What is a Tourbillon?

If you know all about tourbillon watches, this article must be a cakewalk for you. If you don't, you may have a few questions about what a tourbillon is, why famous watchmakers think it’s fascinating, and why it is so costly. This article will not be a detailed analysis or description as to the complexity or the flavor of a tourbillon, but will give sufficient light to the theme for you to intellectually take advantage of any discussion related to the subject.

In 1795, during the time of the pocket watch, the tourbillon was invented by watchmaker. The French name "tourbillon" means "whirlwind." The name makes absolute sense if you take a good hard look at a tourbillon watch in practice. It has a hypnotic, entrancing spiral movement. In comparison to the modern bracelet, the piece was usually held in two places: vertical or horizontal on a tray. Breguet found that the gravity was pulled by the time-telling mechanisms on the watch (the balancing wheel and the hair spring) which produced imperfections. Breguet built a cage to hold all of the parts needed to maintain time in his fight against gravity. He managed to turn the cage in a circle so that gravity could effectively keep the spring from spinning too fast. Now the mechanism is incredibly complex, consisting of about 70 pieces which are almost half the diameter of a dime.

Even after two centuries of its discovery the tourbillon just did not catch on. Quartz operated clocks were invented in the 80s, even more accurate and batteries that continued to tick even longer than any mechanical clock without any interruption. "These mechanical motions unexpectedly were much less precise than the quartz," said Stephane Belmont, director of heritage at Jaeger-LeCoultre. Furthermore, wristwatches attached to wiggling arms did not have the same problem as their pocketbound counterparts. (The movement is the heart of the watch, the piece series which keeps it ticking.)

"Wearing a tourbillon watch was a sign that you were wearing a very fancy watch and had something very special," said Belmont. That's how it became even more successful and attractive. People understood if you had a tourbillon on your wrist that means you had a mechanical clock.The owner wasn't the only one to show off the tourbillon..

Overtime, Tourbillons have grown from a 'wonderful solution to a real problem.' Time has demonstrated such an exquisite concept to tourbillon, that it has overcome its own extinction and has become a dynamic horological show. Only the elite of the horloger industry could make tourbillons less than 20 years ago. Indeed, tourbillons became gradually sophisticated and more exclusive, as Swiss watches became developed as luxury goods, and not just time keeping devices, they became a key marketing tool after the Quartz crisis.

Making this concept more interesting, there are various types of tourbillons, not only one but many, all of them as intriguing as the original one.

1. A multi-axis tourbillon

is an innovation to the traditional tourbillon mechanism where the escapement is mounted in a cage that is rotated on more than one axis.

2. A triple-axis tourbillon

(also known as a tri-axial tourbillon) is a tourbillon that rotates on three different axes.

3. A double-axis tourbillon

only rotates on two axes.

4. A double or quadruple tourbillon

is a watch that has more than one tourbillon complication such as the Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon "À Différentiel Sphérique"

3. A flying tourbillon

is mounted differently than a traditional tourbillon. Most are mounted with a network like a bridge or cock on each side . What makes the flying tourbillon different is that it is supported from only one side.

Thankfully for contemporary watchmakers, Breguet 's invention wasn't only practical in its time but mesmerizing over 220 years later. Today, quartz is not even the biggest mechanical clock threat. Today most people are carrying a computer that knows the exact time in their pockets to the second. The biggest benefit of the tourbillon is not that it keeps time, but does it extremely elegantly. Nevertheless, so long after their initial reason for being, tourbillons lived and prospered, their future is well maintained. Whether it is a luxury piece of a million dollars, or an inexpensive, basic tourbillon, tourbillons remain alluring wonders of micro-engineering, with captivating looks.