Back in 2020, Horage launched their first tourbillon, proving a Swiss-made high complication could actually be affordable. Since then, they’ve released some cool everyday watches like the Milgauss-riffing DecaFlux and some borderline insane pieces like Revolution 3 MicroReg, but tourbillons are still very much at their heart. So, three years after the last generation, it’s about time we get Horage’s third run at the complication in the Tourbillon 3 Relik.
If you’re seeing the word Relik and instantly having visions of watches containing bits of old spacecraft, historical artefacts, slivers of the true cross, don’t worry. This isn’t one of those pieces. Instead, Relik denotes a brand-new case shape, one that marks the beginning of a loose collection of different, Horage-ified complications.
A new standard case isn’t hugely exciting as a concept, but what is exciting is that it measures 38.5mm across. Typically, Horage have opted for 41mm cases for their tourbillons, which gives the complication a bit more room to breathe – but honestly, I always found a bit large. The larger sizes aren’t unwearable by any stretch, Horage actually take ergonomics into account, but if you give me a 38-39mm option I’ll take it every time.
With the downsizing comes more gently curving lugs than something like the ultra-sporty Autark, with a smaller crown with no protectors. It’s a little more streamlined and classical – dare I say, more approachable – and sits very nicely on the wrist at 9.9mm high. It maintains 100m water resistance too, which is rarer than I’d like for high complications but very welcome here.
The only real bit of extra flair is the slim, coin-edge bezel set right down into the lugs. It’s the kind of bezel that would feel more at home rotating, but the way it’s set into the case and the precision of the teeth are both immensely satisfying. It’s a more restrained case than I’ve come to expect from Horage, but for good reason: the dial the bezel is framing does all the aesthetic lifting itself.
Like the Tourbillon 2 Skeleton, the Tourbillon 3 has a ‘dial’ made by machining the bridges of the movement into Horage’s signature grid. Unlike it however, there’s some colour here, too. Not all the squares of the grid have been cut out and those that remain have been coloured in deep purple, forest green or this pale shade of blue green.
It’s an odd design but I love it. It paradoxically reminds me both of a computer motherboard and a ruined wall, half fallen. At first, I was a little dizzied by it, the hands getting slightly lost in the business of the design. And yes, I do think it could benefit from coloured, blued or blackened hands to contrast more with the grid. Fortunately, it’s not a problem you notice on the wrist where the visual depth separates everything out.
The clearest, cleanest element of the dial is the titular tourbillon. This is your classic 60-second tourbillon, with one of the cage’s three arms marked as the second hand with a black screw. It’s also a flying tourbillon and the lack of visible suspension gives it a clarity that the rest of the dial doesn’t. I’m generally not a fan of open-heart watches – one of my many grails is the horological flex of Laurent Ferrier’s hidden tourbillon – but this works.
The entire ensemble is bordered with a rehaut, again in that pale turquoise-adjacent colour which holds the square blocks of lume for indexes. The rehaut actually looks better in the darker colours, where the grid has been coloured to match, but it’s still good to have a solid element to read the time off.
This being Horage, the caseback view’s almost as good as the front. The barrel of the K-TOU movement has been worked into a labyrinth of cut-outs, allowing a rare glimpse at the mainspring itself. While you might not be able to tell at a glance, it’s a sizeable spring with a five-day power reserve. It’s the same movement used in the Tourbillon 2, complete with silicon escapement, silicon hairspring and COSC certification.
It’s an incredibly high-spec movement for a watch with an early bird price of CHF10,990, roughly £10,450 excluding taxes. That’s £1,000 more than the Tourbillon 2 Skeleton which for a brand-new case makes sense – although you’re getting a blue rubber strap rather than a bracelet. It’s a supple, comfortable strap, but I’d much prefer the previous bracelet. Still, compare that price to other Swiss-made tourbillons and the Tourbillon 3 Relik begins to get very tempting.
As for what’s left in the nascent Relik collection only time will tell. Horage release enough watches that we won’t have too long to find out. More importantly however, it’s just good to have the technical excellence of a flying tourbillon in a smaller size. I just wonder if, for the sake of wearability, we can get a non-skeletonised version, too.
Price and Specs:
More details at Horage.
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