Ten years ago, Antoine Preziuso built something extraordinary. The watchmaker had been around for two decades before then, working away at a host of intense haute horology pieces, blazing a trail mechanically and aesthetically that was very firmly their own. But throughout that whole time they were working on something that was hot enough to not just blaze a trail, but start a forest fire. And so, in 2015, Antoine Preziuso revealed the Tourbillon of Tourbillons.
2015 was a year when the tourbillon was the undisputed posterchild of fine watchmaking, as horologists at the upper echelons of the craft sought constantly new, ever more impressive ways to present the ubiquitous, gravity-defying piece of ingenuity. We had tourbillons turning in different directions, we had tourbillons turning in multiple directions, we had tourbillons turning inside other tourbillons. And yet only one Tourbillon of Tourbillons.
Just take one look at the watch itself and you don’t need me to explain just how special a piece of watchmaking this is. You might need me to explain what, exactly it is though – given it’s a triple resonance tourbillon carousel. So, what does that mean?
Well, a tourbillon as I’m sure you already know is a cage fit around a balance to offset the vagaries of gravity on the movement, here turning once per minute. Yes, these components are that delicate. The complication was initially designed for pocket watches where the movement would be in the same position 90% of the time and is, admittedly, less effective in a modern watch movement and more a horological flex. But that’s not where this watch stops.
Next comes the concept of resonance. When you put two balances next to each other, they will gradually start averaging out their different frequencies. This means that, if one’s slightly over or one’s slightly under, it will be brought back into line by the other. In this watch there are three tourbillons doing that at once, using a patented differential. This is physics degree-level watchmaking.
Finally, all three of those resonating tourbillons are themselves rotating around the dial in a carousel. I call it a carousel because a tourbillon is specifically around a balance, but in essence it’s like setting all three cages inside another tourbillon cage that turns once every 10 minutes. Hence the name, Tourbillon of Tourbillons.
The end result is a masterpiece. It’s overtly technical of course, the open dial leaves that on full display for obvious reasons. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be allowed in Switzerland if you hid this behind a dial. But it’s somehow stately, too. A lot of tourbillons of this level have a certain freneticism to them. They move fast and breathlessly. Not so here. That 10-minute cycle of the Tourbillon of Tourbillons allows the whole thing to breathe. It’s less manic, more majestic.
It goes without saying that every element is perfectly hand-finished. By the time you’ve worked out how this all works mechanically, you’ll want to make sure it’s presented as it should be. And honestly, over the last decade, while certain refinements to the movement have been made, it’s mainly the various finishes and metiers d’art techniques that Antoine Preziuso have experimented with. And now, to celebrate a decade of wheels within wheels, they’ve come to a climax with the TTR3 Trillion Radiant.
Yes. It’s sparkly. In fact, there are 874 diamonds weighing a grand total of 89kt across the watch. Some of these stones are baguette-cut, the squared type most often used in watchmaking as indexes and on the flat surfaces of cases and bracelets. If you see something full set, there will be baguettes there. The more unusual stone here is the trillion cut that gives the watch its name. The trillion is a triangular cut popularised in the 1960s and it’s not hard to imagine why it’s evocative for Antoine Preziuso. Three tourbillons, three sides. And while they’re not quite as rare as the Tourbillon of Tourbillons, the trillion is far from a common cut. And so, separating the three 60-second cages are two pure white trillion-cut Top Wesselton G+ diamonds and a pigeon blood red trillion-cut ruby.
The end result of this gem-setting and watchmaking is a timepiece that is at every level a masterpiece. Technologically, there are few, if any, watches quite like it. In terms of craftsmanship, the finishing and the cuts of the stones themselves are beyond reproach. And as for rarity… the TTR3 Trillion Radiant is a unique piece.
The Tourbillon of Tourbillons was already the kind of watch you could easily spot across the room. With this singular new edition to celebrate 10 years of gravity-defying, resonating haute horology, you have the kind of watch that’s near-impossible to take your eyes off. What an anniversary present.
More details at Antoine Preziuso.
