Why This Obsolete Mechanism Makes Watches More Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

This spring is finer than a strand of human hair, and it's a vital part of the tourbillon mechanism found in the most expensive watches in the world. A collector bought this tourbillon watch for $5.8 million at a Christie's auction in 2023. The complications in this watch is quite extraordinary, and this piece is $476,000. The tourbillon mechanism was created to counter the effects of gravity on vertical pocket watches, making them more accurate. But it doesn't improve the performance of watches anymore. So what makes these watches so expensive? And why are customers paying a premium for a watch that doesn't perform any better? To answer that question, you have to understand what a tourbillon is. In a mechanical watch, there is a balance wheel attached to a coiled hairspring, which allows it to twist back and forth. This movement causes another wheel, called an escape wheel, to advance tooth by tooth in regular intervals, creating the signature ticking sound you hear in a watch. In a tourbillon, however, this entire mechanism, called an escapement, is placed inside a metal cage, which is also constantly rotating. This additional rotation is what counteracted gravity's pull in pocket watches. These days, pocket watches have been replaced with modern wristwatches that primarily sit horizontally, so they don't require a tourbillon for accuracy. But for some reason, it's not only highly sought after, it's often featured prominently and can increase the cost of a watch significantly. Because it's so incredibly difficult to master and make, it's going to add a significant cost to the watch. So you can see a watch that's a simple time-only piece jump $20,000, $30,000, sometimes $100,000. How difficult is it? Just ask Remy Coulz, a 26-year-old independent watchmaker who specializes in all parts of the tourbillon-making process. His studio is located near Lake Annecy in France, about 30 miles from Geneva, the watch capital of the world, where top brands like Betec Philippe and Rolex are headquartered. He and his colleague, Clémence Theriault, are in the process of creating Remy's second collection of tourbillon watches, of 36 pieces he calls the tourbillon atelier. What I find fascinating about the tourbillon is that you really have this sense of movement in the watch, the fact that you have a beating heart when it comes to movement, and it's really a living complication. It takes about a month to complete a watch from start to finish, so Remy and Clémence will be working on them for the next three years. One reason these watches cost so much is the sheer number of pieces needed for the tourbillon to function. The entire watch consists of about 200 parts in total, 50 of which make up the tourbillon, and each of these has to be extremely precise, down to the thousandth of a millimeter. Remy's tourbillon is made from components cut from brass and steel. He sculpts the raw materials himself into the basic shapes, using a CNC to cut the various pinions and wheels with precision. While automated, machining all these tiny pieces takes a long time, about 15 to 20 minutes for each of the smaller parts, and an hour-plus for more complex ones. Remy must then compare each individual component with the initial design on the computer to make sure it's exactly to the specifications, and that nothing is outside of the lines. For each piece, he has to readjust various settings, like the cutting speed, and this can sometimes take longer than the actual machining. The cut metal needs to be heat-treated multiple times to reinforce it. First, this happens through a process called quenching, where the steel is heated up and then quickly cooled with charcoal powder. He then heats the piece again, tempering it, which changes the color from yellow to brown to blue. From here on out, it requires a careful eye and a steady hand. To craft this circular piece into a mechanical gear, he will then need to manually cut each of the 80 teeth into the base. Remy will often stack 10 of them together to save time. Remy and Clémence are both graduates of Lycée Edgar Fort in Morteau, France, a school renowned for training and passing on some of the best young watchmakers into the big-name Swiss watch companies. He worked briefly for Grubel Forsey in Switzerland before establishing his own brand in 2019, and Clémence worked at Patek Philippe before joining him. She is Remy's first and only employee, and has been with the company for about a year. Nowhere is all of this training, passion and attention to detail more apparent than in this stage known as chamfering. It's also one of the most time-consuming parts of the process, in which each edge is meticulously beveled, not only for aesthetics but also to reduce friction and prevent any unintended resistance with the pieces. The chamfered component is polished and coated with metal, such as gold or rhodium, to prevent oxidation and add a colourful luster, yellow, pink or grey, depending on the coating used. Remy will first experiment with different test pieces to make sure the colours are just as desired. There are various types and styles of tourbillon, single-axis, triple-axis and even flying tourbillon, which are only mounted on one side. Some cages make one full rotation every 60 seconds, as is the case with Remy's watch. Some are slower and some are faster. But the faster the rotation, the more fragile the mechanism, which is already extremely fragile, especially when it comes to the hairspring. On any particular day, Clemence's tasks can differ. Today, she is assembling the pieces Remy has already prepared into the tourbillon cage. First, she tests the balance of the balance wheel and then cuts the hairspring to the correct length to match it. She wears an eyepiece, known as a loupe, to shape the curve and make a slight elevation of the outermost coil, known as the Breguet overcoil. When it's just right, she will piece it all together in the cage, using a variety of small pliers and other specialised tools. Now I'm screwing the screws to the cage, which closes the whole thing. Now my spiral is in place in the tourbillon cage, in the test cage. As you can see, it's free. It takes a lot of patience. Mounting the tourbillon can take several days to get right. Remy will then check everything and place the movement in the platinum watch casing. They will do some final control tests and make sure it's tightly sealed and waterproof, before scanning the watch one last time for any dust particles. So much time and effort go into making the tourbillon mechanism, and customers are willing to pay for it. But why, when it doesn't make watches more accurate? Every time you pick up a timepiece, no matter what the price is, you're looking at a piece of art. Really, this is about buying what you love and buying what speaks to you. The tourbillon are often even highlighted with a single sapphire crystal. At Watches of Switzerland, one of the largest luxury watch retailers in the world, customers can find tourbillon watches from most of the big names. But Kelly Yoch, who has been in the industry for 28 years, says it's also her job to show collectors the broad range available from independent makers, whom they may not have even heard of yet. It's up to us to educate the public, when they walk through our doors, on what other things they should have in their collection. I love anyone that takes the time to truly build an art piece like this from start to finish. I really believe if you love what you do, you're going to appreciate someone like Remy wholeheartedly. Take this highly detailed Year of the Dragon-themed tourbillon from Beauvais, for example. It is one of only 12 pieces new for 2024, that sells for around half a million dollars. I think what's really important to showcase is the back of this watch as well, because you are truly looking at something that takes someone so many hours to do, and this is a true, true piece of art. Flipping that watch over and really looking at the artistry, and how much work goes into decorating movement. It's extraordinary, and the geeky side of me, I would sit and probably stare at a tourbillon for hours on end.