TOURBILLON HISTORY
Unique in the World of Watches
In 2003, Thomas Prescher became the first watchmaker to offer a double axis tourbillon pocketwatch. Just one short year later, he exhibited yet another world premiere: a triple axis tourbillon wristwatch as part of the Tourbillon Trilogy.
The Tourbillon Trilogy is a unique set of three tourbillon wristwatches comprising single, double, and triple axis flying tourbillons with constant force escapements. Each, encased in platinum, possesses a distinctive shape and various visual design features that share a common platform.
Although single axis wristwatch tourbillons are no longer rarities today, only occasionally are they flying tourbillons, and it is absolutely unique to find a flying tourbillon with a constant force mechanism within a tourbillon cage.
The Tourbillon Trilogy is only offered in platinum in a limited series of ten sets. However, separate editions of each wristwatch are now available individually and in various case materials.
What is a Flying Tourbillon?
Conceptualizing the difference between a regular tourbillon and a flying tourbillon is really quite simple. Imagine for one moment a stick symbolizing the tourbillon cage. Hold this stick with both hands, one palm placed at each end of the stick. The right hand is the bridge on the dial side; the left is the bridge on the movement side, depicting the positioning of a standard tourbillon. Now it’s clear how one hand (the one representing the bridge on the dial side) gets in the way
of a clear view of what is underneath it - a miraculously filigreed work of mechanical art.
To conceptualize the cantilevered flying tourbillon, which is only secured to the plate on one side, hold the same stick at the bottom end, between the index and thumb of one hand. You see that the stick is entirely supported at one end, with two points of contact at its base. This affords a clear view of the top of the stick, which represents the flying tourbillon’s carriage. In order to underscore this effect, Thomas Prescher chose a very fine stem with two conical gears to transfer energy instead of the usual connection of wheel on wheel. Now there is nothing to hinder a free view of the tourbillon. Keeping hold of your stick on one end, now rotate your lower arm to emulate the second axis and then turn your whole body around if you are interested in illustrating the third axis.
A flying tourbillon is much more difficult to make than a simple, fully bridged version. If you actually performed the conceptual experiment described above, then you will have immediately noticed that the stick held at one end can be easily moved by outside forces compared to the stick held between two hands, which is a far more stable construction. This rather simple conceptualization accurately conveys one of the main difficulties of flying tourbillon construction: balance. A revolving carriage that
is not supported at its outer extremities needs especially good balance of all axes as they relate to one another. This is a technical challenge, especially with regard to the double and triple axis flying tourbillons since these parts weigh just mere fractions of a gram. The competence required to achieve this miniscule mechanical wonder is truly exceptional, not to mention the accuracy required of the watchmaker’s hand and eye.
Constant Force Mechanism
Understanding a constant force mechanism in a tourbillon is not as difficult as one might imagine since the problem involved is very straightforward. The tourbillon’s carriage - comprising escapement wheel, pallets, balance spring and balance wheel - possesses what might seem like an unbelievably small amount of weight. However, it is actually quite heavy in relation to the energy at its disposal. Thus, in more extensive constructions such as multiple axis tourbillons, it is impossible to get the necessary amount of impulse energy from the escapement wheel to the balance via the pallets.
To solve this problem, the escapement wheel and its pinion must be placed next to each other, which is not their usual arrangement. A little spring outfitted with initial tension is placed between them. The watchmaker limits the spring’s ability to rotate with a small pin so that it doesn’t wind up. Now when the escapement creates energy, the relatively light escapement wheel is set in motion by the initial tension of the small spring. The heavy gear train and tourbillon cage follow suit slowly, re-tensioning the small spring. This process repeats itself six times per second, at a frequency of 3 Hertz, which is the same frequency at which the watch’s movement beats.
Single Axis Tourbillon
The single axis tourbillon was invented by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801 to counteract the effects of gravity in pocket watches and improve their rates. Pocket watches were generally carried in the vest pocket in a vertical position, which was why Breguet’s invention only worked on pocket watches in this position. Once the watch was laid flat, on a table for instance with the dial up or down, the entire effect of the tourbillon was voided and no longer affected the rate.
Double Axis Tourbillon
In the 1970s, an Englishman named Anthony G. Randall created a double axis tourbillon for clocks - more as an intellectual exercise than to actually address the issues of rate deviation mentioned above. He built a carriage clock based on these principles, adding the double axis tourbillon.
In a double axis tourbillon, the second axis revolves parallel
to the dial, influencing the rate positively when the watch or clock is positioned with the dial up or down. Thus, this mechanism has an advantageous influence on the rate of all six positions.
Since the double axis tourbillon can only realize its full potential in wearable watches, Thomas Prescher first examined his possibilities in a pocket watch so that the feasibility of his vision could be examined and later added to a wristwatch version. It turned out that directly miniaturizing the same arrangement of components was not possible. Problems concerning weight distribution, gearing, and friction of the micro mechanisms led to completely different reactions than in Randall’s clock since the smallest component of the new mechanism weighed a mere 0.0009 grams. The tourbillon had to be designed entirely new, most especially because Thomas Prescher wanted to create a flying tourbillon version.
Triple Axis Tourbillon
The creation of a set of three types of tourbillons required Thomas Prescher to invent a third individual construction. Inspired by Randall’s work, Richard Good became the first clockmaker to add a triple axis tourbillon to a carriage clock in the 1980s. Thomas Prescher took out his old apprenticeship notebooks containing his sketches and interpretation of Good’s work in creating a triple axis tourbillon carriage clock. He wanted to modify this for use in a wristwatch.
Spurred on by the success of his pocket watches, Thomas Prescher set to work further miniaturizing these multiple axis mechanics. He met the challenge and added a third axis that revolved once every hour. The construction of such a tourbillon wristwatch was considered long impossible: it was thought that the movement height would be too great for practical use and that the weight of the additional components would not let enough energy get
through to the balance. However, Thomas Prescher found a number of solutions to address these issues.
The meaning of such a complicated timepiece is much more art for art’s sake than the search for any improvement of a rate. A triple axis tourbillon with its spiral-shaped movement takes up far more room in the space of a case than either the single or the double axis tourbillons. It is especially the unencumbered view that makes the tourbillon seem to hover in the air on its three flying axes.
A triple axis tourbillon is not only a technical masterpiece of the art of watchmaking, but it is above all a piece of art that draws our eyes to it - magically - a kinetic sculpture of time.