For the seventh consecutive year, Harry Winston unveils a new achievement in contemporary Haute Horlogerie. Featuring two bi-axial tourbillons, the Histoire de Tourbillon 7 timepiece takes a new step forward in audacity and defiance of convention. By pushing the boundaries of creative freedom, complexity and graphic impact even further, Harry Winston demonstrates its ability to astonish and its innovative expertise. Resolutely faithful to its tourbillon collection, Harry Winston once again affirms its mastery of complications and unfailing watchmaking determination.
Harry Winston unveils its seventh interpretation of the most mythical of complications: the tourbillon. After having explored its variants – bi-axial, tri-axial, double or coupled with a carrousel – Harry Winston once again surpasses its technical limits. In an incredible spectacle, Histoire de Tourbillon 7 unveils two bi-axial tourbillons that dance and dialogue with time.
On the right side of the dial, the pyramid-shaped reading zone serves as a promontory for the hour and minute hands. It is encircled by inset plates that form an inclined, three-dimensional hour circle. Extended by a long ribbon of red or anthracite-colored aluminum, depending on the version, openworked to give a better view of the two bi-axial tourbillons, it overhangs a scroll-shaped power-reserve indicator, flush with a curved sapphire crystal.
On the left side of the dial, the incessant ballet of two bi-axial tourbillons unfolds. A first tourbillon cage is carried in a second cage, and both rotate on a different axis. The two bi-axial tourbillons then move the Histoire de Tourbillon 7 escapements through space.
This piece is profoundly asymmetrical, unpredictable and spectacular; an extreme paradox for an object of extraordinary technical intensity, the product of an infinite sum of learned calculations.
The synthesis of two exceptional regulators
Any dancer will admit it without blushing: the performance is based on flawless technique. Histoire de Tourbillon 7 plays on mechanical complexity. First, a tourbillon is created whose first cage rotates in 45 seconds. It houses a balance wheel inclined at 30 degrees. Then it must be housed in a second cage, which describes a different trajectory in 75 seconds. The two interlocking cages take on an infinite variety of positions in relation to gravity, the enemy of chronometry.
Secondly, these two vortices are fraternal twins. Identical in structure, frequency and speed, they have their own behavior, due to their different positions in space. To reconcile the running of these two rotating regulating organs, Histoire de Tourbillon 7 uses a spherical differential to optimize performance. Its aim is to link the two tourbillons, which have finely differing speeds, and average them out. Histoire de Tourbillon 7 takes advantage of the precision of two exceptional tourbillons and extracts the best from them.
The Harry Winston
Histoire de Tourbillon 7 is a highly technical case for a highly complicated movement. This implies exceptional care in the design. The case is crafted from a block of white gold. With its 50 mm diameter and polished bezel, it offers a uniquely proportioned opening to showcase the dance of the bi-axial tourbillons.
Its crown is protected by the Harry Winston signature: the three arches representing the entrance to the legendary Harry Winston Salon on New York’s 5th Avenue. The case is satin-brushed and its distinctive lugs are highlighted by a diamond bevel. Short and plunging, they are designed to ensure that the important dimensions of the timepiece sit optimally on the wrist. This concern for ergonomics is the hallmark of haute horlogerie timepieces designed down to the smallest detail.
The discipline of grand complications is also about craftsmanship. That’s why each Histoire de Tourbillon movement is the fruit of hundreds of hours of work to ensure that every component is perfect from every angle. Hand-finishing these tiny parts is a feat of meticulousness, scope and difficulty. In fact, the mainplate and bridges of this movement are made of titanium.
By choosing such a demanding material, Harry Winston is placing itself at the service of the wearer’s experience. Thanks to this material, Histoire de Tourbillon 7 is a particularly light timepiece. What’s more, its thickness of just 17 mm is quite a feat when you consider the height required for each bi-axial tourbillon.
A benchmark of modern Haute Horlogerie
Histoire de Tourbillon 7 is a haute horlogerie timepiece in the most accomplished sense of the word. Its superlatively finished movement is among the most sophisticated available. This complexity is at the service of an extreme form of exclusivity. Like each Histoire de Tourbillon revelation, this creation will be produced in a limited edition of 20: 10 pieces for the red version and 10 pieces for the anthracite version. But these attributes are not its goal. Hyper-technicity is not an end in itself.
Histoire de Tourbillon 7 will provide its owner with intense pleasure. He alone will have the privilege of permanently observing the whirling of its two extraordinary tourbillons. Their unpredictable dance challenges the conventions of contemporary watchmaking. Harry Winston created Histoire de Tourbillon 7 to go beyond rules and habits, with mastery, with lightness, and with a unique voice.
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