 parts and weighs 0.3 grams. The image is completed with its barrel-shaped body of pink gold on a small, crocodile skin strap. Everything is seemingly on show, but everything is aristocratic to the highest degree. The series is produced in gold and platinum. Piaget Emperador Skeleton Tourbillon As part of the Richemont Group, the Piaget Company fulfils the important and honourable function of a manufacturer, producing and putting together complex assemblies for many members of the Group. The Flying Tourbillon with the letter P on its carriage was first shown to the public a little more than a year ago, and this is now a new premiere. The skeletonized rectangle of the new Emperador Skeleton Tourbillon is decorated with 42 titanium parts, weighing a total of 0.2 grams. The mechanism is no more than 3.5mm thick – and so far nothing slimmer has been built. Basically, the Emperador Skeleton Tourbillon recalls an artistic miniature in the abstract art deco style. And you can spend an unconscionably long time trying to understand the purpose of the representation, and read into it whatever you like – except that it is actually a watch-face. Only 22 models have been made: half in pink and half in white gold. Movado Museum Tourbillon Movado in Esperanto means ‘constantly in motion’. But all the movement is reliably hidden under a black empty watch face with a white dot at the figure 12 – from this, the watch brand can be instantly and unmistakeably recognized from among dozens of others. The shape and form of this model is almost indistinguishable from the Museum Automatic and even the quartz Capello, but its contents… A transparent cover on the reverse side makes it possible to view the unique mechanism in detail. Only one model was made for the Baselworld 2004 Exhibition. Bearing in mind that no one – even the most fanatic watch anorak could ever guess that there was a tourbillon inside the ascetic platinum casing, the Museum Tourbillon can be considered an unsurpassed masterpiece of the designer’s art. Zenit Grande ChronoMaster XXT Tourbillion Even without a tourbillon, the EI Primero calibre ensures the extreme precision of this watch. Its mechanism completes 36,000 half-oscillations an hour, which is considerably more than the standard norm of 18,000 to 28,800 vibrations. The Zenith designers – including the president of the company, Thierry Natafe – have done a brilliant job. The pros and the cons of such an asymmetrical configuration on the watch face may long be argued over, but no one can deny its author’s originality. We found the patented design for the date display, the rim of which revolves around the tourbillon window in an opposite direction to the carriage, particularly interesting. The model’s only shortcoming is its high energy consumption, giving it a relatively small reserve of movement – a total of 50 hours. The series is produced in pink and white gold. Harry Winston/Christophe Claret Opus 4 The fourth and, to all appearances, the last experimental work from this respected House of independent watchmakers. The watch’s main characteristic is its double face. The heavy casing is fixed to the strap (or rather the other way round) by means of a special articulated system which makes it possible to turn the watch over without taking it off the wrist. Thus, according to your mood, you can flash your tourbillon set in a hi-tech environment or display the lunar phases from a big, gold moon that has been recreated in detail from its original in the sky. But that’s not all. Since Christophe Claret is the generally recognized expert on striking clocks, the Opus 4 is equipped with a minute device to repeat the deep ‘cathedral’ sound that makes this model the most complex and possibly the most expensive on the list. A total of twenty models have been made in platinum, two of which are encrusted with diamonds of different facet styles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 81 Posted February 19, 2009 Interesting article. Thanks, Onze! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KinCaidk 0 Posted February 19, 2009 Looks like a nice little piece of writing. Unfortunately I just woke up, drove to work and am having my first cup of coffee, so I'll read it later Onze>> I would like to see the treasure chest where you find all this great stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theflyingdutchman 0 Posted February 19, 2009 ...and that is why they are so expensive...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iabounty 8 Posted February 21, 2009 I will read and study this when next at work......... Tis the weekend now and bier and women are on my mind and climbing onto my body........ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aren 27 Posted January 12, 2011 This is an informative article on the tourbillon. Thank you Onze. Yeh...expensive. Beautiful, but $$$ ...OUCH! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dingle 57 Posted January 12, 2011 This is an informative article on the tourbillon. Thank you Onze. Yeh...expensive. Beautiful, but $$$ ...OUCH! damn Aren....necropost of the year! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RS9 1 Posted January 12, 2011 Exceptional article Onze, great find. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smcx 0 Posted January 12, 2011 coles notes: -they are useless at best, unless in a pocket watch -they are stupidly expensive -they are starting to come out of fashion among the ridiculously rich Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wombosi 0 Posted January 12, 2011 I prefer a visual explanation above text. So, is there anyone planning to do a movie about this item? If so, let me know, then I will prospone my reading... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
