JCL Aston Martin Tourbillon: the Supercar of Watches
This is a tourbillon. Nobody needs a tourbillon – it's sort of like the supercar of watches. And nobody really needs a supercar. You can get a rally-tuned all-wheel-drive four-door Japanese family sedan that will get you from A to B just as fast, and with less fuss. Likewise you could get a digital Casio that will tell you the time just as well. What the tourbillon and the exotic supercar have in common is that X-factor that sets it apart from the rest. Fitting, then, that this is no ordinary tourbillon; this is the Aston Martin tourbillon.
The tourbillon mechanism was originally developed for pocket watches, which, sitting in the same position most of the time, would throw off the balance of the mechanism over time. The highly complicated tourbillon, French for "whirlwind", involves a mechanism that rotates inside the case, counteracting the effects of gravity. The Jaeger LeCoultre AMVOX 3 Tourbillon GMT you see here showcases the company's own proprietary JLC caliber 988 tourbillon movement, which features an AM/PM indicator and a 48-hour power reserve. Oh, and that second hand? That's not a second hand. It indicates the time in a second time zone...handy for the world traveler. The seconds are indicated by the rotation of the movement itself. The mechanism is housed in a black ceramic and 18-karat rose gold case sandwiched between sapphire crystals. The strap is perforated with contrasting white top-stitching, just in case the watch wasn't desirable enough already. But you can keep dreaming: only 300 are being made, and with fine tourbillons typically selling for five figures, don't be expecting one as a retirement gift from the company pension plan.
[Source: Sybarites]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Carlos 9:12AM (4/25/2008)
Beautiful watch!
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tanooki2003 9:51AM (4/25/2008)
Maybe it's just me but I just don't really find any interest in this watch, no matter how much gold, silver, or exposed gears they put on it.
Unless this watch could play MP3's, Videos, have an FM Radio, Voice Recorder, view photos, have cellphone features, or read text documents then this is just another high price tag boring watch with a name of a car company.
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Quattrofan 10:00AM (4/25/2008)
Don't sweat it. I don't believe you are a target demographic for this purchase anyway.
Bondtastic 10:03AM (4/25/2008)
...and for you they made that "fast japanese family sedan" comment. You could have stopped reading there and not had to make a comment that makes you look silly for complaining that a mechanically beautiful watch can't double as a cell phone / mp3 player.
Funny how you don't see people that love these types of watches complain that the latest iphone/iwatch doesn't have a turbillion, exposed gears, excellent craftsmanship and as such is "high price tag boring watch".
There are some more beautiful skeleton watches out there, but I do love the style of this one.
Chad 10:03AM (4/25/2008)
Yeah, I don't go to an auto site to look at watches either.
Andrew 10:14AM (4/25/2008)
From a watch guy's perspective, I'm somewhat offended by the "supercar of watches" comment. That's like saying a Corvette is the Patek Philippe of the auto world. This watch is nothing special, and looks somewhat tacky. Lots of mechanical watches have tourbillons, including the one I'm wearing right now.
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Jason 8:19PM (4/26/2008)
This watch is six figures. Many high-end tourbillons are even $300k+. I would say that Patek is very comparable to Jaeger-- maybe I am wrong. A Corvette though-- c'cmon a Corvette.
http://professionalwatches.com
Rich 10:38AM (4/25/2008)
IMO, there's quite a few other purchases I can make for five figures that will advertise how much I'm worth. I can afford a watch like this, but, what's the point?
Real money doesn't advertise.
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TBlueMax 10:46AM (4/25/2008)
Please fix the title: JLC, not JCL
This watch is a stunner, not simply because of the proprietary JLC tourbillon movement but the fact that it is housed in a rugged and sporty case. Certainly there are more elegant designs, Girard-Perregaux's Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges [http://www.tp178.com/tjn/gp/wow/3bridge_e1.html] jumps to mind and I admire Corum's La Mysterieuse [http://www.timezone.com/library/comarticles/comarticles631696132828111037] along with Omega's Center Tourbillon [http://www.thepurists.com/jpg/tourbillon/omegacentertourbillon.html].
As for Andrew's comment, "Lots of mechanical watches have tourbillons, including the one I'm wearing right now." Mechanical watches with a tourbillon movement don't even approach 1% of total production of mechanical watch movements in the world so perhaps the word "lots" is a little generous? BTW - what are you wearing and how do you like it?
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Gavin S. 2:03AM (4/26/2008)
What kind of Tourbillon do you have? I would love to have a Richard Mille, but my budget is more Seagull or Sampson Watch Company.
Peter Rockwell 12:32PM (4/25/2008)
This watch is as ugly as the Aston is beautiful.
I wonder if watches named after fast cars run fast?
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