COMPLICATION: Tourbillon | Understanding The Tourbillon and Its Variations

10 Mar

Courtesy: Audemars Piguet, Jaeger Le-Coultre, MB&F, Louis Moinet, Vacheron Constantin.

Whoever named a watch’s additional functions as ‘watch complications’ was a wise person. Quite like complications in a person’s life, watch complications build character. For the watch, of course.

For the watch owners, they’re just passionately held statements of value. For the watchmakers, they’re the testaments to their craftsmanship and ambition.

For our fellow readers who have recently discovered their interest in luxury watches, complications refer to those additional features that increase a mechanical watch’s functionality. To date, Vacheron Constantin claims to have built the most intricately designed mechanical pocket watch ever, with 57 complications.

While the date and chronograph persist to be the most commonly seen complications, depth gauge and rattrapante are among the rarer ones that are very hard to come by. Through this article, we will be exploring one such idiosyncrasy in the world of watch complications, the prestigious tourbillon.

The Tourbillon

Let us start off by blowing your mind. A tourbillon is, quite arguably, not even a watch complication.

The simple explanation for this bizarre (to most) concept is that a tourbillon doesn’t fit the generic definition of a complication. It does not provide additional functionality, nor does it offer any extra information. What it does is influence the performance of timekeeping as a regulating device.

Let’s take a sneak peek into a tourbillon’s anatomy to understand the so-called “complication” better.

The Make and Workings of a Tourbillon

A tourbillon has four vital components:

The Cage, which houses the rest of the components and completes one 360 degrees rotation in 60 seconds.
The Balance, also known as the balance wheel, that swings back and forth.
The Balance Spring, which works in tandem with the balance wheel to control its oscillations, thereby, controlling the rate of a watch hands’ movement.
The Escapement, a mechanical linkage that gives impulse to the above elements and facilitates the advancement of the hands.

Together, these four components aim to balance out any elements of gravity that may negatively influence the rate of movement in the absence of a tourbillon.

Considering its regulating characteristics, a natural question poses itself – why the industry-wide misconception?

To every watch nerd’s dismay, the answer isn’t as exciting or ambiguous as one may expect. The tourbillon is simply considered to be a ‘complicated’ regulating device, and, despite its deviance from the generic definition, it seems more fitting to categorise it as a complication.

The History

Back in 1795 when it was first conceptualised, the tourbillon was a nice, exciting way to trick gravity and enhance the precision of pocket watches. The tourbillon’s first record in history can be traced back to 1801, when Abraham-Louis Breguet developed the ‘whirlwind’ invention to fruition, making Napolean the first legitimate owner of the tourbillon in a watch.

While this may add a lot of historic value and prestige to the complication (now that we’ve established why it’s called that), it is no longer a requirement to counter gravity per se.

Technology has intervened and the tourbillon has been displaced to hold value for its value, the commercial one. Watches with the tourbillon complication are considered to be notoriously expensive, and fairly so, considering the time, dexterity, and acute craftsmanship that go into the making.

The Variations and The Luxury Watches

Much like any priced innovation, the tourbillon has undergone several advancements over the last few decades, leading to the birth of modern variations. These variations are mostly structural upgrades that add a unique characteristic feature to the traditional, single-axis tourbillon we commonly see.

Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas Tourbillon is an excellent example of a traditional tourbillon. How they have managed to keep it traditional yet packed an 80-hour power reserve in the watch, is their secret to keep. For us, it's time to unveil some advanced tourbillon secrets.

Instead of getting into the theory of what these variations entail, why not take a look at the hottest luxury watches that sport the most coveted tourbillon variations?

The Flying Tourbillon: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Ref. 26530ST.OO.1220ST.01

As the name suggests, the flying tourbillon is an ingenious innovation in which the regulating apparatus appears to be floating or ‘flying’ due to its cantilevered support. This means that the flying tourbillon variation has no upper bridge, leaving the tourbillon to be connected to the movement from underneath.

It is known to be the invention of one Alfred Helwig from 1920. The intention was clear – to give an unobstructed view into the tourbillon’s rotations. Fast forward to today, the aesthetically satisfying variation still amazes tourbillon enthusiasts from far and wide.

Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak 26530ST is the first one in the RO series to combine a self-winding movement with a flying tourbillon. This stunning model is available in three different versions – stainless steel, titanium, and 18K pink gold – with blue, slate grey and smoked grey dials respectively.

The Gyro Tourbillon: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition GyroTourbillon 3 Meteorite

The Gyrotourbillon, also popular as the first multi-axis tourbillon, is Jaeger-LeCoultre's prized innovation. The main structural idea of this one is to have no bridge at all, thereby achieving the illusion of the tourbillon rotating in space.

A multi-axis tourbillon can be double-axis, triple-axis, or more. A double-axis tourbillon is one that turns around two axes in contrast to a traditional tourbillon that revolves around one plane or orientation. This type of movement is created when both axes rotate once in 60 seconds.

JLC has been turning tides towards this innovation ever since 2004, when they launched Gyrotourbillon I. While that one was a double-axis, Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon 3 Meteorite is considered multi-axial with two cages set at two different angles.

Legend says there are few things more fascinating for a luxury watch lover than observing the two cages of a Gyrotourbillon 3 with components moving in opposite directions at different speeds.

The Triple Axis Tourbillon: MB&F LM Thunderdome Triple-Axis Tourbillon

Now that we know what a multi-axis tourbillon is all about, the only difference in the triple-axis variation is that the tourbillon turns around three axes and consequently requires three cages.

The structural idea here is that the first cage is housed inside the second cage, which is in turn housed inside the third cage. The cages pivot in a relatively perpendicular orientation to each other, in a three-dimensional spatial infrastructure.

Considering the complexity, any more advancement may seem unlikely. But, when has horology ever failed to surprise? The third cage allows the ball bearings to be replaced with jewel bearings, a feature exclusive to triple-axis tourbillon, benefitting the accuracy, temperature stability, resistance to corrosion, as well as friction control.

One of the most cutting-edge executions of this variation can be seen in the MB&F LM Thunderdome Triple-Axis Tourbillon in which the third cage is replaced with a carousel. The carousel distinguishingly consists of an extra pinion to power the enclosed escapement.

The Double Tourbillon: Louis Moinet Mobilis Double Tourbillon Automaton

This one’s an easy guess. The double tourbillon refers to two distinct tourbillons turning simultaneously yet independently.

This complication in itself leaves ample scope for variations, however, Louis Moinet takes the cake for its pioneering Mobilis Double Tourbillon Automaton watch. The design of this watch ensures complete independence, with no interconnection between the two cages. One rotates clockwise, while the other, counter-clockwise.

A splendid variation can be seen in Breguet’s Double Tourbillon Ref. 5347 with two independent tourbillons connected by a bridge to a central plate.

The above list is far from complete. Tourbillons have come in countless shapes, weights, and sizes. While once upon a time a triple-axis tourbillon was considered to be as advanced as it can get, watchmakers managed to challenge the very physics of mechanics to make a quadruple tourbillon a reality.

Watches with the tourbillon complication attract colossal respect regardless of their type. It’s after all a canny representation of the world of luxury watches – inventive, expensive, and extremely highly valued.

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