Monochrome
With its continuing pursuit of offering aesthetic variations of unconventional mechanical design, Ulysse Nardin expands its Blast Free Wheel series with the new Blast Free Wheel Maillechort. The concept was introduced in 2018 with the Executive Tourbillon Skeleton Free Wheel and UN added spectacular limited editions with exotic dials a year later, and a Blast […]
SJX Watches
Breguet will very likely close its 250th anniversary this year with a bang: launching a 21st century Sympathique as a tribute to perhaps Abraham-Louis Breguet’s greatest invention, a clock that could autonomously wind, correct, and regulate a removable watch. While the brand has released no details, and there haven’t been any leaks, a series of patents gives us a peek at the new Sympathique. Notably, the patent drawings illustrate two possible companion watches: a 60 m water resistant Marine tourbillon and a Tradition. The latter is more interesting as it uses a novel form of Breguet’s échappement naturel, or natural escapement. We explain both the new Sympathique 2025 and the natural escapement using information gleaned from Breguet’s patents. Breguet Sympathique No. 1 by Francois-Paul Journe Initial Thoughts Three of the most historied names in the watch industry are celebrating anniversaries this year. Vacheron Constantin marked the occasion with Solaria, the most complicated wristwatch to date, while Audemars Piguet introduced an all-new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar (and promises more to come in the fall). In comparison, Breguet has debuted the Classique Souscription and Tourbillon Sidéral so far, both of which are objectively good watches but feel underwhelming in technical terms. A new Sympathique, on the other hand, would be the ideal centrepiece for the brand’s anniversary collection, being visually impressive, an icon of the brand, and entirely unique ...
Time+Tide
This visually stunning piece contrasts a modern flying tourbillon with nickel silver elements designed to age gracefully.The post Ulysse Nardin’s Blast Free Wheel Maillechort is a masterclass in contemporary yet timeless watchmaking appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Hodinkee
Journe's maximalist approach to a tourbillon meets a maximalist approach to gem-setting for one of the most outrageous watches the brand has ever made.
SJX Watches
Ulysse Nardin presents a surprisingly striking new version of its most forward-thinking tourbillon, the Blast Free Wheel Maillechort. An interesting blend of classic finishing and bold, three-dimensional architecture, the limited edition piece is unlike the generally future-forward aesthetic pushed by Ulysse Nardin in recent years. The latest Blast Free Wheel retains the novel movement construction with elevated moving parts and a constant force mechanism integrated inside the tourbillon, but now set against a traditional, grained plate in maillechort, or German silver. Initial thoughts The Free Wheel is a long established collection, having been rolled out in several case styles over time, but this new incarnation is arguably the best one yet. The Le Locle-based brand is known for its overall loud designs and its tendency to push a very modernist look, so the old-school approach with maillechort is unexpected but appealing. The Blast Free Wheel still retains a somewhat loud case design, but the modernism here is more restrained and the futuristic movement is toned down by its finishing. As the name suggests, the main point is maillechort, a brass alloy better known as German silver. Long employed in historical watches, the material is usually associated with classic timepieces from the likes of A. Lange & Söhne or artisanal watchmakers, but here it compliments the avant-garde movement well. The soft silver-grey hue of the German silver serves as an excellent backdrop for...
SJX Watches
I don’t often read spiels from watch sellers, though there are exceptions like Langepedia, a specialist in the German brand that I have long been a fan of. Alp Sever, the gentleman behind Langepedia, recently published a story that caught my eye. It was an ode to a watch already sold, but an important one worth commemorating, the Tourbillon Pour le Mérite ref. 701.008, a unique piece in white gold with silver sub-dials. Mr Sever’s story got my attention because I remember the watch. It first emerged publicly just over a decade ago at Christie’s, where it had been consigned by presumably the original owner (who was presumably someone connected with the brand’s corporate parent in the 1990s). I admired the watch in person during a preview exhibition, but back then it was as far out of my budget as the Lange 31’s mainspring is long. The unique dial has a concise, crisp aesthetic that is almost monochromatic and accentuated by the lozenge-shaped markers also found on the pink gold variant. Intriguing, another unique Pour le Mérite exists with a similar all-black dial, but with a smaller, 36 mm case. This “panda” iteration is more appealing, however, as is its conventional, 38.5 mm case. The unique Tourbillon Pour le Mérite sold for CHF437,000 at Christie’s Geneva in May 2014 – extraordinary at the time. In the same auction, a third-series Patek Philippe ref. 2499 in yellow gold sold for less. The Tourbillon Pour le Mérite was enjoying a little bit of a bo...
Quill & Pad
The Patek Philippe 5002 Sky Moon Tourbillon launched in platinum for the 2001 model year, the 12-complication featured two dials. Dial one was devoted to a moonphase indicator and a perpetual calendar with retrograde date display. On the sub-dial display for months, simple text promised a tourbillon regulator within the case.
Monochrome
Block RG is a new indie watch brand with a vision to create high-end, futuristic watches unlike anything else on the market. The project was initiated by Romas Gimbutis, an entrepreneur with extensive expertise in watches, who brought together a collective of talented and creative minds to explore beyond the boundaries of traditional watchmaking. At the […]
Hodinkee
A thoroughly in-depth look at a watch so remarkable, people might not realize it until they're all sold out.
Monochrome
Incredibly, only eleven years have elapsed since Bulgari pitted its first gladiator in the arena of ultra-thin watches. Not only did the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon of 2014 astonish the world with its razor-thin, record-breaking 1.95mm tourbillon movement, but it also conquered the hearts of many with its seductive Italian good looks. With ten world records […]
SJX Watches
The signature complication of Louis Vuitton’s watchmaking, the Spin Time is a jump hours with a twist that is now 16 years now. Earlier this year, the complication was given a major technical and aesthetic update with an all-new collection, the Tambour Taiko Spin Time, featuring a new case and a new movement family – both developed and produced in-house. The flagship model is the Tambour Taiko Spin Time Flying Tourbillon that combines the jumping hours with a central flying tourbillon – a logical use of the peripheral arrangement of the time display. Though the most complicated (and expensive) of the line, the Flying Tourbillon has all of the key elements of the Tambour Taiko, including the redesigned case and a new movement made by La Fabrique du Temps (LFT), Louis Vuitton’s Geneva watch manufacture. Initial thoughts Whether or not you like the watches themselves, the Tambour Taiko Spin Time collection is a statement of intent by Louis Vuitton. The brand has made substantial investment in vertical integration and manufacturing, essentially watchmaking, and the Tambour Taiko line-up is proof of that. More specifically, the family of movements that underpins the Tambour Taiko illustrates the industrial-haute horlogerie capability that Louis Vuitton has developed in a relatively short period of time, the very sort of competence required to build a high-end watch brand at scale. The movements in the Tambour Taiko collection now number three, but are all part of the s...
SJX Watches
Continuing with its 250th anniversary special editions in fine style, not long after the Temporis Grand Complication, Vacheron Constantin’s latest is the 12-piece-strong Métiers d’Art “Tribute to The Celestial”. Each watch is dedicated to symbol of the zodiac, with the respective constellation rendered in hand guilloché on the dial, while the case is set with baguette-cut sapphires totalling almost 4 ct. Fortunately available individually instead of only as a set, each “Tribute to The Celestial” watch is powered by the cal. 2160, an automatic movement with a tourbillon and novel peripheral winding mechanism. Initial thoughts Vacheron Constantin (VC) has long combined complications and gemstones, though in a relatively low-key manner since such watches were rarely announced publicly. The series of Overseas Perpetual Calendars set with coloured stones, for example, was never widely publicised. The “Tribute to The Celestial” demonstrates what VC can do with its in-house guilloche workshop and gem setting (which is probably not done in house). The watches are striking and beautiful, though certainly only for fans of blue, and only blue. Despite the gemstones and guilloche, the watches look surprisingly modern, likely due to the colour as well as the geometric nature of the engine turning. Though the guilloche is done the old school way on a hand-operated machine, the engraved zodiac symbols look nothing like traditional guilloche. Not all the zodiac emblems a...
Monochrome
The Portugieser line is one of IWC’s iconic collections, tracing its origins back to the late 1930s when Portuguese businessmen sought precision marine chronometer-grade wristwatches with oversized cases and clear dials. Since then, the Portugieser family has evolved into a flagship line balancing classic elegance with technical prowess, blending clean, legible design with complications that […]
Quill & Pad
Love them or hate them, one thing that most collectors know is that tourbillons are very expensive. That's all changed with Patria's Brigadier Tourbillon Subscription Edition costing 'just' CHF 18,000 for a beautifully hand finished Swiss Made tourbillon.
Deployant
The IWC Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph represents a technically ambitious addition to the brand’s longstanding Portugieser line.
Worn & Wound
Many watches are designed to perform specific tasks or serve specific purposes beyond telling the time. Divers have bold markers and ratcheting bezels, pilot watches are oversized and might include a second time zone, track watches feature chronographs or tachymeters, etc, and then, there’s the Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Time-Eaters. Featuring a giant eyeball for the hour hand, a spinning set of teeth for the seconds, and a double-sided arm that’s giving a one-finger salute, they don’t seek to fulfill a practical purpose. Instead, I’d classify them as “memento absurdum,” which is to say, objects that remind you of the absurdity, whether in life or watch collecting. If you’re thinking, “Now, wait a second, didn’t they just come out with a new Time Eater like a few days ago?” you’d be correct. A 42mm model with a navy blue chapter ring and a darker silver than previous versions, it was a handsome, if iterative, addition. But the Time-Eater is back once again, this time with a substantial change: it now has a tourbillon. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Louis Erard use a tourbillon movement, specifically the “affordable for a tourbillon” BCP T02 by Olivier Mory, which appeared on a few of their Alain Silberstein collabs. The Time-Eater Tourbillon (TET from here out) is basically a reedition of one of the first two Time-Eaters, which was initially introduced in either a 39mm case with a purple chapter ring, or a 42mm case with a green ch...
Hodinkee
The last of the Biver Carillon Tourbillons get a vintage-inspired facelift.
SJX Watches
Greubel Forsey bids farewell to what was once its smallest watch, the Balancier Contemporain, with a final edition in stainless steel with a blue dial. The brand aims to finish the run of 33 watches later this year, after which the Balancier Contemporain will be no more, marking the end of its just-under-40 mm case. Notably, this is not a move away from mid-sized watches; in fact, the brand intends to double down on them with future launches. Initial Thoughts When launched in 2019, the Balancier Contemporain was the Greubel Forsey’s smallest watch – relatively speaking. The brand’s quality may be irreproachable, but wearability is another matter – several of its watches are well over 44 mm – and as consumers’ tastes gravitate back to mid-sized watches, Greubel Forsey was arguably in a tricky position with its near pocket-watch-sized calibres. But the brand was prepared for that. Just last year, Greubel Forsey set a new direction with the Nano Foudroyante EWT, a flyback chronograph (and flying tourbillon with lightning seconds) that was just under 38 mm in diameter and 10.5 mm thick. And even before that, the Convexe sports model cases already helped wearability massively – I’d even say the nominally larger Balancier Convexe and Double Balancier Convexe wear better than the Balancier Contemporain. So while the Balancier Contemporain is still a great watch, I’m not sad to see it go. As Greubel Forsey transitions to small-diameter watches, I expect to see it...
SJX Watches
Translating as “Stopovers Around the World”, Escale Autour du Monde is Louis Vuitton’s collection of unique and lavish minute repeating pocket watches. The collection now counts two watches: Escale en Amazonie that depicts the heart of the rainforest, while the just-launched Escale Au Pont-Neuf is set just outside Louis Vuttion’s headquarters in Paris. Each timepiece is unique and powered by a new, purpose-built repeating movement with automata, also known as jacquemart, tourbillon, and an eight-day power reserve. Aside from watchmaking complications, the pocket watches also boast elaborate decoration, namely enamel and hand engraving, encapsulating the many crafts and skills possessed by La Fabrique du Temps (LFT), the Louis Vuitton manufacture in Geneva. The LFT AU14.03 Notably, the Escale Autour du Monde is actually Louis Vuitton’s second haute horlogerie pocket watch offering. The collection follows last year’s Asnières-themed pocket watch that was actually powered by a wristwatch repeater movement. The pocket watches of Escale Autour du Monde retain the same 50 mm diameter as the Asnières but with the LFT AU14.03 calibre within was developed from the ground up as a pocket watch movement. Escale en Amazonie (left), and Escale Au Pont-Neuf Initial thoughts Usually, modern pocket watches either rely on wristwatch movements (like the Escale à Asnières from last year) or near-century-old ebauches completed in the modern day. Louis Vuitton didn’t take th...
Monochrome
The Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin Time Eater Tourbillon marks the evolution in the ongoing collaboration between the Swiss indie brand and master watchmaker Konstantin Chaykin. Building on the success of the previous “Time Eater” regulator models, part of Chaykin’s expressive Wristmons universe, the new model introduces a tourbillon with regulator display to the series […]
SJX Watches
Having collaborated on several iterations of the affordable “Time Eater” regulator, Louis Erard and Konstantin Chaykin now close the chapter on the model with something more complicated. The Time Eater Tourbillon Louis Erard x Konstantin Chaykin tells the time regulator style – retaining the trademark “eyeball” hours from the Russian independent’s Wristmon series – but inside the “mouth” is a one-minute tourbillon. At CHF19,900, the Time Eater Tourbillon is pricier than the earlier time-only models, but still relatively accessible as such things go, thanks to a no-frills, but Swiss, tourbillon movement inside. Initial thoughts I liked the original Time Eater regulator because the design captures the Konstantin Chaykin style but makes it affordable at about a fifth of the price of a Wristmon. The Time Eater Tourbillon is less affordable, but still priced a little less than a Wristmon, so it is still a value proposition. More broadly, it’s a good thing that Louis Erard and Konstantin Chaykin are ending the Time Eater series. After three time-only regulator launches and this tourbillon, the concept has probably reached an optimal point of just enough and not overexploited. Rolling eye whimsy The Time Eater Tourbillon will be available in two variants: a green-accented model as pictured here that’s limited to 78 pieces, and one in blue that’s limited to 28. The former will be available from Louis Erard and its retailers, while the latter will only be so...
SJX Watches
A subtler version of its flagship model, the Biver Carillon Tourbillon Signature Series looks almost like a time-only watch. It does away with the dial cutout for the tourbillon, leading to a more toned-down appearance for the complicated watch that combines a three-gong carillon repeater with a tourbillon. Notably, the new model is also available in a two-tone configuration of titanium and 18k rose gold. Initial thoughts Watchmakers usually highlight the tourbillon, putting the regulator front and centre of the dial (and charge a lot more for the mechanism too). Back in 2023, Biver made its debut with a tourbillon minute repeater, which proudly displayed the tourbillon at six o’clock. Now the brand has reprised the model, but conceals what was the main showpiece on the dial. The two models are delivered with a set of cufflinks, material-matched to the watch The closed dial plainly conceals the tourbillon underneath. And due to the movement’s construction, the tourbillon can’t be seen from the case back either - making for a confusing sight. The end result is a very understated timepiece that doesn’t reveal itself easily, or much at all. In fact, the apparent simplicity is underlined by the dial, which is almost identical to that of the time-only Automatique. It features the same brushed circular sectors and micro relief minute track have become staple design elements of the brand. Were it not for the repeater slide, one would even be tempted to assume this is...
Hodinkee
Exactly 224 years to the day after Abraham-Louis Breguet patented the tourbillon, Breguet reveals a host of firsts.
Time+Tide
Lots of tourbillons and lots of complex dials this week.The post New releases from Vulcain, Richard Mille, Armin Strom and more appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.