What, you might be thinking do cake and watches have in common?
An English proverb states: “You can’t have your cake and eat it”, which refers to accepting that if you are faced with two contradicting choices, you can only have one. Life is full of compromises, or as the Rolling Stones once sang: “You can’t always get what you want.”
Well, sometimes you can!
Back in 2020 we launched the Tourbillon 1. HORAGE rewrote the rulebook (we’ve made a habit of this) becoming one of the first independent watchmakers to engineer, build and deliver a truly in-house flying Tourbillon equipped timepiece at a previously unheard-of price point. This ‘mission impossible’ was made possible thanks to the incredible skill and dedication of the HORAGE team, the unwavering support of our community as well as the unique situation created by Covid 19 lockdowns.
Tourbillon 1 put HORAGE on the map and energized our engineering and watchmaking teams. Once you’ve established such a precedent there’s no turning back. We kept our momentum and within four years brought another two calibres to market. But many of our fans kept asking: “Can I buy a Tourbillon 01?”
Out of respect to all that supported the Tourbillon 1 project, we of course were unable to fulfil these requests. One Edition is just that, and we stick to our promises.
That doesn’t mean we haven’t been pondering how to make dreams come true and the 5th birthday of Tourbillon 1 seems like the perfect moment to let the proverbial cat out of the bag…..
Today we are proud to announce and reveal the Tourbillon 02 ‘Skeleton.’ This new addition to the Tourbillon 2 family brings together the aesthetic style embodied by the skeletonized main plates of Tourbillon 1 with technical refinements, features and improved legibility offered by the numeral set that defines all Tourbillon 2 models.
Pricing and materials
Back in 2020 the Tourbillon 1 was priced at 7,500 CHF excluding tax, duty & shipping. We dreamt of offering the new Tourbillon 2 Skeleton as close as possible to this price. Much has changed in the world in the intervening five years with inflation in many countries regularly exceeding 20%.
So, we are super happy to be able to offer almost the same cost for Tourbillon 2 Skeleton. This may be as close to actual time-travel that any of us ever get 😊
We will offer a choice of 3 different base materials for the Tourbillon 2 Skeleton: Stainless steel, 18K yellow gold and 18K white gold.
You might be familiar with our “Golden Ticket” concept. This means we don’t add a massive mark-up on precious metal cases. You pay the ‘base’ price of the stainless-steel timepiece and an additional cost for 18K yellow/white gold based on the market price of these metals. We calculate a nominal amount for processing.
The prices are as follows
Stainless Steel Case - 9,999 CHF
Yellow Gold Case - 9,999 CHF + Golden Ticket upgrade fee 8345 CHF = 18,344 CHF
White Gold Case - 9,999 CHF + Golden Ticket upgrade fee 6950 CHF = 16,949 CHF
Last but certainly not least on pricing…..offering a Tourbillon 2 Skeleton Stainless steel at under 10,000 CHF is pretty exceptional, but it creates an awkward inconsistency in the pricing structure of our existing (non-skeletonized) Tourbillon 2 range. Tourbillon 2 Livre de Durrow has previously cost 10,990 CHF.
To offer transparent and coherent pricing the Tourbillon 2 Stainless with Blue Livre de Durrow dial will now cost just 8,999 CHF and is available from stock.
As with Tourbillon 1 the new Tourbillon 2 Skeleton will be limited in availability! You won’t find it on our website or listed in the HORAGE web shop. You will need to get a bit more 'hands-on' to get one of these stunning new timepieces. Tourbillon 2 Skeleton will be available to order during the calendar year of 2025. Shipping will commence from June 2025. At the end of the year, we will close the order window and the number ordered at this point will be the total production run: just like with Tourbillon 1.
How can I get a Tourbillon 2 Skeleton timepiece?
1. Complete the allocation form - click here for order form
2. Contact one of the HORAGE Concierge team - click here for Concierge details
3. Visit HORAGE at one of our events during 2025
Want more product information? - click here for the full specification
How do you like the Tourbillon 2 Skeleton design? Tell us in the comments.
Stainless steel, white gold or yellow? Which metal is 'The One'?
David - sorry to be off topic - I'm curious what, if any, colors were ever used on the original KT1 top plate? I've seen silver and black ones, was there other options?
Also curious - was the movement in the KTMR considered for this watch, or does the micro rotor make it difficult to skeletonize?
I think the PR is a nice upgrade to the original movement and really nice to have on manual watches. With the skeleton dial it disappears if you aren't trying to find it, and there when you want it. Which is perfect.
Like Emilio, I'm not into the 'black-gold' myself, but wish you and the Horage team the best... and also hope to visit you in Switzerland sometime in 2025!