The New Breed of Tourbillons From Breguet

[Jack Forster]

The tourbillon has given rise in recent years to both admiration and acrimonious debate. The tale of the tourbillon is too well known to necessitate more than a brief recapitulation: invented by Abraham Louis Breguet,


(ALB, image hosted by WorldTempus)

Horloger du Roi, patented in 1801, intended, if the words of Breguet's original patent application are to be believed, to both aid in distribution of lubricant and to cancel out poise errors occasioned by by gravity. In a modern wristwatch the tourbillon is of debatable utility as a chronometric enhancement- generally it is agreed that the complication's natural environment is the pocket watch, rather than the wristwatch; and the tourbillon has become increasingly visible in every sense of the word. No longer concealed, by and large, within the confines of the watch's case, the tourbillon now takes pride of place as the raison d'etre of the watch, visible to the owner through a cutout in the dial; and the increasing ubiquity of the complication in the oeuvre of an increasing number of haute horlogerie brands seems to threaten the tourbillon's exclusivity.

However, if demand and prices paid at auction are to be believed, the desire of the connoisseur for the tourbillon is enflamed rather than tamed by its proliferation- and not without reason; for all that there have been attempts to democratize the tourbillon, these have largely failed to convince and as the tourbillon generally keeps company with only the most finely finished movements, it has retained not only the aura of refinement that is its rightful heritage, but also the ability to fascinate with its beauty.

It is true, however, that the art of the tourbillon as a visible manifestation of the watchmaker's craft has been increasingly marked by attempts to create versions of the complication which set themselves apart from the its classic form. The appearance in recent years of multi-axis and central tourbillons, as well as variations such as the carousel tourbillon (not to be confused with the karrusel, invented by the Dane Bahne Bonniksen and never used in a wristwatch) have given the connoisseur a wider range than ever to choose from but also created, for watchmakers, an increasingly challenging environment within which attempts to advance the art of the tourbillon run the risk of seeming increasingly forced.

Thus it was with great pleasure that I had the opportunity recently to encounter two examples of the tourbillon at both its most refined and its most creatively satisfying, from none other than the firm whose founder brought it into existence- Breguet. In the modern art of the tourbillon, a delicate balance must be struck between respecting the traditional demands of the complication and creating examples which set themselves apart, and the sense of obligation to do so must be especially strong at Breguet, whose name is virtually synonymous with the tourbillon. Recently Breguet has experimented with several variations on the classic design, and this year introduced two remarkable examples, both rooted firmly in and respecting the heritage of the firm and the tourbillon, but also looking towards the future and offering the perhaps surfeited connoisseur fresh stimulation. I am happy to say that the two new tourbillons from Breguet, the Tourbillon Messidor and the hypnotically compelling La Tradition Tourbillon, are no mere novelties; these are horological works of art with the ability to grow more intriguing, not less, with the passing years- which, more than anything else, is the true heritage of Abraham Louis Breguet.


(Tourbillon Messidor, image courtesy Montres Breguet)

The Tourbillon Messidor is a stunning and startling mystery tourbillon in which the carriage has mysteriously vanished. Encased between two sapphire plates, the tourbillon seems to rotate, not only without any immediately visible support but indeed without any motive force to propel it! Mystery tourbillons are great rarities and this particular variation even more so- the most compelling possible expression, as the suspension of the tourbillon between the two plates enhances the magic of the tourbillon's apparently self-propelled rotation even further. It is an almost Platonic tourbillon- like the World Soul of which the ancient philosopher wrote in his late dialogue, the Timaeus, self-moving, set rotating by no other than its own inherent spiritual virtue. If the tourbillon fascinates by its presentation of a self-contained mechanical microcosm, the transparent mystery tourbillon is its most ideal form.


(The Tourbillon Messidor- a candid photograph)

The Messidor Tourbillon pays homage to Abraham Louis Breguet in its name as well. "Messidor" is the name of the tenth month in the Republican calendar, which was intended by the National Convention of the Republican government, in power in 1801, to supplant the Gregorian calendar previously used, which was seen as merely another tool of the oppressive and unlamented ancien regime. While the Republican calendar eventually fell into disuse, there remain a number of watches and clocks which reflect its structure, a number of them by Breguet himself; the collection of Republican clocks and watches forming its own, rather arcane subdomain of horology.

Messidor corresponds approximately to the last ten days of the month of June and the first twenty days of the month of July, and Breguet's patent for the tourbillon is dated 7 Messidor Year IX, or June 26th 1801 by the Gregorian calendar.

The Tourbillon Messidor achieves its magic through the ingenious expedient of using the crystal plate within which the tourbillon is enclosed as the carriage- the lower crystal plate is toothed at its perimeter, the gear teeth being hidden by the surround which frames the tourbillon, and is driven at its edge by the movement train, providing the motive force which then can be transferred via the escape wheel and lever to the balance itself.

Of particular note is the restrained elegance with which the Tourbillon Messidor has been skeletonized. Eschewing an elaborate engraved style for a superficially plainer but more subtly sophisticated finish allows the graceful shapes of the skeletonized plate to be seen without obscuring visual clutter, adding immeasurably to the visual pleasure afforded.


(View of the movement through the caseback)

The second of this year's remarkable tourbillons from Breguet is the La Tradition Tourbillon, which extends the tourbillon as an art form both forwards into the future and which also reaches backwards in time, incorporating one of the rarest horological complications of them all- the fusee and chain.


(The fusee cone as seen in a watch of the late 18th century; image hosted by Wikipedia Commons)

The fusee is intended to address one of the most fundamental of all horological problems and one which has been with mechanical designers since the very earliest days of spring propelled mechanisms- as a spiral spring unwinds, the amount of power that it generates decreases. In any mechanism of course, this presents problems, but in a spring powered timepiece the problem is especially acute, since the drop in power over the running time of the watch or clock will cause a change in the amplitude of the balance oscillations.

The earliest watch and clock escapements, such as the verge escapement, were especially vulnerable to variations in amplitude and without some means of controlling power output would be extremely poor timekeepers, fortunate to run within an hour a day's accuracy. However, coupled with a fusee and a balance spring (whose use was made possible by the pioneering work of the 17th century Dutch scientist, mathematician, and horologist Christian Huygens) a verge watch could keep time accurately, and precision timekeeping became a real possibility.

Other methods of creating even power output from the mainspring exist- there is the stackfreed, a German invention with a name of obscure etiology, which consists of a cam mounted on the mainspring barrel against which pressure is applied by a curved spring; as the barrel unwinds, the shape of the cam causes the spring to produce progressively less resistance so that the weaker part of the mainspring's output is more equal to the stronger part. In theory the stackfreed should work well but it found no favor, to paraphrase George Daniels, with other national styles and the French and English preferred the fusee and chain, the English retaining it in precision pocket watches well into the 20th century. There is of course also the remontoire d'egalite, in which an intermediate spring in the train is armed periodically and which discharges power to the balance; as long as there is enough torque in the mainspring to arm the remontoire power delivered to the balance remains exactly the same and amplitude is unaffected by power variations. But the chain and fusee was, historically, the most favored method and remains the classic example of a mechanism for controlling power output.


(German watch, late 16th century, with stackfreed and hog's bristle regulator, Antiquorum archives.)

It is sometimes erroneously stated that Jacob Zech of Prague invented the fusee and chain, but in fact the fusee was known earlier and one of the oldest pieces of evidence we have for the fusee is to be found in the codices of Leonardo Da Vinci, the legendary Renaissance polymath whose work as an artist is well known, but whose work as a mechanical engineer should also be appreciated. Da Vinci was an enthusiastic designer of machines of all sorts, including but not limited to military and civil engineering projects, and he designed and built several highly complex automata, one of which was a mainspring powered robot whose movements could be programmed through the use of an interchangeable cam mechanism! It is in the Madrid Codex that we see some of the earliest instances of the fusee.



(Images of the tambour spring barrel and fusee, Madrid Codex, Leonardo Da Vinci. Images archived on www.anthrobot.com.)

It is however true that the oldest surviving clock to contain a fusee is by Jacob Zech, who made a clock in 1518 which remains to this day the oldest known clock to use one; however Da Vinci in the Madrid Codex refers to the ubiquity of the fusee (several decades earlier) and the Codex includes images of both the stackfreed and the fusee. Since spring powered clocks have been reasonably dated to at least as early as the early to mid-15th century, it seems reasonable to assume that the fusee and stackfreed were in use at that time as well.

Breguet used the fusee in a number of high precision watches; one particularly beautiful example, no. 1176, was made for Count Stanislaus Potocki and is a veritable catalogue of horological refinements- a watch with a tourbillon regulator, fusee and chain, and Breguet's echappment naturel (a unique escapement of his own invention) it was intended to be the highest possible precision portable timepiece that one of the era's greatest horologists could produce, and aesthetically it is a classic manifestation of Breguet at his most accomplished as well. The style of finish of the plates and bridges is the fire gilding which characterized much of Breguet's work, and which in combination with blued screws and finely black polished steel produces a visual effect to rival the finest shimmering jewel-like movement embellishment that the Genevoise style has ever produced- indeed, the restrained and sober charm of this style was the basis for the later high English style of watchmaking and today has been adopted by such stratospherically haute de gamme manufacturers as Roger Smith and Greubel Forsey, as well as of course the legendary, handmade watches of Breguet's 20th century heir, Dr. George Daniels.

The basic principle of the fusee is familiar intuitively to anyone who has ever ridden a ten speed bicycle- if two pulleys are connected, the mechanical advantage of the first as it turns the second is determined by the ratio of their radii. In other words, a smaller diameter in the second pulley creates a relative mechanical disadvantage, delivering less torque- thus, in a bicycle, the smaller diameter gears are used for speed while the larger diameter are used for hill climbing.

It is no coincidence that the fusee cone is the same shape as the conical rear gear assembly on a bicycle, as the same principle applies. The power in a fusee watch flows from the mainspring barrel to the fusee. As the barrel turns, it pulls the chain off the fusee cone from the narrower top to the wider bottom, creating a greater mechanical advantage for the weaker part of the mainspring's turning, ensuring an even power flow through the remainder of the train to the escapement and balance. The fusee cone sits on a great wheel which is geared to the remainder of the power train, which functions in the conventional manner. Originally, the fusee was connected to the mainspring barrel with a gut cord; but for the last two centuries or more the mechanical linkage has been a tiny chain.


(La Tradition Tourbillon, 7074.)

Fusees in clocks and pocket watches were not great rarities but in the wristwatch they are virtually unheard of, and a combination of the fusee and tourbillon is almost unknown. Lange & Sohne has presented fusee and chain wristwatches with the tourbillon, and more recently there is the Vianney Halter Cabestan, but the Breguet La Tradition Tourbillon is a totally unique experience aesthetically.


(Candid photo, La Tradition Tourbillon)

The La Tradition watch, which we can expect to form the basis eventually for a whole family of complications, is a perfect vehicle for showcasing a tourbillon of grand dimensions and the La Tradition Tourbillon exposes the carriage and balance of the tourbillon through one of the most beautiful sapphires in the world- a high domed, limpidly transparently and seductively curved crystal that seems to rise over the miniature mechanical world below like the vault of the heavens itself. The fusee and chain are visible as well, and the tiny links of the chain can be observed as they gradually unwind from the fusee onto the barrel during running of the watch. The magnificently proportioned tourbillon is crafted of materials that, in keeping with the brand's philosophy of preserving the intellectual heritage of Breguet through the embracing of modern methods, are on the cutting edge of modern materials science in horology: the bridge and carriage are of titanium, which affords a rational solution to the perennial problem of the tourbillon- the inertia which must be overcome in starting and stopping the carriage as the tourbillon rotates.

Since the watch, like all fusee watches, is wound by turning the fusee cone and winding the chain onto the fusee, winding the watch interrupts power delivery to the train. Thus, like all fusee watches, the Breguet La Tradition Tourbillon uses a form of what is known as "maintaining power" in which an internal differential mechanism maintains power flow to the escapement during winding.

If the purpose of the tourbillon today is to provide a unique aesthetic and kinesthetic experience, to offer in sculptural form a visual and palpable poetic expression of the passage of time, then there is no more beautiful tourbillon in existence than the La Tradition 7047- half a thousand years of horological heritage on the wrist, and an eternity of beauty in spirit.

Jack