There are tourbillons and then there are tourbillons. Once again, Harry Winston pulls out all the stops with its incredible third watch in the Histoire de Tourbillon series begun in 2009. The tourbillon (French for Whirlwind) is a watch lover’s dream thanks to the many and varied new evolutions of this rare escapement, which compensates for the effects of gravity on timekeeping when the wrist is in different positions. Harry Winston’s newest piece –slated to be unveiled in BaselWorld in March – is a true visionary piece.
It features three tourbillon escapements in action on one dial! Beautifully choreographed, two rotating escapements guide the time. Each rotates at a different speed to defy gravity in all positions. Created in a limited edition of 20, the elongated horizontal rectangular case is created in white gold and Zalium® and features three dial openings that are all completely independent yet linked. At 9:00 there is a bi-axial double tourbillon whose outer cage rotates once every 120 seconds, while the inner cage revolves every 40 seconds. At 6:00 a single-axis tourbillon rotates in 36 seconds. An architectural delight, the watch movement consists of 479 parts, but the case is amazingly alluring as well. The watch offers 50 hours of power reserve and has not yet been priced.