For the past 250 years, tourbillon watches have always been prohibitively expensive that the ownership of one has been regarded as a symbol of status and privileges. Because of their price, ever since the tourbillon mechanism was invented in the 18th century, there have been only around 300 of these watches made so far in the entire history of timepieces. To buy a piece of tourbillon you need to have a very deep pocket, any piece can easily set you back USD$150,000 or more. They are not for us people with less than half of that money as average yearly income.
Fortunately for many watch lovers with a small budget, since the last decade, the Chinese watch manufacturers started to set their feet in this market. They managed to turn some of the traditionally hand crafting processes into semi-automated mass production. Put together the low labor costs in China, tourbillon watches made in China are now sold at a fraction of the price of their Swiss counterparts and made the ownership affordable to many of us.
tourbillon watches
For Chinese tourbillons with the most basic single axis designs, you don’t even need to pay over $1,000 dollars. Take the 150 year anniversary watch of British Horological Institute (the BHI 150 Tourbillon) for example, it has a Liaoning Caliber 5010 single axis flying tourbillon and only costs GBP£385(USD$600). Going up the scale, more complicated designs such as the Tianjin Sea-Gull ST8080 double tourbillon, is priced at RMB¥300,000(USD$55,000). There is also a luxury version of this watch, the ST8080G, which is being sold at around USD$80,000. The whole watch is encased in 18K rose gold and covered by a natural sapphire watch crystal. The look is then completed by black or dark brown alligator hide straps.
Some people may think that the Chinese watches have inferior quality compared to Swiss ones. This might be true if you compare the best of the Swiss watch to the cheapest Chinese made. To make something that used to be so expensive to 1% of the price there has to be some sacrifice. However if you compare Chinese tourbillons with Swiss watches of the same price range or even the ones that are cost double the money, they do have the same quality if not better.
Zenith Men’s 96.0529.4035/51.M Defy Xtreme Tourbillon Titanium Chronograph Watch
- Quality Automatic movement; Functions without a battery; Powers automatically with the movement of your arm
- Hesalite crystal
- Case diameter: 46.5 mm
- Titanium case; Blue dial; Chronograph functions
- Water-resistant to 1000 M (3300 feet)
Black microblasted titanium case, Black titanium bracelet with blue lateral inserts, Deployant buckle, Unidirectional rotating black carbon fiber bezel, Screw down crown and push buttons, Black dial with silver carbon fiber in center, Luminous hands, Small seconds subdial, Chronograph feature (Seconds, Minutes, Hours), Magnified date at the 12 o’clock, Tourbillon visible at the 11 o’clock, Scratch resistant sapphire crystal, Automatic mechanical movement, Water resistant to 1000 meters/ 3330 feet. Shock and high pressure resistant. Limited Edition of 25 pieces.
List Price: $ 145,000.00
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Rougois Tourbillon Moonphase Mechanical Watch
The Tourbillon movement was Invented in 1795 by Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet . The Tourbillon counters the effects of gravity by mounting the escapement and balance wheel in a rotating cage, in order to negate the effect of gravity when the timepiece (and thus the escapement) is rotated. Originally an attempt to improve accuracy, tourbillons are still included in some expensive modern watches as a novelty and demonstration of watch making virtuosity. The mechanism is usually exposed on the watch’s face to show it off. The Rougois tourbillon is a fine example of this movement. This beautifully designed mechanical wind up watch measures 42mm or 1 5/8 ” wide and 12mm or 3/8 ” thick. It has a 24 hour corresponding time zone indicator on the left dial. The right dial is the 24 hour day night indicator. The tourbillon oscillates and rotates itself around the axis of the frame every 60 seconds, thereby acting also as a second hand. The watch is not only aesthetically pleasing to the
List Price: $ 695.00
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Pocket Watches: From the Pendant Watch to the Tourbillon (Collectables)
Historically and visually, this is the most exciting volume on pocket watches that every has been compiled. 915 photographs of old and newer styles show the development clearly, and the text explains the mechanisms and manufacturers. The chapters present detailed discussions of watch movements, escapements, striking movements, dials, and cases. Then, a chronological organization of examples shows pocket watches of international origins dating from about 1150 to the present models.
List Price: $ 79.95
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