Horological Meandering

Hi everyone, I am new to the site, I know this is a common question but it is new to me. Is a tourbillon worth the money? I can't afford it so I am going to say that they are not worth it. I mean the difference in price in a watch with a tourbillon from a... 

...would probably say 'this is not the best place to talk of price, or cost' Welcome! Only you can say what a thing is worth - to you. A car, a house, a piece of jewellery, a tourbillon, a painting. We here can share your appreciation of it, regardless of... 

Still learning the culture on this site. I love it. It's nice to connect to people who love watches as much as I do! I guess in the future I would like to add at least one tourbillon to the collection! Cheers Samgame

Is Quartz watch worth it when you can have Time for free ( with your cell phone )? Is poetry better than a good pizza ( even if Pizzas may sometimes reach Poetry )? It is all about passion. Best, Nicolas This message has been edited by amanico on 2011-02-... 

Hi amanico, I think I am going to have to agree with you. I would definitely want a tourbillon to add to my collection. It's all about love and passion of our favorite hobby!

is to have a good pizza while listening to good poetry. Now ohers have argued the point, but I still say one sounds foolish attempting to recite poetry while eating good pizza, even if it is one's own poetry. Reading good poetry is of course easily achiev... 

and see if I can get the kids to read me some poetry. You see I usually eat pizza on Sinday evenings with the kids. We will see if poetry and kids that like pizza mix. Best regards, George

. . . OMOS", right? . . .

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I believe that this mechanical wonders still are very expensive, but because of the little pieces annually made this make them really unique. But as the modern times goes by, and every One of us get's like atomical watches on our cells phones, compotera, ... 

Truly Epic LOL! J

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If you like some thing enough youll always find a way to justify its price. regards Marwan

For me it is very simple: I can't really see what kind of real benefits tourbillon could offer and even I had times when I could easily afford buying one, I did not. At the same time, nobody needs a minute repeater and still I am considering saving money ... 

Tourbillons do look nice! They definitely get the wow factor. When I see someone with a watch with a tourbillon I have to say wow. It is a beautiful complication!

The dual-triaxial versions have a much better chance when they come forth from someone like Thomas Prescher. The omni-axial from JLC - the highly touted Gyro I - which I actually tried on and found to be boring, and slso mixed together with the other comp... 

but in pieces such as the Journe tourbillons, the Haldimann watches or the Laurent Ferrier watch I think they are fantastic examples of the watchmaker's craft. Best Andreas

from what i've read here and elsewhere i would say that a tourbillon on a wristwatch makes no difference to the accuracy of it whatsoever. it was designed for a pocketwatch which sat in one position for most of the day and it certainly improved their accu... 

Thanks Graham, great answer! I'm learning something new everyday.

As a time keeping quality device? No. For the esthetics? Your call. Spring drive and quartz render it obsolete in a fashion, but if I had the money and the inclination, I would consider strongly. They can be beautiful.

Is platinum worth the premium? Are Independents worth the premium? Watch collecting is a very personal thing so different people put a different price for different features. I might be willing to pay $10k more for platinum but not willing to spend $5k ex... 

who has been pondering the same question for some time. fernando

I spend about 1 to 2 hours a day on this site, on average. I love watches and it will be a way of life forever for me. Hobbies have come and gone but my interest in watches and clocks has grown stronger everyday. I live in Oregon and here there are not ma... 

Hello Samgame, I have been enjoying the responses of other PuristS to your question. It is clear to me that the 'value' in a Tourbillon, and indeed any complication, is a very personal thing. And it depends on your priorities. I value the historical links... 

I read this a while ago in a German magazine interviewing someone high in the technical division at Patek Philippe. I'll try delving into my stacks of periodicals to discover his name, rank and exactly how he was cited. The argument at PP for not putting ... 

at a site called wwp.greenwichmeantime.com in an article about the PP Ten Day Tourbillon 5101 " ... The oil needed to lubricate the tourbillon can decompose when exposed to ultraviolet radiation and therefore, it could lose its beneficial tribological pro... 

The catalogue states the same. Personally unless a tourbillon improves the accuracy of the watch it is completely pointless and has no value to me. If it has no impression on accuracy I'd rather have an automaton on the watch face as it would be more ente... 

that was what PP had told me when I asked about their tourbillons.... Cheers

I've read this as well. but it strikes me as strange that almost all top brands, I can think of, have exposed tourbillons. Also tourbillon specialists like Haldimann or Greubel Forsay. If exposed oils would, in fact, cause the watch to loose accuracy or p... 

Hi Amery, Thanks for looking into this further. I remember that statement from Patek and it has raised discussion points before on PuristS. I am traveling with just an iPad at the moment and can't easily hyperlink to previous discussions, but searching he... 

I love to see a tourbillon in front of the watch. That's the beauty of a toubillon! Also isn't there lubricant free watches?

I have also read that a half-filled bottle of a certain oil can deteriorate within half a year. Others have a shelf life up to a year. However, expert opinions seem to vary wildly on this sticky subject. Well I suppose that any residual air in the bottles... 

Leading to a "devaluing" of the tourby as a complications. Tourby suppliers like STT just diluted the market, myself having one too. There is also a tourby inflation....double and quad tourbys!! And there has been evolution since.....30 degree, bi-axis, g... 

Hi Samgame, starting with minimal finishing Tianjin Seagull Beijing Watch to an increasingly large number of examples by almost every serious watchmaker, as stated by Mr. Claret in his latest interview on this forum, and with the sky being the limit : dri... 

for why I love tourbillons other than I just love getting lost in them. I've owned a lot of them and I just never tire of them. I don't think you can look at it as a value thing because in the case most mechanical watches in general just don't make sense