The Whirlwind: A History of the Tourbillon

While today garnering renown around the world of technically focused watchmaking, the tourbillon watch traces its origins to the twilight years of the French Revolution, when in 1801, after years of conceptualisation, legendary watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet patented his design for a new type of a regulator by the same name.

At the time, watchmakers were gaining a greater understanding of the negative effects of gravitational forces on the accuracy of a movement depending on the vertical position of a pocket watch. Breguet, therefore, presented the tourbillon, with the then-new mechanism working to normalise (or regulate) the energy transfer between the “regulating organs” of watch – i.e., the balance, balance spring, and escapement – via a 360-degree rotating cage containing them. By this system, each of the regulating organs are then theoretically taken through all possible vertical positions, therefore mitigating the effects of gravity on a watch’s accuracy.

The tourbillon debut was a serious technical acheivement. The tourbillon, French for whirlwind, was named for its functional movement pattern. Breguet and his contemporaries would go on to develop around 40 tourbillon watches, with clients including European royalty, esteemed explorers, and a variety of maritime travellers. That early relationship between the tourbillon and ocean travel, in particular, can still be seen channeled today, for example in the Ulysse Nardin’s Marine Grand Deck ref. 6300-300 pictured above.

In the centuries that followed Breguet’s original invention, the tourbillon has seen numerous changes and executions in models of note. One of the more remarkable examples of an early tourbillon came from Girard-Perregaux in 1889, that year introducing the Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges or “La Esmeralda”, a pocket watch which featured both the regulating mechanism and the brand’s distinct three bridge design signature. In modern times, the brand continues to produce tourbillon watches both with and without three bridges.

A little over 30 years after Girard-Perregaux’s contribution to the history of the regulation mechanism, Alfred Helwig, then the headmaster of the German Watchmaking School Glashütte, approached the concept. Whereas the traditional tourbillon until this point were secured via visible supporting bridges, Helwig imagined a more dynamic mechanical variation that opted instead for only a single bridge secured to the movement directly via hidden link. Under Helwig’s supervision, his students in 1920 presented the first flying tourbillon to do just that, with the design going on to achieve wide admiration that has carried into the modern day.

As notable bucherers continued creating tourbillon watches, the tourbillon's democratization allowed its initial model to become a canvas upon which designers could improve and enrich. Patek Philippe remains one of the most impressive and precise tourbillon makers today, its legacy being carried in a number of watches like the Patek Philippe Reference 5016, minute repeating and perpetual calendar equipped ref. 5016; the Patek Philippe Reference 5539, the white gold minute repeater; and in the Patek Philippe Reference 5339, the pink gold and enamel dial minute repeating; all three watches containing the traditional tourbillon tastefully visible via exhibition case backs.

While tourbillon timepieces saw a small increase in attention during the mid-20th century on account of efforts by a small group of watchmakers, it wasn’t until the lattermost part of the 1900s when the tourbillon began to gain their lasting, modern appeal.

Much of this growth in interest began in the years following the introduction and subsequent wide adoption of quartz-technology in the 1970s and into the 1980s, after which a resurgence in the traditional appeal of mechanically powered timepieces began to arise. Many credit Audemars Piguet for this initial rekindling, with the maison in 1986 boldly introducing the ref. 25643 to a quartz-ruled period, the serially produced model being the world’s first self-winding tourbillon watch courtesy of the ultra-thin caliber 2870.

Following the launch of Audemar Piguet’s watershed reference, the unique, new form, and appeal of the tourbillon watch became clear. No longer was the tourbillon a solution to some horological problem, with plenty other simpler and more effective mechanical and quartz workarounds having developed for the gravity problem. Instead, the tourbillon watch was to fully be an artistic and horological showcase in and of itself.

The haute horologerie market is often defined by its focus on craft, particularly as it relates to uncommon feats that are accomplished meticulously by hand and with extreme focus. The tourbillon watch in this way is considered an ultimate embodiment of this ethos, being a highly difficult to produce mechanism that all but the most skilled and dedicated of watchmakers could successfully accomplish. Where a regular mechanical movement appeals to many over quartz for its traditional appeal, tourbillon watches are simply a further elevation – being no more useful but all the more romantic.

Naturally, as the tourbillon grew in popularity among the luxury maisons and their clients of the watchmaking world, simply producing one was no longer the goal, but the entry-point. Thus, it was that while equipping a tourbillon watch to a timepiece served as point of pride and “high-horological bonafides”, it was even more impressive to raise the bar even higher.

Some watchmakers, like F.P. Journe, have set out to improve upon the tourbillon in some technical fashion. The Tourbillon Souverain Ruthenium is one such model, with the toubillon timepiece being an example of the watchmaker’s first generation of Tourbillon Remontoir d’ Egalite watches, each of which include a remontoire mechanism that enhances accuracy by exerting a constant and equal amount of energy to the tourbillon.

Richard Mille, another acclaimed watchmaker, set about to introduce a sports-capable Richard Mille Tourbillon, having accomplished the feat via the original RM002 launched at the turn of the millennium. The RM002-V2 came as part of the second generation of the collection, being a special “All Grey” edition launched in 2009.

Other brands, such as Vacheron Constantin, have merged multiple veins of luxury intrigue into singular, tourbillon watches. The Malte Tourbillon ref. 30672 is one such example, with the tourbillon timepiece featuring a skeletonised aesthetic, diamond and sapphire-set platinum case, and signature maltese-cross stylised tourbillon.

Patek Philippe, conversely, went a different route with a similar ethos via the Patek Philippe Tourbillon, Sky Moon Tourbillon “988", ref. 5002. The watch at its launch in 2001 was one of the most complicated wristwatches of its time, merging a tourbillon and platinum case with 12 complications for a true embodiment of meticulous, mechanical execution.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Gyrotourbillon 1 was similarly impressive at its initial debut in 2004, with it featuring both multiple complications and various previous materials, and further represented one of the watches equipped with a multi-axis tourbillon. This Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Gyrotourbillon 1, Reference 600.64.06, Circa 2017, is a contemporary example.

Harry Winston, another prestigious watchmaker, has found some signature success in its multi-axis tourbillon, including the Histoire de Tourbillon 9, containing a triaxial tourbillon and incredible bi-retrograde jumping hours display. A second great example is the Histoire de Tourbillon 7, which contains two biaxial tourbillon on display via the dial

While the bar has been raised in what’s particularly impressive for modern tourbillon watches over the past 30 years or so, the appeal of the mechanism remains. Charming, visually entrancing, and symbolically important to the history and modern stories of watchmaking, tourbillon watches continue to persist in their appeal and significance. They represent the watchmaking virtuosity of those who produce them, and captivate the admiration of those who acquire them.