Gyro Tourbillon…

[tmac1956]

All:

Has anyone seen this? Comments?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbLITIynCgA

Thanks!
tmac

[david pierce]

Tom,
I personally view these contraptiions as little more than sales gimmicks. If these complicated mechanisms get out of adjustment they have to be sent back to the factory where their teams of engineers and watchmakers take months to get them working again. In my opinion the only actual major improvement in a mechanical watch mechanism was the George Daniels escapement design. His mechanism was able to keep more accurate time than an electronic quartz crystal watch. The initial concept of a Tourbilon movement was to counteract the effect of gravity on a pocket watch. When people began to wear wrist watches the watches were no longer held in one position therfore the gravational compensation provided by the Torbilion movement was no longer necessary.
david

[arutha]

Tourbillons were desgined to help overcome the forces of gravity. Breguet was messing about with them in the late 1700’s. The idea was to improve positional errors and improve the overall time keeping which, they can do, but, as David rightly points out, most are just there to show what some of our watchmakers are capable of, I also would hate to think how much it cost to have one of these watches serviced but then if you can afford to buy one in the first place I doubt it is an issue. I think they are beautiful pieces of engineering and only wish I had the skill to make one, who knows, maybe one day

[david pierce]

Arutha,
My dentist owns a Patit Philip and needed to get it cleaned and oiled. The company charges $1800.00 to do this and they require that it is to be done every two years. I am sure that the Gyro Tourbillion would cost several thousand dollars to get it cleaned. The down side of this watch is with all of those delicate parts flying around the watch is more prone to break a pivot due to a mild shock.
david

[arutha]

I agree David, its no different to any mechanism, the more complicated it is the more likely you are to have a breakdown. $1800 for a service? That is nuts!!!!
Paul.

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