Harry Winston has unveiled its newest Histoire de Tourbillon timepiece, the last of the series of watches launched annually by the brand that has given the world of horology some of the most extravagant timekeeping instruments over the years. however, Harry Winston says it’s the last of the series bringing an end to the Histoire de Tourbillon saga. The final hurrah, as you may call it, or the swan song, the Harry Winston Histoire de Tourbillon 10 is a masterpiece that reaches unprecedented levels of watchmaking engineering and offers something that’s never been attempted before. It’s the first watch ever to be equipped with four tourbillons in a single movement. And no, not two bi-axial tourbillons but four individual tourbillons inside the case of the watch.
The tourbillion’s job is to compensate for errors in timekeeping due to the effects of gravity and help the timepiece be more accurate. While a single tourbillion is more than sufficient, watches with two tourbillions have become quite common these days. Three tourbillions are a rarity, however, we have even seen watchmakers experiment with two bi-axial tourbillions like the Greubel Forsey Quadruple Tourbillon. However, no watch brand has ever ventured into the territory of equipping a watch with four individual tourbillions until now, because it’s simply pointless. The new Histoire de Tourbillon creation is the first wristwatch to hold four independent, adjacent tourbillon escapements, positioned in perfect symmetry in a rectangular case, which gives the watch an eye-catching balance to it.
The watchmakers at Harry Winston had to come up with a unique way to unify the four tourbillons, which is done with the help of three differentials that tie them together for unprecedented levels of precision. One differential connects the two tourbillon cages on the left side of the dial, which is mirrored on the left side of the watch with the second differential. The third oversized one located at the center of the dial averages the other two differentials. Since the four differentials consume a lot of power, the watch offers a power reserve of 55 hours. There are three different versions on offer: Ten pieces will be made in 18k white gold, ten pieces in 18k rose gold and one unique piece in Winstonium – a specific platinum alloy. The prices start at CHF 700,000 (roughly $694,000) and go all the way up to CHF 770,000 (about $763,000).
[Via:Watchonista]
