10 of the most striking tourbillon watches in luxury watchmaking today
The tourbillon is no longer just a technical solution – it’s a signature of high-end craft and design. Here are 10 standout models, spanning sporty statements, ultra-thin engineering and jewellery-level extravagance.
A tourbillon may have started as a precision regulator, but today it’s equal parts engineering and artistry. (Photos: Courtesy of respective brands; Art: CNA/Chern Ling)
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Invented in 1795 to counteract gravity’s effect on pocket-watch accuracy, the tourbillon has long since transcended its original purpose. Today, it’s the ultimate flex of haute horlogerie – a spinning cage of gears and springs that doubles as kinetic sculpture. These 10 watches show how far the tourbillon has evolved: from a precision regulator to horology’s most lavish stage, where mechanical prowess meets artistic ambition.
Bell & Ross BR-X3 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor
In the BR-X3 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor, Bell & Ross turns its distinctive circle-in-a-square aesthetic into a haute horlogerie statement. Limited to 25 pieces, the watch pairs a 40mm satin-finished steel middle case with a sapphire crystal top and caseback, creating a transparent, architectural frame in which movement and case read as one. A grid of skeletonised bridges, punctuated by 26 ruby bearings, gives the watch Mondrian-like graphic clarity, while the off-centre hours and minutes at 2 o’clock keep the display deliberately minimal.
Between 5 and 6 o’clock, a flying tourbillon dominates the lower half of the dial, its continuous rotation providing a hypnotic focal point. Opposite it, a micro-rotor set flush with the movement plane delivers automatic winding without adding thickness, helping keep the case just 9mm slim while still offering a 58-hour power reserve. The final flourish is a grey alligator-leather strap.
FP Journe Tourbillon Souverain Joaillerie Rubis
The independent Swiss watchmaker unveils one of the most extraordinary jewellery timepieces in modern watchmaking: the Tourbillon Souverain Joaillerie Rubis, which boasts the largest baguette-cut rubies ever used on a watch. Its 44mm platinum case is adorned with 93 baguette-cut rubies totalling about 25 carats – the result of an eight-year search for oval stones large and pure enough to be recut into perfectly matched baguettes. Their traceability is also certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).
The opulence extends to the dial, where an engraved rose-gold mainplate, treated with a black finish, sets the stage for hand-painted rubellite subdials. The platinum folding clasp, set with a further 18 baguette-cut rubies, completes the visual harmony. The hand-wound Calibre 1519 showcases FP Journe’s precision, featuring a natural deadbeat seconds display thanks to a constant-force remontoir d’egalite mechanism that ensures stable power delivery across its 80-hour power reserve.
Girard-Perregaux Laureato Three Gold Bridges
Girard-Perregaux unites two of its greatest icons in the new Laureato Three Gold Bridges, a 50-piece limited edition marking the Laureato’s 50th anniversary. Housed in a 41mm steel case with a white-gold octagonal bezel and integrated bracelet, the watch dispenses with a traditional dial to reveal the new in-house calibre GP9620 – a tourbillon movement built specifically for this model. Three openworked white-gold bridges align the barrel, gear train and tourbillon on a single axis, transforming the movement into a suspended mechanical sculpture.
A titanium, lyre-shaped tourbillon cage, a platinum micro-rotor tucked behind the barrel, and a minimum 55-hour power reserve underscore the model’s technical depth, while 418 hand-polished bevels – including an extraordinary 362 inward angles – showcase the maison’s finishing prowess. Luminous suspended indexes and baton hands ensure legibility without compromising transparency, making this timepiece an exceptional expression of contemporary haute horlogerie.
IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser Tourbillon Retrograde Chronograph
The Schaffhausen watchmaker brings three of its most sophisticated complications together in the Portugieser Tourbillon Retrograde Chronograph, a 100-piece limited edition crafted in Armor Gold – a proprietary alloy significantly harder than conventional gold. Measuring 43.5mm, the watch features an Obsidian-coloured dial produced through an exacting 60-step process, including 15 layers of transparent lacquer for remarkable depth and a three-dimensional effect. Gold-plated hands and solid-gold appliques complete the richly textured display.
The star complication – a flying minute tourbillon at 6 o’clock – comprises 56 components and weighs a mere 0.675g. It’s joined by a retrograde date display at 9 o’clock and a flyback chronograph with a combined hour-and-minute totaliser at 12 o’clock. IWC’s Diamond Shell coating on the silicone pallet lever and escape wheel improves energy flow and contributes to the movement’s 68-hour power reserve.
Powering all three complications is the IWC-manufactured calibre 89900, visible through a sapphire caseback with a solid-gold rotor. The movement underscores the manufacture’s fusion of precision engineering and refined aesthetics. Paired with a Santoni alligator strap, it’s IWC at its technical and aesthetic best.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Artistica Calibre 179
Now dressed in black, hand-lacquered dials and a glowing pink-gold case, the Reverso Hybris Artistica Calibre 179 is Jaeger-LeCoultre’s latest interpretation of its most elaborate Reverso creation. With only 10 pieces produced, this edition continues the Hybris Artistica philosophy: uniting extreme mechanical ingenuity with equally ambitious artistic craftsmanship.
Inside the iconic Reverso case beats Calibre 179, which combines the maison’s patented Duoface dual-time mechanism with the fourth-generation Gyrotourbillon – a multi-axis tourbillon whose inner titanium cage rotates every 16 seconds while the outer carriage turns once per minute. Supported by a ring of ball bearings, the flying Gyrotourbillon appears to float between the watch’s two faces.
Both dials are decorated using an intricate process that blends laser-cut pink-gold plates with 200 hand-lacquered hollows, executed by a single craftsman for each piece. The front features Art Deco-inspired geometric ribs in black and grey lacquer, while the reverse flaunts airy skeletonisation framed by glossy black lacquer. Uniting 382 components in a case just 13.63mm thick, the Reverso Hybris Artistica Calibre 179 is a noble expression of the 180 skills brought together under one roof at Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Montblanc Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon Chateau de Versailles Limited Edition
Montblanc’s Star Legacy Suspended Exo Tourbillon Chateau de Versailles is an opulent love letter to France’s most legendary masquerade ball: Le Bal des Ifs (The Yew Tree Ball), held in 1745 in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. This 44.8mm yellow-gold, eight-piece limited edition recreates that famous night across its dial, combining a white-gold base, black enamel, marquetry and stone inlays with cutting-edge laser engraving to astonishing effect.
The scene of costumed guests and glittering chandeliers is inspired by an 18th-century etching by Charles-Nicolas Cochin. Marble from the same Sarrancolin quarry used at Versailles, along with Cacholong stone and inlaid oak, echoes the original architecture, while chandeliers and figures are etched into sapphire plates that float above the dial.
At 6 o’clock, Montblanc’s patented Suspended Exo Tourbillon Calibre MB M16.68 places the balance wheel above the rotating cage. This solution not only minimises the diameter of the tourbillon cage and rotating escapement, but also allows the balance wheel to be large enough to house 18 regulating weights, adding mass to the unit. The case is hand-engraved with laurel wreaths and a Versailles-inspired frieze, completing one of Montblanc’s most elaborate haute horlogerie creations to date.
The presentation box is made by Parisian luxury table-maker Elie Bleu, which has been in operation since 1976. The music box inside is by Switzerland’s Reuge, a specialist in luxury music boxes and mechanical songbirds since 1865. The piece played by the coffret was performed at Versailles to celebrate the wedding of the Dauphin Louis and his bride on that storied night in February 1745. The music is by Jean-Philippe Rameau, with lyrics originally written by the 18th-century French Enlightenment writer and philosopher Voltaire.
Slim d’Hermes Neo Brandebourgs
Hermes reimagines its sleek Slim d’Hermes with the bold, graphic Neo Brandebourgs, bringing a couture twist to haute horlogerie. Presented in a 39.5mm platinum case, it comes in two references depicting a futuristic military jacket, reinterpreted by Japanese designer Daisuke Nomura from Caty Latham’s 1972 Brandebourgs scarf motif – itself inspired by 19th-century uniforms.
Limited to 24 pieces per colourway – neon green with teal, and burgundy with blue – each version is brought to life through a meticulous blend of engraving and miniature painting. These techniques give the imagery depth, texture and vivid chromatic contrast.
In a first for the Slim d’Hermes line, a tourbillon appears at 7 o’clock, framed by a cage bearing the historic motif seen in the lift of Hermes’ flagship boutique on Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris. The watch is driven by the ultra-thin, self-winding calibre H1950T with a 48-hour power reserve, visible through a sapphire caseback and paired with an alligator strap crafted in the maison’s workshops.
Tag Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport | F1 75th Anniversary Limited Edition
To mark 75 years of Formula 1, Tag Heuer unleashes the Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon Extreme Sport | F1 75th Anniversary Limited Edition, a 75-piece tribute to every world champion crowned since 1950. Each sapphire caseback is individually engraved with a championship year framed by a golden victory wreath, underscoring the theme of triumph.
The 44mm case in fine-brushed, sandblasted Grade 2 titanium is paired with a solid yellow-gold tachymeter bezel, plus a black DLC titanium crown and pushers, striking a sharp balance between modern performance and trackside glamour. An openworked black-and-gold dial keeps the spotlight on the chronograph and tourbillon, while rhodium-plated indexes and hands ensure clear legibility at speed. Eagle-eyed fans will appreciate the engraved and lacquered Formula 1 logo at 12 o’clock, along with F1 75 branding at the 75 mark on the fixed tachymeter bezel.
The watch is driven by the in-house Calibre TH20-09 tourbillon chronograph, boasting a 65-hour power reserve, a column wheel and a vertical clutch — all visible through the sapphire caseback. Delivered on a black rubber strap, it’s a winning statement for track-obsessed collectors.
Vacheron Constantin Metiers d’Art Tribute to The Celestial
The Swiss manufacture continues its 270th anniversary celebrations with the Metiers d’Art Tribute to The Celestial, a series of 12 references, each dedicated to a zodiac sign and its constellation. Presented in a refined 39mm white-gold case set with 96 baguette-cut blue sapphires, the watches echo the deep blue of the night sky while highlighting the maison’s exceptional gem-setting savoir-faire.
Every dial is a work of figurative hand-guillochage, depicting its zodiac sign and the corresponding constellation, marked with brilliant-cut diamonds. This advanced guilloche technique, developed by the maison’s master guillocheur, goes far beyond abstract motifs, creating miniature engraved illustrations that require about 16 hours of dedicated craftsmanship per dial.
Each reference is equipped with the ultra-thin Calibre 2160, a self-winding tourbillon movement just 5.65mm slim. Its 22k gold peripheral rotor leaves the entire hand-finished movement visible, from hand-bevelled bridges with Cotes de Geneve to the Maltese Cross-shaped tourbillon cage and blued fastening screw. With an 80-hour power reserve and the Poincon de Geneve – a prestigious, state-guaranteed quality certification for high-end mechanical watches – the movement underscores the maison’s commitment to traditional finishing.
Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon
Zenith elevates its bold urban sports watch to new heights with the Defy Skyline Tourbillon, the first tourbillon reference in the Skyline line. Crafted in rose gold, it features the collection’s signature faceted geometry and alternating satin and polished finishes. The 41mm case is paired with a radiant brick-red sunray dial engraved with four-pointed stars that appear to ripple outward from the tourbillon aperture at 6 o’clock.
At the heart of the watch beats the El Primero 3630, a high-frequency automatic movement fitted with a tourbillon carriage shaped like Zenith’s double-Z star. Completing a full rotation every 60 seconds, it offers a mesmerising display of precision in motion. Visible through the sapphire caseback, an openworked rose-gold oscillating weight echoes the star motif with a 3D laser-engraved pattern.
The model is delivered on a matching rose-gold H-link bracelet, with an additional brick-red rubber strap. Equipped with Zenith’s quick-change strap system, it blends mechanical spectacle, rich colour and contemporary luxury into one striking expression.
