1990s Blancpain Villeret Flying Tourbillon

Invented in the late 1700s by Abraham-Louis Breguet, the tourbillon was a technical marvel that aimed to negate the effects of gravity on precision timekeeping. Breguet’s unique rotating cage mechanism held the movement’s most sensitive parts in a constant “whirlwind” motion to cancel out gravitational errors caused by positional adjustments throughout the day. It was a complex system that would prove incredibly difficult to replicate, resulting in only a few examples built by the most master watchmakers between 1800 and the mid 20th century. 

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During the rebirth of mechanical watchmaking in the 1980s, several luxury brands focused their efforts on ushering the tourbillon into the modern age. Audemars Piguet would make the initial move, releasing the first series produced automatic tourbillon wristwatch in 1986. Daniel Roth soon followed with hand-wound entries through both Breguet and his eponymous brand. Just before the end of the decade, Blancpain made a splash with their contribution — the first “flying” tourbillon wristwatch.

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Developed with the help of AHCI member Vincent Calabrese, the Blancpain Flying Tourbillon featured the rotating cage and balance on two separate axes. That, along with several other design choices, caused the mechanism to appear to “float” above the movement, hence its nickname. Additionally, Calabrese’s caliber set records for having the thinnest height (4.85mm) and longest power reserve (288 hours) of any tourbillon up to that point. It was quite the magnum opus for Blancpain’s Six Masterpiece collection, and in our opinion remains one of the more beautiful tourbillon executions with its classical accents, oversized viewing window, and asymmetrical layout.