AndrewD
[HoMe Moderator]
12829
Personal priorities
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 all the way back to A.L. Breguet, I enjoy the mechanical complexity that the Tourbillon brings to the escapement and I value the watchmaking prowess required to assemble an escapement that uses dozens, if not hundreds, of parts and weighs only a few ounces. If it brings additional chronometry to the watch then that's a bonus, but I am content as long as it does not make it worse. I enjoy seeing a Tourbillon dancing on the front of the dial, but I understand the allure of a more discreet configuration.
Gosh, I think it's time we had a Tourbillon photo thread, because tourbillons are less about words and more about emotion. Along the lines of tasting the perfect pizza (thanks Nico!) or seeing the perfect piece of art.
Modern lubricants dried up in 6 months, Amery? That sounds a bit alarmist to me, my friend.
And finally, like many other things in life, it's not what you have, but how you use it! A mass produced Tourbillon just plonked into a watch to increase profits is not attractive to me and not what this is about. Combined with other things such as interesting dials, innovative displays, remontoirs, chain and fusee, or even a repeater or Sonnerie brings the watch to the level of magic. Control over time, gravity and space.
So, perhaps perfectly useless in a wristwatch that assumes multiple positions on the wrist each day, but beautifully poetic mechanical toys, full of emotion and perfectly exemplifying why we love mechanical watches.
Kind regards from La La Land,
Andrew
Is a tourbillon worth it?
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...
More experienced horological aficionados...
...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
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 a mechanical watch worth the premium, compared to a Quartz watch?
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-...
I agree
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!
The trick
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...
I think I'll have pizza tonight
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
Still very expensive
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, ...
I think it depends on what you like
If you like some thing enough youll always find a way to justify its price. regards Marwan
I don't like to agree...
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!
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!
but can they get boring?
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...
it depends on the execution and the context of the watch
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
Sam, i think you mean 'does a tourbillon make a watch more horologically important ?'
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...
Define.
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.
It's all personal taste...
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...
Better to ask Andrew D....
who has been pondering the same question for some time. fernando
I saw my first tourbillon about 3 weeks ago and I can say this..
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...
Personal priorities
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...
The 6 months caveat
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 ...
just discovered the following
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...
it's also referred to in the PP catalogue
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...
Exactly.....
that was what PP had told me when I asked about their tourbillons.... Cheers
Amery,
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...
Thanks for looking into this ...
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 hope it's not true
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?
Oxygen is another culprit
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...
Truth is that there has been a explosive proliferation of tourbys in last few years
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...
there are tourbillons for everyone...
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...
I have no great explination
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