Girard-Perregaux’s Tourbillon Bi-Axial takes its inspiration from a tourbillon pocket watch from the 1860s with timeless appeal.
A new limited edition of 12 of the tantalum Tourbillon Bi-Axial with three sapphire bridges has been released. Tantalum has been chose because of its durable, malleable and corrosion-resistant greay-blue metal, commonly used in the chemical, electronic and aerospace industries.
The three bridges, cut in sapphire, have a metallic black finish that accentuates their volume. Gold, steel, glucydur and grade-five titanium also feature in watch, optimising or highlighting the components of the tourbillon bi-axial mechanism. The mechanism has two cages featuring more than 110 parts and weighs just 0.8 grams.
The platinum is decorated by a traditional circular guilloche motif, counterbalanced by its galvanic gray finishing, while the barrel bears the characteristic elliptic pattern of the famous nickel and silver three parallel bridge pocket watch made by Constant Girard in the 1860s.
The bi-axial rotation of the tourbillon is visible from both sides of the case. The system is fitted with two
concentric cages enabling the regulating part to make multi-dimensional rotations, compensating for power variations caused by gravity.
The internal cage bearing the balance, balance spring and escapement completes one turn on its axis in 45 seconds. The external cage completes one revolution in one minute and fifteen seconds on a second axis.
