[ via HD3 Complication ]

Pocket Watch Tri-axial JH01, First HD3 Sculpture designed by Jorg Hysek

This incredible new object has been conceived like a piece of art, a sculpture presented in a mysterious pedestal, in which the pocket watch is hidden, and only its heartbeat can be heard through the wood of the instrument maker (originated from Vallée de Joux), which is well known because it amplifies the resonance naturally , just like a music instrument does. A single push with the thumb on the fingerprint drive and it recognizes its proprietary. The watch will then come out very slowly from its hiding place, in order to be discovered and appreciated.

The pocket watch has an extraordinary tri-axial tourbillon, a very special movement especially developed by HD3 Complication. The first rotation is the one of the tourbillon on its own axis; on a different axis, the second rotation allows the reading of the seconds; the whole movement is the third rotation, moving on the third axis and allowing the reading of the minutes. Finally the reading of the hours is done on an independent disc.

Read "Pocket Watch Tri-axial JH01 by HD3 Complication" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ Chopard ]

Chopard recently held a Charity luncheon to commemorate the upcoming Singapore F1 Night Race. Their innovative new tourbillon, the L.U.C. Tourbillon Tech Twist, was offered for sale by silent auction during this luncheon. All the proceeds will go to charity.

This piece is one-of-a-kind and features a 42mm white gold case that houses the Calibre 4TBST (Quattro Tourbillon Black Superlight Twist) movement. The manufacture movement features an ultra-light silicon escapement along with a sporty black PVD coated mainplate and bridges.

The watch is expected to bring $700,000 USD. MORE>>

Read "L.U.C Tourbillon Tech Twist by CHOPARD" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 7:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ Aquanautic ]

Here is the Aquanautic Diving Tourbillon 300 meters with Monopusher Chronograph BNB. The 5 days Power Reserve indication gives the autonomy of this time piece. The movement is combined with a second time zone on the internal rotating bezel. The double symmetrical screwed crown is placed in titanium black PVD and Pink Gold case with a one-way diving bezel all compacted in a 52 mm diameter. The monopusher is also secured by a screw wheel that blocks the pusher when diving. This is a unique signature of Aquanautic by RAYMEYER. MORE>>

Read "AQUANAUTIC Diving Tourbillon Monopusher" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[ Girard-Perregaux ]

In collaboration with Pininfarina, Girard-Perregaux has combined the excellence of a timepiece with an extraordinary motor car, personalizing one of its complication watches - the Vintage 1945 Tourbillon with gold bridge - and incorporating it in a unique Rolls Royce Hyperion, unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours this week-end.

This detachable timepiece not only fit in the vehicle's dashboard, but can also adorn the wrist of its owner. Thanks to a sophisticated system of spring balls, it can be easily extracted from its alligator strap and clipped onto the dashboard. It'ss held in a support shaped like the Tourbillon cage, which is also the signature of the Girard-Perregaux brand. Its white gold case, with its pure lines inspired by a watch from 1945, houses a Tourbillon with gold bridge. It's perfectly tailored to Hyperion, up to the dial colours that match the bodywork.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 8:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via Badollet ]

The Badollet Stellaire Tourbillon has a mechanical hand-wound movement, with a 120-hour power reserve displayed on the caseback, indicates the hours and minutes by means of central hands, as well as a tourbillon that is visible through the openworked dial at 6 o'clock. Revealing the symbolic power of the infinitely small, the carriage of the flying tourbillon carrying the Badollet logo and weighing less than one gram is set in a free-spirited and random manner with various shapes of extra-terrestrial olivines, also extracted from meteorite fragments. The 44 mm-diameter case in 150 palladium-coated white gold of the Tourbillon Stellaire is fitted with a sapphire crystal caseback enabling one to admire the back of the exceptional movement as well as its power reserve. Water-resistant to 30 metres, this stunning model features a glareproofed sapphire crystal protecting an openworked dial with Roman numeral hour circle, revealing the various parts of the movement and its meteorite baseplate. The dial comes in a range of materials ranging from lapis lazuli to onyx, as well as brown jade and black or white mother-of-pearl. MORE>>

Retail $250,000

Read "BADOLLET Stellaire Tourbillon" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 12:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[ via Badollet ]

Badollet takes its personalisation concept to extremes with the Crystalball Chronograph: associated with an exceptional mechanism, its classic design can be interpreted in numerous different ways according to personal preferences...

Three kinds of dials, each offered in a choice of materials, a range of dial-
ring variations: the Crystalball Chronograph is capable of adapting to all
kinds of aesthetic and technical desires.

This manual-winding monopusher chronograph with tourbillon is a very complicated movement, which is why it costs $245,000 plus. Also the watch case is made of white gold with a palladium coating for extra brillance.

Read the full press release and specifications here:

[ More pics ]

Read "BADOLLET Crystalball Tourbillon Monopusher Chronograph" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via SwissTime ]

Louis Moinet is proud to present what many experts already consider to be one of the world's finest tourbillons. The unique VERTALIS model features an innovative aesthetic concept distinguished by a modern and original blend of technology and design. As its name implies, the difference here is all about verticality: VERTALIS intensifies the magic of the tourbillon by connecting its carriage to the barrel by means of a hand-drawn and bevelled vertical bar. To add to the fascinating vision of the tourbillon carriage in motion, VERTALIS offers an openworked version of the barrel. The latter's cover performs an average rotation in 6 hours and enables one to keep visual check on the power reserve according to the state of wind of the barrel spring.

Louis Moinet displays its determination to combine aesthetic and technical aspects, particularly through the vertical bar that showcases the technology of the watch, while extending over onto the case. This original and modern way of uniting displays, technology and casing is directly inspired by the historical world of Louis Moinet, and especially by some of the drawings published in his famous Traité d'Horlogerie in 1848.

LIMITED EDITION OF 12
Crafted in a limited edition of 12, the exclusive VERTALIS tourbillon movement is hand-wound and beats at a cadence of 21,600 vibrations per hour. One particularly striking technical characteristic is the spectacular visibility of the winding mechanism through the case-back. The "octopus" spring plays three roles by acting as pull-out piece spring, lever spring and click spring.

Read "LOUIS MOINET Vertalis Tourbillon" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 1:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via Franc Vila ]

The FVa N 6 Tourbillon Planetaire Skeleton SuperLigero Concept watch is a high performance timepiece striking by the naked beauty of a skeleton mechanism. It was initially unveiled at Baselworld 2008.

The timepiece has been equipped with an innovative movement, the first ever produced from Lightnium, a Lithium-based alloy. The new material is a metal characterized by an extremely low density. The material has been exclusively used in the field of state of the art aeronautical engineering. Its main features are lightness and high tensile strength, implying the reduced structural weight and improved elasticity of the module.

FVa N 6 Tourbillon Planetaire Skeleton SuperLigero Concept boasts aesthetic beauty and technical prowess. The watch represents an extremely shock and stress resistant construction.

[ MORE PICS ]

Read "FRANC VILA FVa N 6 Tourbillon Planetaire Skeleton SuperLigero Concept" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

HD3 Complication Bi-Axial Tourbillon by ProfessionalWatches.com from Jason Pitsch on Vimeo.

HD3 Complication watch designer Fabrice Gonet created this revolutionary bi-axial tourbillon as a concept and it was so popular that they decided to sell it. Even at a price of $400,000 all 11 limited edition watches were sold out quickly. It is made of titanium and platinum and is is water resistant to 50m with an 80 hour power reserve. The coolest feature is the bi-axial tourbillon which rotates in 1 minute increments on the 1st axis and 30 seconds on the 2nd axis. Watch the video to see the tourbillon in action.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via Cartier ]

Considering last year's incredible success of the Ballon Bleu, shows marked by his eccentric cabochon, Cartier has decided to present last spring a new version of its model, with a whirlwind. Ballon Bleu Tourbillon Volant and in between the landscape of haute horlogerie, proudly bearing the stamp of Hallmark Geneva.

Read "CARTIER Ballon Bleu Tourbillon Volant" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Audemars Piguet debuted their new Royal Oak Carbon Concept at the SIHH show, in Geneva, this past April. Unfortunately no info was released as far availability, but they did just release this video on the AP website. This is the first watch equipped with both case and movement in carbon. One site does have the watch listed as "Coming Soon", so it could be available before the end of the year. MORE

Read "VIDEO: AP Royal Oak Carbon Concept" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 2:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

[ via Vialuxe ]

I was reading an article at The Watch Lounge the other day and noticed that two readers commented on how they disliked the look and size of the new Corum Admiral's Cup Tourbillon 48. The funny thing is I was thinking the exact opposite, I actually think this is one of the slickest looking Corums to date. I really like the use of red gold and PVD on a big 48 mm case and of course the tourbillon movement, although the six figure price tag is not very attractive.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via Concord ]

This past April I met with Noel and Alex from Concord, during Baselworld, to preview their entire collection. The Concord C1 Tourbillon was the last watch they brought out, which is quite impressive. It is very big and distinctive like all of the new C1 models. The tourbillon is of course their flagship with many innovations including the most notable, the tourbillon that is on the side of the case. Noel said that during Baselworld they had 25 of these pieces available to order for $320,000. With a few days left in the show they had already sold out all 25 watches, with backorders for 50 more.

PRESS RELEASE

The C1 Tourbillon Gravity is astounding in more than one way. A single glance is enough to identify it as a free spirit in the universe of Haute Horlogerie. A Tourbillon disconnected from the case, an unusual seconds indication, a flyback chronograph, a trust index display: this whole range of specific features symbolize the audacity of a brand that reinvented itself just one year ago.

Hit the jump for two more pics and the full press release.

Read "C1 Tourbillon Gravity by CONCORD" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via Audemars Piguet ]

Here are a few shots of the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Carbon Concept Tourbillon. I have always liked the Royal Oak models from Audemars and this concept is my favorite one so far. It looks a lot like the TB Buti Carbon concept watch that was featured at Baselworld. Unlike the TB Buti the Audemars has a ceramic bezel and a tourbillon movement. Expect to pay much more for the Audemars name and the tourbillon movement. Both watches have high-tech movements and use a lot of carbon, but the prices should be very different.

The Audemars Carbon watch is ultra-lightweight and may become the first watch to feature a carbon case and movement. I am not sure if the TB Buti will feature a carbon movement, but the all carbon case is still very impressive. Audemars utilizes a pure carbon 384 part Calibre 2895 tourbillon chronograph movement. The bezel is ceramic, the crown features AP intials and the ring surrounding the caseback is secured by eight screws made of PVD blackened titanium.

Read "AUDEMARS PIGUET Royal Oak Offshore Carbon Concept Tourbillon" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via HD3 Complication ]

After attending the Baselworld show this year we headed to Geneva to visit HD3 Complication. Instead of exhibiting at the SIHH or Baselworld shows, HD3 decided to have a private show aboard a boat on Lake Geneva. The SIHH show was about a block away.

The watch that really attracted me to HD3 originally was the Capture. This year they introduced the Capture 2, which was designed by Valerie Ursenbacher, who is one of the three designers at HD3 Complication. This watch comes in three versions; white gold with black PVD accents, rose gold with black PVD accents and titanium with white gold accents. All three versions are limited to 11 pieces and come with a natural rubber or leather strap. The one (pictured above) and after the jump is the titanium and white gold version with the natural rubber strap. It costs $250,000 and was not sold out at the beginning of the show, but I am sure all 33 pieces were sold out by the final day.

Read "EXCLUSIVE: Capture 2 by HD3 Complication" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is a video I took at the Hublot booth during Baselworld 2008. The Bat Bang Tourbillon looks really good close up. I will be publishing some high-resolution images of the Hublot Bat Bang in the immediate future.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via HD3 Complication ]

HD3 Complication designer Fabrice Gonet created this revolutionary bi-axial tourbillon as a concept and it was so popular that they decided to make an ultra-limited edition of 11. Even at a price of $400,000 all watches were sold out quickly. It is made of titanium and platinum. It is water resistant to 50m and has an 80 hour power reserve. The coolest feature is the bi-axial tourbillon which rotates in 1 minute increments on the 1st axis and 30 seconds on the 2nd axis.

Hit the jump for rest of the original images taken in Geneva earlier this month.

Read "EXCLUSIVE: HD3 COMPLICATION Bi-Axial Tourbillon" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

HD3 Complication watch designer Fabrice Gonet created this revolutionary bi-axial tourbillon as a concept and it was so popular that they decided to sell it. Even at a price of $400,000 all 11 limited edition watches were sold out quickly. It is made of titanium and platinum and is is water resistant to 50m with an 80 hour power reserve. The coolest feature is the bi-axial tourbillon which rotates in 1 minute increments on the 1st axis and 30 seconds on the 2nd axis. Watch the video to see the tourbillon in action. Original image gallery coming soon.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 7:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via Franc Vila ]

One of my favorite watches from the Baselworld show is the Franc Vila Concept Tourbillon Planétaire Skeleton SuperLigero. The case is made of black titanium with a special elliptic and circular bezel, which is signature Franc Vila. The crystal and the caseback are both sapphire with double sided anti-glare treatment. It is water resistant to 100 meters. The movement is a FV Nº 6 mechanical movement with manual winding and 24 rubies. It is a flying tourbillon with inertial moment control mechanism and a wheel differential system. The watch is hand-made and hand-decorated. The bridge of the tourbillon and plate are made in red "Lightnium". It has hour, minutes and power reserve functions. The dial is a transparent sapphire. This is an ultra-limited edition of 8 pieces. The case is also available in a Black Diehard Extreme Steel, DieHard Extreme Steel, red gold, white gold and Titanium & Gold. I did not get a chance to schedule a meeting with Franc Vila this year, but I am sure all editions are sold out.

Read "Nº 6 Tourbillon Planétaire Skeleton SuperLigero Concept by FRANC VILA" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Hublot One Million Dollar Diamond Big Bang is already sold, but the owner was nice enough to allow Hublot to display it at their Baselworld booth this year. Of course it was under the condition that it would be protected by a self-concealing Raptor Alarm system. TimeZone.com "Hublot" moderator Amir raised the watch for about a minute so we could snap some pics and then lowered it right away. [UPDATE: Hit the jump for the rest of the pics]

Read "One Million Dollar Big Bang by HUBLOT" »

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ via Bell & Ross ]

Check out the new Bell & Ross Phantom Tourbillon. It has a cool DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) finish for high resistance to scratching. At 46 mm, it is a good size, by todays standards. It has carbon fiber and gold to complete its impressive look. You can see the beautiful tourbillon through the opening at 6 o'clock. I bet this watch looks amazing in person, or on your wrist.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 7:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[ Zenith ]

The Zenith El Primero Zero-G Multi-Dimensional Tourbillon will be debuting at Baselworld 2008 in April.

Coordination is provided by an invention patented by ZENITH: a second gear train is the reference point for the swinging of the escapement axles and a differential gear with inverter compensates all the relative movements of the framework.

The Zero-G Tourbillon, whose cage alone comprises 166 of the 294 parts that make up the device, 10 conical geared wheels with spiral teeth and 6 ball-bearings, was developed from the El Primero automatic caliber that beats at the record speed of 36,000 vibrations an hour.

Bringing the Tourbillon Zero G and the Defy Xtreme range together produces an unforeseen design, a perfect alchemy of engine and bodywork. A figure 8 on its side, symbolizing infinity or a lucky number, is drawn around the hours and minutes display at 11 o'clock and around the opening of the phenomenal Tourbillon at 5 o'clock. A multi-layered dial of Hesalite glass, carbon fiber and aluminum beneath two sapphire glasses, a blackened titanium case that is waterproof at 1000 meters, a black shot-peened titanium case, a protected crown, helium valve and titanium bracelet with Kevlar inserts and high-temperature resistance are the features that make this an extreme sports timepiece.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

[ via Luxist ]

To celebrate the opening of their new flagship store Chanel has created a one-of-a-kind J12 Tourbillon. This model has "Beverly Hills No. 1/1" inscribed on the caseback. The new store on Rodeo Drive is 14,700 sq ft. and is 4 stories tall.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[ via Watchismo ]

Here is a really cool black version of the Maserati MC 12 by Audemars Piguet. The new Maserati MC 12 roadcar inspired timepiece, imited edition Black Millenary MC12 Tourbillon and chronograph is a reinterpretation of its predecessor. This interpretation has a much more aggressive and sporty design.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 2:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Here is the CHANEL J12 Tourbillon Haute Joaillerie. This unique piece presented this year seriously affirms Chanel's double nature: the tourbillon stands out against the dial, constituted of two black ceramic plates with a thickness of 0.3 mm, and decorated with nine diamonds for indices. Surrounding the dial, 598 baguette-cut rubies are set in the bezel, the case, and the bracelet. It's enough to make your head spin. Cool and very very expensive even for a tourbillon.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is a cool new watch from Bell & Ross that will debut at Basel World 2007.

Posted by Jason Pitsch at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)