As journalists and retailers from around the world descended on Basel for its annual Watch Fair looking for trends, one fact became clear very quickly to me: Tourbillons are today's de rigueur timepiece for the Super Rich, and this ultra-expensive, very traditional watch complication is being made available in a wide variety of non-traditional forms to attract the varied tastes of your average centa-millionaire.
The tourbillons is considered one of the most difficult and time-consuming watch complications to make. However, the movement created by Abraham-Louis Breguet over 200 years ago, has quickly become a favorite of the Super Rich. Designed to counterbalance the effects of gravity on the accuracy of a watch's timekeeping, the tourbillons takes the form of a spinning cage which, with an open case, is an attention-grabber that might be considered the equivalent of a 25-carat diamond ring on a woman's finger.
Once only the domain of traditional watchmakers such as Patek Phillipe and Breguet or Blancpain, this bling movement has become a way Super Rich can ensure the watch they're wearing is noticeably different from the ones that most of us wear.
Of course that is if you even wear an expensive watch. Less than one-quarter of one-percent (0.25%) of American households—some 318,000—spent even $5,000 for total watch purchases in 2005, according to the MMR Affluent survey.
Contrast that to the Super Rich who are big spenders on luxury watches to begin with. According to research by Prince & Associates, owners of private jets and private jet shares spent on average $147,000 on timepieces of all shapes and sizes during the same period.
Starting on the low end around $70,000, most tourbillons cost well over $100,000 and now are frequently offered into the half-million-dollar price range and higher.
Whereas most watchmakers only offered one or two of their models with a tourbillon, Breguet now has 12 different models that feature tourbillons and Blancpain has 11.
The number of tourbillons being made and sold is apparently skyrocketing as well. While many watchmakers won't disclose exact figures, Jaquet Droz went from one limited edition tourbillon with eight pieces last year to two tourbillon models with 28 pieces each. Harry Winston has been making a play for serious—and rich—male watch buyers for nearly 20 years. Its flagship Glissiere tourbillon retails for $267,000 and this year it will make over 200 tourbillons. Chopard produces some 100 tourbillons per year for its ultra-luxe customers. Greubel Forsey is a niche watchmaker that makes only tourbillons, and a representative quickly points out in the world of tourbillons, “not everything has been done.” In the race for even more accurate timekeeping it used Basel to show its 24” Incline in which the tourbillons spin every 24 seconds, a somewhat supersonic speed, and is positioned at a 25-degree incline. The company this year is increasing production by over 50 percent. BLU launched its BLU Majesty Half Flying Tourbillon selling for some $225,000, while increasing its annual production from 24 to 60.
Bell & Ross, known for its stylish pilot watches, for the first time launched a tourbillon and in two days was claiming over 50 orders from retailers, each requiring a 50 percent deposit. The watch retails at $131,000. Cuervos & Soubinos also debuted its tourbillon at $131,000 in a limited edition of eight. Romain Jerome debuted its Titanic DNA watches using iron and coal from the legendary liner with three limited editions of nine tourbillons each.
Tourbillons Go Flash: Damon Dash's Tiret used Basel to offer 12 one-of-a-kind tourbillons starting at $195,000, while Jacob & Co. showcased a quarto tourbillon (four tourbillons in a single watch) for slightly over $500,000 plus a diamond-encrusted tourbillon for over $1 million. Corum was offering a Billionaire tourbillon priced at $995,000, that was snapped up by a prominent Florida retailer. Meanwhile Zenith, which has become a darling of editors with its flashy designs from flamboyant CEO Thierry Nataf, was showing off some “well-priced” tourbillons in the low six figures.
Technomarine, which rose to fame by combining diamond watches with colorful plastic straps crossing fun, fashion and sophistication, showed off a Hummer-branded tourbillon. Legendary Jean-Claude Biver, who revived the Swiss watch industry by bringing back Blancpain more than two decades ago, is continuing the renaissance he brought to Hublot using the tourbillon as his center stage at Basel this year. Biver followed up on his $170,000 Platinum, Red Gold and Ceramic tourbillons of 2006 with the Million Dollar Big Bang, Hublot's signature Big Bang encrusted with diamonds and priced at a cool million. By the end of the weekend, seven of the seven-figure watches were reportedly sold.
Of course tourbillons are not just for men. Chanel offers a $685,000 ruby-encrusted tourbillon to its trendy line of ceramic watches that start at just under $5,000. And for those men who don't need to show their tourbillons to gain status with friends and onlookers, Greubel Forsel launched a Double Tourbillon at over $300,000. It has a closed faced and looks like any other automatic watch so the wearer doesn't have to be bothered explaining to onlookers about what he's wearing.
As you think about the above, keep in mind that according to The National Association of Realtors, the Median Home Price in the U.S. is $225,000, or as they would say in the Basel, slightly more than the average tourbillon.
Douglas D. Gollan
Elite Traveler
