After the stunning revelation of the Gyrotourbillon I, Jaeger-LeCoultre watch is offering the spherical tourbillon a new stage-setting worthy of its technically innovative nature: the swivelling case of the Reverso. Presented in a decorative expression inspired by the finest Haute Horlogerie achievements, this extraordinary watch mechanism overturns longestablished principles, since it represents the first time that a wristwatch houses a cylindershaped balance-spring.
Representing a splendid approach to the quest for absolute precision, the three-dimensional motion of the spherical tourbillon fascinates observers by the exceptional speed of rotation of its two carriages, with the inner one completing a full turn in 18.75 seconds, while the outer one performs a more conventional one-minute turn.
Universally acclaimed at the time of its launch barely four years ago, this revolution in the tourbillon world now finds an entirely natural aesthetic expression in the Reverso, with its distinctive shape that further highlights the absolute beauty of this peerless technical accomplishment.
When the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre first unveiled this avant-garde innovation in 2004, the Gyrotourbillon I took the watch industry by storm as the first-ever spherical tourbillon. Composed of two carriages mounted on axes set at a 90° angle, this horological microcosm is still the only mechanical device enabling a wristwatch to break completely free from the detrimental effects of gravity on its timekeeping precision.
A new spherical tourbillon
Embodying a mechanical marvel in its own right, the spherical tourbillon and the hundred or so parts composing it exercise an irresistible fascination by the complexity, speed and beauty of its three-dimensional motion. Eager to enliven still further the entrancing vision provided by this unparalleled watch mechanism, the designers of the Manufacture decided to enhance its already remarkable visual appeal by adding a touch of colour. To achieve this, they suggested that the technicians perform a daring thermal treatment on one of the most delicate parts of the mechanism, the now famous cylindrical balance-spring with end curves, in order to give it a bluish tint similar to that of the hour, minute and power-reserve hands. And since Jaeger-LeCoultre’s choices are always simultaneously dictated by both functional and aesthetic criteria, the arms of the balance were meticulously open-worked to create a slender elegance that also implies a considerable reduction in weight.
A key feature of the Gyrotourbilon 2: the cylindrical balance-spring with end curves
The second version of the Gyrotourbillon is distinguished by an essential organ: the presence of a cylinder-shaped balance-spring with end curves. This component was invented by English watchmaker John Arnold, who had it patented in 1782. Due to the complexity involved in its production and the difficulties implied by attempts to miniaturise it, this ingenious discovery which guarantees a regular and perfectly isochronous development of the balance-spring was reserved exclusively for marine chronometers and a few generously sized pocket-watches. It thus appeared doomed never to drive a wristworn mechanism. Innovative watchmakers chafed at this regrettable situation, since its rating characteristics are unanimously considered to be infinitely better than those of a flat balance-spring.
Nonetheless, all obstacles and pitfalls, however insurmountable they might appear, inevitably spur the engineers and watchmakers of the Manufacture to decisive action. The latter were able to grasp the opportunity represented by the spherical tourbillon and to present a cylindrical balance-spring nestling at the heart of a wristwatch. Combined with the specific advantages of the spherical tourbillon, this innovation represents a breakthrough in the field of accuracy and paves the way for a level of rating precision that is simply unprecedented on a timepiece designed to follow its wearer’s arm movements.
The extraordinary complexity of the spherical tourbillon
Embodying a major step forward in the history of mechanical horology, the spherical tourbillon offers wristwatches the same advantages that the classic Breguet tourbillon had brought to pocket-watches. Since the late 18th century, the tourbillon mechanism has freed watch movements from the influence of gravity on the regulating organ and its adverse effects on precision. This prodigiously designed mechanism serves its true purpose in a pocket-watch, which generally sits upright in a waistcoat pocket. However, the usefulness of a traditional tourbillon is far less obvious in a wristwatch, which is usually worn in a horizontal position. This particular situation requires the watchmaker to perform adjustments in several positions in order to determine a satisfactory average rate.
Through its conception and its construction built on two axes set at a 90° angle, the spherical tourbillon is the only device that compensates for the effects of gravity in all positions.
Nonetheless, actually producing it called for the use of ultra-light high-tech materials in order to create a mechanism able to simultaneously drive the rotation of both carriages. Their speeds of rotation are so fast – one turn per minute for the outer carriage and one revolution in just 18.75 seconds for the inner carriage – that the balance maintains constant amplitude, whichever way it is oriented. For the first time in watchmaking history, the exactness of a watch is thus entirely independent of the position of the timepiece itself. Loyal to the uncompromising principles that govern each of its decisions, Jaeger-LeCoultre refused to take the easy path to achieving this result by reducing the size of the balance or the frequency of its oscillations. In order to guarantee infallible accuracy, the Reveros Gyrotourbillon 2 is equipped with a large gold balance that is fairly insensitive to vibrations or shocks, has an inertia of 12.5 mgxcm2 and imperturbably oscillates at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour. In an ultimate touch of luxury and in order to avoid any alteration in the rating in case of impacts, adjustments are made by means of gold inertia-blocks arranged around the rim of the balance.
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