22 Exceptional Modern Tourbillons

Even though they’re one of the most complex mechanisms this side of sonneries and resonance, the tourbillon in all its myriad forms is enough of a mainstay of haute horology that it’s a relatively crowded field to parse through. But that doesn’t mean all tourbillons are built the same – far from it. From the understated to the extraordinary, the technically inspired to the borderline insane, here are ten tourbillons that stand out from the rarefied crowd. 60-second, flying, multi-axis, multiples and more, gravity never stood a chance.

Best Tourbillons
Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon of Tourbillons
Girard-Perregaux Cosmos
Parmigiani Tonda PF Flying Tourbullon Platinum
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Dimple
Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture
Omega DeVille Tourbillon Co-Axial Master Chronometer
Zenith Defy Extreme Double Tourbillon
Grand Seiko Kodo
Ciannet Halter Deep Space Resonance Tourbillon
Jaeger LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpetual
H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon
Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon
Breguet Tradition 7047 Tourbillon Waltz
Gucci 25H Tourbillon Skeleton
Kross Studio Death Star Tourbillon
Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Skeleton
Tag Heuer Polychrome Tourbillon
Bulgari Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon
Louis Vuitton Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon
Jacob & Co Astronomia Tourbillon Rose Gold
Richard Mille RM17-02 Manual Winding Tourbillon
Louis Moinet Maya Eclipse

Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon of Tourbillons

With a name like Tourbillon of Tourbillons you’d expect something jaw-droppingly impressive. And this piece doesn’t disappoint. It’s not a double tourbillon or even two pairs; Antoine Preziuso’s haute horology flagship is a set of three differentially linked tourbillons that themselves revolve on a carousel. It’s unsurprising there are three patents on the watch.

The first is the triple tourbillon and revolving plate mechanism, which offers incredible chronometric performance; the second is resonance, as the three balances are close enough for them to acoustically sync up. The final patent is for the synchronizer that makes the whole thing work. The bottom line is that the Tourbillon of Tourbillons lives up to its name and, in the most recent high jewellery unique piece – the TTR3 Trillion – reflects  that status in glittering fashion.

More details at Antoine Preziuso.

Girard-Perregaux Cosmos

Where flying tourbillons try everything to get rid of the bridge supporting the tourbillon cage, Girard-Perregaux has made it a signature, especially in the case of the Neo Bridge, a modern reincarnation of the brand’s archival arrow-shaped version. It brings a layer of architectural flair to what is, at its base level, a purely functional part of the movement. If you’re going to have a bridge, you may as well make it awesome.

In the Cosmos, this architecture has been ramped up with the inclusion of two globes, one of the Earth, the other of the constellations. The time is relegated to a small dial at 12 o’clock, but the resultant watch is one of grand, sweeping movement in a balanced layout, all set on a backdrop of thematically appropriate spectrolite and aventurine. In a 12-month span full of celestial timepieces, this is near the top.

More details at Girard-Perregaux.

Parmigiani Tonda PF Flying Tourbillon Platinum

Last year Parmigiani confirmed that its new direction – rebranding around the superlative sports-luxe stylings of the Tonda PF – was precisely the right one in which it should be heading. It’s not just a handsome framework to be working in, but a versatile one, able to produce pieces like the superb Rattrapante GMT and this, a streamlined flying tourbillon.

The full platinum piece (meaning it has some serious heft to it) is a monochromatic beauty that lets the details do the talking, from the sand- blasted dial and rhodium-plated indices to the PF’s signature bezel. The bridgeless flying tourbillon offers as little disruption to the cool, calm look as possible while still being visible. How this doesn’t get more love among tourbillon aficionados we’ll never quite understand.

More details at Parmigiani.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Dimple

As one of the watchmakers to bring tourbillons back into the modern limelight, Audemars Piguet has more than its fair share of tourbillon varietals. And while we could opt for something big and impactful like the Offshore, or more technically minded like the Code 11:59, one of our recent favourites, for its funky dial as much as its technical majesty, is the new dimple-dialled version.

Here the action is split between the flying tourbillon turning mysteriously at 6 o’clock and the dial, which is as fantastic as any of Grand Seiko’s nature-inspired numbers. Indeed, the contrast between the haphazard dial finish and the sharp, functional edges of the tourbillon play off each other perfectly. Most of the time we’re purists when it comes to the Royal Oak – give us steel and Tapisserie every time – but this is absolutely gorgeous.

More details at Audemars Piguet.

Greubel Forsey Tourbillon 24 Secondes Architecture

It might not house the double or quadruple tourbillons that Greubel Forsey initially made its name with, but given the latest of those (2021’s GMT version) is discontinued, it makes sense to take a lighter look at the complication – and light is what the Architecture is all about. As is Greubel Forsey’s wont, the dial is completely open, with plenty of space between the various, painstakingly finished components and polished titanium bridges.

In this case though – and to live up to its name – the entire ensemble is surrounded by a sapphire crystal caseband, flooding it with light. The case is actually convex, so even by the lofty standards of sapphire cases, it’s impressive. The tourbillon itself is unusual in that it’s both inclined 25 degrees, but rotates once every 24 seconds, far faster than most. Combined, these two elements enhance the tourbillon’s functionality and offer insane chronometric performance. It looks incredible, too.

More details at Greubel Forsey.

Omega DeVille Tourbillon Co-Axial Master Chronometer

By default, most single-axis tourbillon cages turn once every 60 seconds, meaning they double as a small seconds hand. Omega has brought the same concept right into the centre of the watch. It might seem like a simple change, but it involves rethinking the entire layout of the movement, moving the balance to a part of the watch it usually has no business being.

It proves that rather than being a tacked-on addition to the movement, this particular oversized tourbillon is the focal point. It might also be one of the most hardwearing tourbillons out there – if such a label can be applied to this level of fine mechanics – as it’s anti-magnetic to over 15,000 gauss. Finished in plenty of Omega’s proprietary gold alloys – rosy Sedna gold for the lugs, bezel and caseback, Canopus gold for the casebody and crown – it’s a stunner.

More details at Omega.

Zenith Defy Extreme Double Tourbillon

While most of the big watchmakers leave the more extreme incarnations of the tourbillon to the specialists and independents, what do you do when your sub- collection name is literally ‘Extreme’? Other than turn your 1970s-inspired Defy line into a huge, ultra-faceted, multi-layered beast? Add a pair of tourbillons, naturally.

Underneath the combination of octagonal case (available in titanium or carbon fibre) and dodecagonal bezel is a vastly altered take on Zenith’s El Primero chronograph calibre, the 9020, whose dual linked tourbillons are visible around 9 o’clock. Because one 1/100th second chronograph wasn’t enough. Oddly though, there’s actually more dial here than the usual Defy Extreme so in some ways it’s the most reserved of the collection. In some ways. Otherwise, with its rubber strap and tricompax layout, it’s inarguably the sportiest double chronograph on the market.

More details at Zenith.

Grand Seiko Kodo

Not only is this the first movement of its type from Grand Seiko, but it’s the first of its type ever, an acoustically inspired constant force tourbillon where its heartbeat is a feature. Even more prestigious, it won our inaugural Community Watch Awards back in December. Well done it! Tourbillon movements have utilised constant force before; dual axis tourbillons tend to include a remontoir, a second power source, for just that reason. Here though both functions have been combined into a single unit.

It’s already impressive and the daily accuracy of +5 to -1 seconds is fantastic, but the Kodo lives up to its name – which means ‘heartbeat’ in Japanese – when you listen to it. The combination of 50-hour remontoir and balance creates a syncopated ticking that’s unique. Set in a platinum and titanium case, the Kodo looks, sounds and works like nothing else out there. If we could give it another medal, we would.

More details at Grand Seiko.

Ciannet Halter Deep Space Resonance Tourbillon

Right. Where to start with this one? First you create resonance, where two balances placed in close proximity affect each other to eventually synchronise with one another. It’s a complication that embraces cutting-edge acoustic physics. THEN you put the entire dual-balance assemble in a triple-axis tourbillon. It’s not such a big surprise that the mechanism took independent watchmaker Vianney Halter the entirety of 2020 to build. It’s nuts. Architecturally, there’s nothing else quite like it.

Dominated by the movement of the resonance tourbillon, the hours and quarter hours can be read at the top periphery, with more accurate minutes at the bottom. For a watch with this amount of intensely haute horology channelled into it, it’s remarkably easy to actually use. If anyone questions why you, as a collector, find haute horology so fascinating, show them this. If they don’t get it then, there’s no help for them.

More details at Vianney Halter.

Jaeger LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpetual

We’ve already discussed the gyrotourbillon and its place at, arguably, the ultimate multi-axis tourbillon. It’s a masterpiece of inventive horology but in the case of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s own Hybris Mechanica, is just one complication of many. The gyrotourbillon in the calibre 184 has been downsized from previous versions, meaning there’s space for not just a perpetual calendar but a Westminster chime, too. 

So, in short, you have a gravity-defying Big Ben nestled with a calendar that rarely, if ever, needs adjusting. More impressively, that’s all been fit into a relatively wearable 43mm timepiece whose pointer date and apertures either side of the dial make it remarkable easy to read. It should be a lot to take in, but it’s not. Provided, of course, you don’t get too distracted by the tourbillon. Or the visible hammers when it chimes. Or, well, the rest of it.

More details at Jaeger LeCoultre.

H. Moser & Cie Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon

The word that first comes to mind upon seeing the Pioneer Cylindrical Tourbillon is ‘sculptural’. The skeletonised HMC 811 calibre has sweeping lines that draw your attention to the flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock, which rotates once per minute, functioning as the seconds indicator.

What makes it extra special is that it uses technology first seen in the 18th century in marine chronometers: a cylindrical hairspring. A cylindrical hairspring is one that rises perpendicularly around the balance spindle, giving the tourbillon a dancing, three-dimensional look.

More details at H.Moser & Cie.

Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon

While the dial side of the Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon shows no hints of the mechanism housed inside, through the sapphire exhibition caseback you can see the Calibre LF619.01. This double balance spring tourbillon movement helped Laurent Ferrier secure a prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2010.

It’s a manual wind piece with a power reserve of 80-hours. The tourbillon carriage is visible through the caseback, which is unusually restrained by most watchmaker’s standards these days, with the popular design being to have it visible dial side and flying.

More details at Laurent Ferrier.

Breguet Tradition 7047 Tourbillon Waltz

Abraham Louis Breguet patented the first tourbillon on June 26, 1801, so for the 221st anniversary of this influential complication Breguet created the Tradition 7047 Tourbillon Waltz.

Over 221 years, many different types of tourbillon have been developed. For the Tradition 7047 Tourbillon Waltz Breguet have gone for a visually striking one by combining it with a fusée-chain constant force mechanism. A fusée-chain operates by ensuring that there’s constant torque on the balance spring even as the power reserve becomes depleted, boosting the watch’s regularity.

More details at Breguet.

Gucci 25H Tourbillon Skeleton

The 25H Tourbillon Skeleton bears a lot in common with the regular version but as is to be expected with a skeleton watch, the dial has been completely changed. The in-house calibre GG727.25.TS dominates, appearing to float above its supporting titanium bridges.

The uniformity of those bridges brilliantly recalls the pattern on the dial of the standard version. It also serves to spotlight the movement, which has an improved power reserve of 72-hours, with the tourbillon pride of place at 6 o’clock.

More details at Gucci.

Kross Studio Death Star Tourbillon

Kross Studio always brings character to their watches and the Death Star Tourbillon is no different. A stylised Death Star cage covers the central tourbillon, a deviation from the usual placement of a tourbillon at 6 o’clock that is harder to manufacture, showing that care has gone into the technical side of this watch as well as its aesthetics. And talking of technical ability, the mechanical, manual calibre that powers this planet destroy has an astonishing 120-hour power reserve, lasting five days between winds.

More details at Kross Studio.

Chopard Alpine Eagle Flying Tourbillon

On the Alpine Eagle, the flying tourbillon is part of the L.U.C 96.24-L automatic calibre, a stunning piece of horology with a micro-rotor, 65-hour power reserve, Côtes de Genève finishing and COSC chronometer status. All of which means it is both beautiful and mechanically excellent, the two major criteria for Poinçon de Genève certification, which it has achieved. That makes it the first Alpine Eagle ever to attain the legendary seal of excellence from Geneva, the spiritual home of watchmaking, high status indeed.

More details at Chopard.

Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Skeleton

The beating heart of the Overseas Tourbillon Skeleton is, and this won’t come as a surprise, the skeleton tourbillon. Instead of creating a brand new movement, Vacheron Constantin skeletonised the base calibre 2160, calling it the 2160 SQ. The skeletonisation process required reducing the weight of the movement by 20% without detracting from its sturdiness and 5.65mm height. The result is entirely worth it, allowing the movement to be admired fully from above and below.

More details at Vacheron Constantin.

Tag Heuer Polychrome Tourbillon

A cutting-edge technique has been used to create a rainbow of colours across the face of the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Polychrome. Stylistically, it looks awesome with its iridescent sheen, like oil across water. On a technical level, the finish has been achieved through a PVD treatment.

Typically, PVD is applied in a uniform manner – such as can be seen on this watch’s case – but for the dial, tiny variations in thickness were allowed to occur. These differences (and we’re talking nanometres here) allow the colour spectrum to reveal itself. It provides a colourful home for the Calibre 02T COSC, Tag Heuer’s premier high complication movement, which has automatic winding, a tourbillon and an 80-hour power reserve.

More details at Tag Heuer.

Bulgari Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon

The Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon’s BVL428 hand-wound minute repeater tourbillon movement is visible front and back, hammers, gongs and all. There’s so much going on that the tourbillon at 6 o’clock seems comparatively unremarkable.

Overall, the movement is a sight to behold, not least because it’s been blued itself. The broad, flat planes on the reverse make a solid contrast to the dial-side but it’s a technical marvel from any angle. The movement also has a 75-hour power reserve, impressive for any complication of this scale.

More details at Bulgari.

Louis Vuitton Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon

The Louis Vuitton Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon has recently been expanded with new green and yellow sapphire versions. Housed inside is the skeletonised LV90 manual movement with 80-hour power reserve. As expected of a Poinçon de Genève worthy timepiece, it’s finished immaculately, with the gentle finishing of the matte black bridges drawing your eye down towards the flying tourbillon with open cage and signature Louis Vuitton flower motif. Completing the look of the piece are the skeleton hands and dual Louis Vuitton monograms at 12 o’clock and 9 o’clock.

More details at Louis Vuitton.

Jacob & Co Astronomia Tourbillon Rose Gold

Jacob & Co. are one of the brands most commonly associated with visually striking haute horology, which means they’ve produced their fair share of tourbillons over the years. The Astronomia is one of the most spectacular thanks to its multiple axis of rotation.

As the entire movement rotates clockwise, the tourbillon also rotates around a horizontal axis at the end of its arm. It adds to the solar system thematic present across the entire watch, making it look like a celestial body in orbit.

More details at Jacob & Co.

Richard Mille RM17-02 Manual Winding Tourbillon

There are many Richard Mille watches that are deserving of a place in this article, many of which are more extravagant and elaborate than the RM17-02. However, the understated design of this watch works in the tourbillon’s favour, allowing it to shine in its prominent position at 6 o’clock.

In many regards it is the quintessential tourbillon in its purest form. Plus, Richard Mille’s signature tonneau case, which is made from ceramic and rose gold, naturally leads the eye towards the device in a satisfy

More details at Richard Mille.

Louis Moinet Maya Eclipse

When it comes to spectacular tourbillons, Louis Moinet knows what they’re doing. Mounted atop a replica of the Kukulcán Pyramid, the Maya Eclipse features a pair of satellite tourbillons rotating in opposite directions. They cross over each other 18 times per hour, which equates to 432 times per day – each time they do so, the sun and moon on the other side of the arms also cross each other creating the titular eclipse. It’s a lesson in haute horology as artwork.

More details at Louis Moinet.