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alex
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On holes, olive oil and the Laurent Ferrier Tourbillon

In the past years my tastes were openly drawn to the more design oriented pieces from the likes of MB&F, Urwerk or Vianney Halter. Classical was a concept of the 20^th century and not for me… at least that’s what I thought.

If I was going to cash out my hard earned funds on a tourbillon I wanted to see the damn thing turning on the front of my watch and not hidden on the back, I wanted a hole and a big one … and not only in my wallet but more so on the dial… at least that’s what I thought.

I had heard about the Gallet Tourbillon even before I had heard of Laurent Ferrier, rumors were going around about a year ago about an the ex Patek Philippe Head of Product Development who was launching his own brand, his first piece being an” stunning tourbillon with special features never seen before in a tourbillon”

But who are you Laurent Ferrier?

Laurent Ferrier is the man behind the Patek Philippes of the past 20 years! He spent 37 years with the venerable Genevan brand starting as watchmaker, then in the movement prototype department and finally moving to the product development which he headed.

He left Patek in 2008 with a plan of launching what he considered the watch of his dreams:  no compromises and no useless frills. To do so he teamed up with…his son Christian who is a rare and very sought after breed in the watch industry: a watch constructor. Christian’s role as a constructor was to create (drawings, plans, 3D, prototyping) and turn into reality his father’s ideas. Once the movement was ready the Ferriers father and son teamed up with other ex-Patek colleagues Navas and Barbasini (the NB of BNB which they had launched but left to create a more “traditionally” oriented movement manufacture).

Laurent and Christian Ferrier

My first encounter

I ran into a friend sometime early 2010 who had his connections with Laurent Ferrier and he invited me over to the ateliers to see his 1^st prototypes and that was a big - BIG mistake on my behalf because my “I’m cool and love cutting edge design watches” character was shaken from head to toe by the sheer simplicity and sotto voce elegance of this timepiece. It was as if I was standing before Géricault’s The Raft of Medusa for the first time, it was a huge slap in the face and a wake up call.

It was one of those watches which grab your heart and brain and just remain there lingering but there was just one little voice in my head saying “does the world need another tourbillon?

You probably agree with me that in the past years we’ve had tourbillon indigestion but I spoke about my dilemma to a good friend of mine who offered these words of wisdom:  "Tourbillons are like olive oil, you have the tasteless $1 a gallon stuff from supermarkets and then you have oils like the Greek Lambda or the Tuscan Fattoria Montecchio who can put some of the greatest Bordeaux wines to shame in terms of pure taste bud pleasure."

That was the necessary push I needed.

I contacted LF and asked it they would accept to make a rose gold case as at the time of launch only a pale yellow gold (lovely color) and a white gold cases were available. The answer was yes so my order for a rose gold case, with black dial and brown croc strap went out.

Laurent Ferrier also offers the possibility for those who wish have the accuracy of the watch tested at the Besançon Observatory. The latter tests the watch (the cased watch and not just the movement as does COSC) for 2 weeks in different positions and temperatures for a period of 14 days. Considering that the conditions and requests are more stringent at the Besancon Observatory than COSC I found the idea interesting and a good way to actually see if a tourbillon could be more accurate than a watch with a regular escapement.

my watch has an average deviation of 0.9 seconds a day!!!

4 months later (that’s what’s good when you’re one of the first clients-you don’t have to wait a decade before your watch is ready) My Laurent Ferrier Gallet Tourbillon n°5 was ready. Needless to say that I did not sleep the night before and it was with a lot of emotion that I went to the workshops and see my watch being cased (the watch was sent to Besancon for testing in another case and Laurent wanting the watch to be spanking new and not touched by other hands had the movement recased).

Case/ dial

The 41mm case of the Gallet Tourbillon is… well round. Round not as in circular but as in curvaceous and sensuous like the figure of Sophia Loren in those Italian movies of the 50s-60s.

The Gallet (pebble in French) case calls for a tactile relation! Until now my watches mainly called on my visual senses but this is the first time I use the touch so much, not only I can’t stop staring at my watch but I can’t stop touching it as well, it’s round and smooth and so pleasant to the touch.

To some, 41mm may sound large but the short lugs and the way they tapper as an extension of the case centre enable the watch to sit perfectly on the wrist and visually make the watch not look huge on smaller wrists.

The dial is sheer classic mastery, it is in black onyx on two levels-the sub seconds are recessed (a white enamel dial with superb ruthenium plated hands is also available) with elongated Roman numerals and gold hands painted white. The onyx dial has a depth and subtlety in shine that regular lacquered black dial do not possess. It remains classical yet highly contemporary especially with the rose gold case.

Black onyx dial + white hands

White enamel dial + ruthenium hands

The Ferrier Gallet Tourbillon dial come normally with the following writing on the dial: “Tourbillon Double Spiral”, I hate having text explaining what the watch does so had a special dial made without the writing.

Caliber/Finish

The Laurent Ferrier Tourbillon calibre took 2.5 years to develop. Laurent wanted a tourbillon because it was a complication he mastered but wanted it not only to be a gimmick (that’s why it is hidden in the back and not visible on the dial side) but to have true chronometric qualities. That’s the main reason he decided to use the Straumann Double Hairspring in his watch, this system consists of two hairsprings one atop the other and beating in opposite directions, one spring erasing the variations of the other.

However, the balance was not just bought off the shelf and the Ferriers spent over a year adapting and modifying the double hairspring balance to their own requirements.

Other than the classical layout and construction of the movement, which is reminiscent of the superb observatory tourbillon movements of the 50s, each component, each detail has been fully thought over and made specially for this watch. The shapes of the bridges, their multi level construction (a touch of modernity) and the more than breathtaking finish reek of quality and elegance.

Underdial (notice the keyless works with a very traditional and high end approach)

Hand finishing of the tourbillon cage (scans courtesy of Guy Lucas de Peslouan)

As Laurent Ferrier said  "to know quality, real quality, you need to have approached and worked with it for years. And I am lucky to have done so."

You don’t even need a loupe to appreciate the intricacies and craftsmanship of the finish; it’s a sight for sore eyes and a delight to behold. The movement finish takes one whole month! Just imagine that the tourbillon bridge takes a full 2 days to angle! The bottom part of the tourbillon cage has 16 interior angles (the most complex type of finish which only the craftsmen with the greatest experience and dexterity can master), and it’s for a component which you can’t even see!!!!

Tourbillon bridge:

notice the traditional (and rarely seen) ratchet click

The Laurent Ferrier tourbillon is like a Radiohead tune, it is harmonious and subtle and each time you back you discover yet another subtle touch, some small detail which you had not noticed the first time but which makes the whole more desirable.

I’m obviously going to tell you that I am deeply impassioned with this watch, it just exudes quality and craftsmanship, it puts a smile on my face each morning when I strap it on (and I can’t tell you the number of times I take it off during the day to admire the movement) and it is a watch which has the soul of a man who loves what he is doing, some one who after having a fulfilling career at one of the industry’s greatest houses decided to go one step further and team up with his son to create their dream watches.

On a side note, and this is the first time it has happened to me, Laurent called me up the day after I took delivery of my watch to ask if I was still happy with it!

A visit to the ateliers to see my watch being cased

Laurent Ferrier signing the paperwork

Some movement scans courtesy of Guy Lucas de Peslouan

the traditional wrist shot

and for those wondering how the finish compares to the other great masters J

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