Before we go any further with a deep dive into the best tourbillon watches, it's worth understanding what tourbillon actually translates to, which is ‘whirlwind'. The reasons why start way, way back in 1795 with a man called Abraham-Louis Breguet. A master watchmaker during the era of the pocket watch (Breguet went on to invent the first wristwatch in 1810, FYI), Breguet worked out that a pesky thing called gravity was prone to interfering with the components of his pocket watches, pulling against the time-telling mechanisms, and causing inaccuracies.
Blue sky thinker that he was, Breguet’s solution was to invent something that could simultaneously hold all of a watch’s ‘regulating organs’ in one place – the balance, balance spring, and escapement in a mechanical cage. That cage rotated in a circle, stopping gravity from dragging the spring too far in any one direction. Simple! The idea was that if the regulating organ (the parts of the watch that count time) of the watch was constantly in motion, the positional errors would be averaged out, whatever position it was in.
Whether the tourbillon actually improves a watch’s accuracy has long been up for debate. But what can’t be argued against is the beauty of the mechanism, a testament to human skill and centuries of steady, steady hands. It also helps that watch brands tend to place the tourbillon front and centre, allowing the wearer to gaze admiringly at all of those clever moving parts. A bit like seeing a Rolls-Royce engine in motion, or when they used to do the N64 in clear plastic.
Anyway, go figure tourbillons tend to be well pricey – due to all the mastery required, innit – but some watchmakers do offer versions that, while not affordable, aren’t as brain-melting as is historically the norm. Here are the best tourbillon watches on offer right now.
TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon ‘Glassbox’
Most tourbillons are dominated by the movement, but what appeals in particular about TAG Heuer’s interoperation of its classic ‘Glassbox’ Carrera (it gets the name from the domed sapphire crystal case found on vintage Heuer watches), is how naturally the tourby blends with the classic design of the Carrera. A 42mm, which is fairly small for such a complicated watch, that iconic blue dial and hefty chrono pushers, with an in-house tourbillon, the engine powering one of the world’s great motorsport watches. Lovely stuff. £19,950. At tagheuer.com
Frederique Constant Classic Tourbillon Manufacture
Designed as a landmark piece to celebrate FC’s 35th anniversary, the Classic Tourbillon Manufacture debuted at this year’s Watches and Wonder, revisiting a movement that was originally launched in 2008. You wouldn’t normally associate a tourbillon with a style this… elegant, but here we are. A 39mm case in rose gold, with an ‘anthracite grey’ sun-brushed dial and polished gold hands. The movement is the star here, of course. The Manufacture bit means it was developed entirely in-house by Frederique Constant, it’s framed by a gold ring and a ‘heart beat’ opening so you can see every aspect of the watch’s movement. £22,995; At frederiqueconstant.com
Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Automatic
Trust Hublot to go big with its latest tourbillon version of the Big Bang line. Made out of something called SAXEM, which apparently stands for Sapphire Aluminium Oxide and Rare Earth Mineral and took three years to develop, it is also very, very yellow. It’s sapphire, but make it fancy sapphire that has been turned into a high-functioning 44m watch with a floating movement and a skeletonised dial featuring components made from titanium and, more unusually, sapphire. Did we mention how yellow it is? £182,000. At hublot.com
Greubel Forsey 24 Secondes Architecture
Referred to as a ‘city on the wrist’ by the brand (do the trains run on time?), the Greubel Forsey 24 Secondes Architecture is a mightily impressive piece of watchmaking. A hefty 47.5mm case made from a combination of titanium and sapphire, called convex, houses a calibre that features 354 separate components… which is a lot. There’s no real ‘dial’ to speak of, so you can really see this watch go to town (city?) while it works. If you’re after one, it might be tricky. GF is making 18 pieces this year. It’s nice to look at though, isn’t it? POA. At greubelforsey.com
Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon
Part of the reason why tourbillons are both coveted and controversial is because of how A) expensive they look, and B) complicated they look. Patek Philippe's Sky Moon Tourbillon ticks both of those boxes with a massive Sharpie. There's a hugely-ornate grand complication with a display on both the front and back of the watch (which displays an accurate representation of the night sky). There’s moon phase, perpetual calendar and minute repeater functions, and it’s made out of rose gold with ornate Roman numeral finishing on the dial. Oh, and it takes a master artisan 1,000 hours to carve the baroque case. As much a work of art as a great watch. POA. At patek.com
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duoface Tourbillon
The thinking man’s dress watch, JLC has juiced up its iconic Reverso line with a hand-decorated, 18k pink gold tourbillon with twin dials. One in clean and clear silver sunburst with the actual tourbillon movement (a heads up, it’s hand-wound) highlighted, the other, partially skelotonised, in black with a second time zone and, a day-night indicator. While the movement might have 254 components, it’s still remarkably thin given the level of engineering. The watch’s case is 9mm thick, just as you’d expect from the the good people at JLC. POA. At jaeger-lecoultre.com
Breguet Marine Tourbillon Équation Marchante 5887
One of the oldest marks in fine watchmaking and, if you recall, the inventor of this whole shebang, Breguet also made naval clocks for Napoleon, which is quite impressive. While best known for dress watches, the Marine line, added in 1990, is a top quality sport series featuring a tourbillon that can go up against any in the biz. A rose gold case, a slate grey dial with wave-like engraving (called guilloché if you want to sound fancy), a tourbillon and perpetual calendar. It also, impressively, features an EOT function, which differentiates between the ‘mean time’ that we typically use for convenience, and solar time, which varies constantly due to the earth's orbit and axis. That is to say, this is a very clever watch that can tell you the time in multiple ways. £206,300. At breguet.com
Chopard Alpine Eagle Tourbillon
Did you know that there is a population of golden eagles living in the alps? Perhaps inspired by this fact, or just because it’s a very cool name, Chopard’s Alpine Eagle tourbillon is ‘guided by nature,’ resulting in a 41mm stainless steel sport watch with a flying tourbillon, which means removing the bridge of the tourbillon for crystal clear viewing. It doubles as a flex: ‘Look, we can take the bridge out, no problem.’ A watch that pairs engineering with an unobtrusive movement. If you want to subtly tell people you’re a grand complication guy, this is the one. POA. At chopard.com
A. Lange & Söhne LANGE 1
Doing things a little bit differently, the tourbillon in A. Lange & Söhne’s LANGE 1 watch is only viewable through the sapphire crystal caseback, which sort of goes against the usual approach of ‘look at me, I have a tourbillon,’ but it also belies a confidence in the brand’s design and approach. Whisper, don’t shout etc. Limited to 25 pieces, the 41.9mm case is crafted from white gold and it sits on an alligator leather strap. What’s that thing about quiet luxury that everyone’s going on about? You could see Kendall Roy in this watch. You could see an actual reclusive billionaire in this watch. POA. At alange-soehne.com
Richard Mille RM 66 Manual Winding Flying Tourbillon
Here he is. We couldn’t do a madcap watch movement story without an appearance from the king of weird, wild and complicated watches, Richard Mille. This one costs $1million, and has a skeleton hand made by renowned Swiss engraver Olivier Vaucher out of rose gold doing the ‘devil horn’ sign. Why? This is RM we’re talking about. Oh yeah, there’s also a tourbillon in there somewhere. The case is ultra-light carbon TPT with a wavy, textured effect called ‘damascene’ and the movement is titanium. Mad as it is, RM makes an incredible product. If you’re a rebel with a trust fund/tech empire/ACDC production background to match, then… sure. POA. At richardmille.com
Now, remind us – what's a tourbillon again? Quite.
