Grab some popcorn and your favourite corner to read as we have a major update on Tourbillon 1 for you today.
We are nearing the tourbillon development finish line. Aesthetically speaking the looks of the Tourbillon 1 will remain as close as possible to the original, however we presented an updated animated version of the movement in August and since then we have further optimized components that will ever so slightly enrich the visual effect of the tourbillon as well as increase performance.
The timeline to fulfilling our first pre-order round orders is still on schedule. Running our sourcing in parallel to finalizing our 3D construction has had us in close communication with suppliers which has expedited lead times. Components have been ordered and the first of them have already shown up at our facility. The ball bearings for the cage arrived just this week as well the minute wheel and hour wheel have moved into production. Each day parts are arriving and the excitement with each delivery from our team is electrifying.
What has changed since our August update, well quite a lot, but not all of it will be noticeable at first glance.
To recap, we have taken zero components from the original prototype and have engineered an entirely new movement. Our in-house K1 and K2 movements have been pivotal in the tourbillon development as we have utilized components from both those movements. Our goal was to provide Tourbillon 1 with the most power reserve we could deliver from a single barrel construction. The previous movement operated at 4HZ however for our new movement we will utilize 3.5Hz or 25,200 VPH as it is utilized in both K1 and K2 calibers. We are familiar with this frequency and understand the tolerances required to optimize power reserve. At over 100 hours of estimated power reserve, Tourbillon 1 delivers in spades. To achieve such a high power reserve we also calculated new geometries for the gear train as well as built an incredibly lightweight Tourbillon cage.
The titanium tourbillon cage sits at just 3.9mm and we anticipate a further reduction in weight from our last update of 0.29 grams. Adding to the efficiencies of ultra lightweight is the in-house silicon escapement that is near frictionless. We are proficient with the use of silicon components for our escapements. Having spent years developing our own geometries for the silicon anchor and escapement wheels we naturally utilize and optimize this material technology in all our movements. A silicon escapement is super efficient, anti-magnetic and has an extremely long run time.
Over on the backside we now have 6 screws fixing the cage in place and have reduced the bridge material around the cage to increase the depth of field and this ultimately enhances the “flying" aspect of the flying tourbillon.
The balance wheel and regulation system have been updated and it is now a screw balance wheel. The wheel itself will have a rhodium finish as well as remain very thin which further pulls ones eye into the inner workings of the movement. The screw regulation enables us to be more precise in adjusting the movement.
When it comes to the balance wheel colour we had a tie from the comments we collected. We therefore opted for the original silver colour. The silver look is achieved with a rhodium finish and complements all movement colours nicely.
On the backside of the movement we have updated the ratchet spring and ratchet wheel from our animation. The ratchet wheel has an entirely new look with its double ‘H’ design. The ratchet spring has been changed from its angular design to a more curved look to match the curvature of the ratchet wheel.
The final big development on the movement side of things is the main barrel and main spring. Due to the open construction of the barrel, the barrel will be coated with black DLC. This treatment of the main barrel increases its longevity and significantly reduces abrasion. DLC is not needed in a closed barrel construction as particles created by abrasion are kept within the barrel housing, however in an open barrel construction an uncoated barrel could spread abrasive material throughout the movement and thus the reason we utilize DLC. The laws of physics are the same for every movement maker therefore by utilizing DLC we can mitigate any potential risks associated with abrasion.
The main spring is an automatic mainspring construction rather than a hand wound mainspring. The benefit of using an automatic mainspring is that if the movement is overwound it will not break as they would with a traditional hand wound spring.
Thank you for your patience on this update.
We are currently working on updates to the Tourbillon 1 pages on our website and in a few weeks time we will have a completely new and refreshed look for you there.
Stay tuned as we will be announcing the start of our second tourbillon pre-order in our next update.
Till next time…
Landon Stirling
And here we go... the team is in highspeed mode 🚀
Spokes of the barrel cut out now.. Next step mate finish, then nickel plating and finally DLC. So as everybody can see watchmaking is a process business and within all these steps, very tight tolerances have to be considered at any time. This why Switzerland is leading, because all the invisible processes which are crucial for the performance can be found nearby. No other country has this capability.
Fresh from the lathe., unfinished and raw. Its a huge barrel.
Next step is lasering the spokes, afterwards finish and then coat with DLC. When all that is done, the spring will be fitted into the barrel by the spring supplier.
Open worked main-spring barrel parts. We are moving forward...👍
Love the Horage ‘double H‘ design for the ratchet wheel, nice touch.
Thanks for explaining why you need DLC coating for the open barrel: will this mean the tension in the mainspring will be visible and act as a rough visual indicator for the state of the power reserve?
Really appreciate the level of detail to this post and the response! Part of making us part of the story made my decision to purchase one as soon you guys are ready.
Thank you very much. I really appreciate your detailed explanations about the developments and changes. I can feel involved and assured that I will be getting a watch even better than originally envisaged.
So new spec is automatic instead of hand wound?
How does it work? I don't see anything look like rotor.
Can only fully agree with Jim. The watch really gets better and better. Keep up the work and congratulations to the whole team! 👏
Very happy to see that the tourbillon movement is getting better with every update! Keep it up!