BDLJ
4653
Repeater
A tourbillon, I can get my brain around quite easily, function-wise.
A rattrapante, I can just get my braincells to understand. I once pulled apart an old motorcycle speedo that used a similar mechanism. OOoops. That went off to the shop in a box filled with misplaced-mechanical-confidence.
A minute repeater AKA well tuned ding-dong watch... Just magnificent. I agree.
Are Certain Companies Trying To Be Something They Are Not?
Notwithstanding their relative lack of usefulness, I love tourbillions. Part of what I love is the technical competence and proficiency required to execute a tourbillion. Along with minute repeaters, the tourbillion is, IMHO, the pinnacle of complications...
A stronger argument
I do not disagree with your basic thrust, but I think the argument could be made stronger by substituting Wyler for Hublot in the discussion. Hublot was one of the original customers of/investors in that which is now BNB, their SoloT was one of the first ...
No; at this time, a tourbillon is about appearance, not horology.
When I can get a very good cheap Chinese tourbillon, the role of the tourbillon has changed. With modern manufacturing techniques available, it can no longer be used to establish horological credibility. (The Chinese have not yet come up with cheap perpet...
ok, sorry, now wait a minute...
A Ferrai engine can be knocked off and can be made to run. A Birkin bag can be made to, for all intents and purposes, look like an Hermes original. A CLASSIC tourbillon still cannot be made (and made to run consistently and reliably, with a stable rate) b...
And then there is RJ
I sometimes feel like Romaine Jerome is always the kicker to the "Watches aren't functional at all" argument. To this debate, they have the dual tourbillon which barely tells time at all, simply indicating AM/PM. A
I intentionally omitted RJ from the discussion because, IMHO, they are far less legitimate
and subject to criticism that goes well beyond the subject of my post. At least B&R and Hublot, whether you like them or not, have a legitimate history of producing watches, and their watches actually tell time. The same cannot be said for RJ, which was c...
Intent, TM?
So once again, it would seem to come back to the concept of intent. The likes of the LUC tourbillon with a COSC (and I don't want to start a COSC debate on top of a tourbillon debate) at least shows that an intent to demonstrate time-keeping. Plus the int...
Thanks, indeed.
I just wish and hope the anti-tourbillon sentiment doesn't turn as rabid and blinding as that which made the tourbillon "the pinnacle of watchmaking skill and achievement" (you know what my take on that is - a well tuned reliable ding dong watch that stri...
You're absolutely right, Thomas.
A finely-made tourbillon remains a notable horological accomplishment and should be respected as such. When a company goes out of its way to make an excellent and original tourbillon (see, for example, Chopard's or Omega's), that accomplishment will tend ...
just to break a bit of news. Azimuth are releasing a tourbillon at Basel
unfortunately i can see it getting a lot of flack from all quarters as it looks like an Urwerk with 2 rotating discs and a 180 degree minute arc. its a shame they've styled it like they have when they could have quite easily given it originality. instead ...
I have seen a photo of the new Azimuth . . .
The "Urwerk Copy" criticism is well deserved! It is to Urwerk what Cvstos is to Richard Mille -- perhaps even more blatant. Craig This message has been edited by Craig LA on 2009-02-23 15:37:25
My perspective:
But first, a couple of introductory points: -- I do not own a watch with a tourbillion movement. -- I like Craig and I love his watch collection! Craig, your post can be summarized by the following excerpts: 1. “Notwithstanding their relative lack of usef...
Another perspective
I totally agree w/ what CalJed & LVT wrote. From watch collectors point of view, we may not like Hublot, Wyler, or Azimuth etc do. but from business point of view, I prefer to own Tag or Hublot as a company, and secretly collect AHCI products . People her...
Good point . . .
We are not the market, and it makes good business sense for watch companies to cater to the typical consumer, rather than a small segment that may have different priorities. Craig
