Thin watches have certainly ranked among the hottest trends over the past few years, and at Baselworld, Graham will enter this realm with the new Geo. Graham Tourbillon, an automatic model that shaves millimeters by employing a micro-rotor.
Like the stunning Tourbillon Orrery, this new piece bears the “Geo. Graham” designation, indicating that it is inspired by the horological classics created by the brand’s namesake. The domed, enamel-lacquered dial certainly offers an 18th century vibe. The blued, leaf-shaped hour and minute hands reach out toward inner and outer Roman and Arabic indices, which are in turn separated by a traditional railway minute track that holds some small delights. At 6 o’clock, the track deviates from its circular route to circumnavigate a portion of the tourbillion dial aperture. Within the track, each five-minute point is marked with an arrow, and small stars mark 3, 6, 9 and 12.
The 18K pink gold case measures 40mm x 9.85mm, and in our view, that qualifies as thin. As my colleague Jack Forster once wrote discussing another thin tourbillion:
“The term ‘extra flat’ and ‘ultra thin’ are not specifically defined; the industry standard reference –the Berner dictionary of horology –merely says, with a straight face, that an extra thin watch is, “. . . one which is very thin.”
That line always makes me smile.
The construction of Graham’s 60-second tourbillion remains traditional, as it should given the historical inspiration. Personally, when I gaze into a tourbillon, I like to see a bit of depth, and Graham provides that here, while also giving us a watch that will not stand up too high on the wrist.
The tourbillion cage is composed of 67 components and it rests between twin bridges. The balance wheel is regulated via screws in the rim. The 29-jewel movement will run for 72 hours at 21,600 vph on a single wind, and that wind will be provided by a solid-gold micro-rotor with engraved arabesque decoration inspired by the decor on original George Graham watches.
Graham tells us that the movement appears as though it is suspended in air, held between two sapphire glass boxes on the front and back. Unfortunately, only a single image of the watch has been provided, so we’re not able to comment on that claim. Stay tuned for an update from Basel.
The Geo. Graham Tourbillon will be produced in a limited edition of 100 pieces, priced at US$80,420.
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The movement inside is a CH016 from Le Cercle des Horlogers, the same movement that’s in the Speake Marin Magister Tourbillon (which is less expensive, I should note).