Tourbillon: the sublime expression of the art of watchmaking

Tourbillon is an addition to the mechanics of watch escapement that was first developed around 1795 by the French - Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet. This man, who was also the founder of the famous Breguet manufacture, finally patented his invention in 1801.

This very exclusive watch complication was intended to compensate the gravitational error that was to be expected in most delicate parts of the escapement system: the pallet fork, a balance and a hairspring. The goal was to distribute the error evenly over a single plane, by putting the balance, pallets and escape wheel in a cage that would rotate around its own axis once every minute.

The tourbillon has the escape wheel, lever and balance wheel mounted on a cage that is usually made from very light material. Manufacturers often use titanium, which is very durable and lightweight. The cage rotates in 360 degrees at regular intervals usually completing one rotation per minute. Like this, the general effects of gravity get balanced out, as the escapement never spends any noteworthy time in the vertical position.

Tourbillion was first used on the pocket watches and the original wristwatch equipped with tourbillon was not issued before 1930s. First manufacturers to produce tourbillon wristwatches were Breguet, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. Their chronometer watches are designed to offer the ultimate precision. They are often equipped with other innovations able to increase their efficiency. The mechanical movements are fitted with hard jewels such as diamond, ruby, and sapphire, to decrease friction and wear of the pivots and escapement.

In late 1960’s the Swiss watch industry was faced with the most difficult crisis triggered by the invention of the quartz oscillator. The quartz revolution, which took place in the 1970s and early 1980s, slowly overtook mechanical watches in popularity, plunging the Swiss watch industry into crisis. However, the Swiss watch industry remained focused on traditional mechanical watches, and today the chronometer watches remain prestigious items, produced only by the most exclusive watch brands.

Lately, Swiss industry is faced with another possible affordability crisis, as the several Chinese manufacturers now produce a selection of tourbillon movements. These movements, known as ébauche, or blank movements, are being sold as a collection of unassembled parts to be used as the basis for assembling a watch movement. Foreign-finished Chinese ébauches may be found in some very exclusive watches, for example, the tourbillon watches of Cecil Purnell, Switzerland, whose prices start around $22,000. The availability of cheap tourbillons has led industry spectators to be concerned that a new Quartz crisis may take place.

Today, most of the luxury watches are mechanical and officially certified by the COSC. They are greatly appreciated by the connoisseurs for their aesthetic attributes and as a statement of refined personal style. The quartz technology is available to the average customer while the mechanical watches, produced mainly by Swiss watch industry, preserve the same idea that watchmaking is an industry and science but more than anything: it is an art!