The magic number
From 28 October till the end of December 2016, Sincere Fine Watches is showcasing a selection of 100 complications from 24 maisons at its flagship boutique at the Suria KLCC shopping centre. Titled ‘100 Complications’, the pieces, totaling some RM100 million in value, are derived from three branches of watchmaking: namely fusee and chain escapements, groundbreaking movements and minute repeaters. Here are some of the highlights that will debut from 28 October.
A Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater (price upon request)
In the company of chiming wristwatches, the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is the first to combine a mechanical jumping numerals display with a decimal minute repeater. Digitally displayed time is acoustically reproduced when a pusher is triggered with different tones for hours, 10-minute periods and minutes.
Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon (RM816,900)
Precision chronometry is at the heart of the Constant Force Tourbillon, featuring a patented constant force device set in beautiful symmetrical movement architecture. Part of the Royal Collection, it is limited to just 28 pieces with a fully rotating 60-second tourbillon.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon (RM837,400)
Robust with the aesthetic to match, the Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon is a durable build of titanium with black ceramic caseback. Water resistant to 100m, this 44mm piece indicates the crown position at six o’clock while the tourbillon and second time-zone indicator sit on either side of the black ceramic central bridge.
Breguet Tradition Tourbillon Fusee 7047 (RM634,300)
This emblematic collection recalls the watchmaker’s august heritage with a contemporary upgrade on the mechanics. A fusee and chain transmission is visible on the upper part of the mainplate, while the flat Breguet overcoil balance spring is formed by silicon.
Bulgari Carillon Tourbillon (RM893,000)
The term carillon defines a striking mechanism which plays at least three notes, which this Bulgari piece does with three hammers designed to be as slender as possible. Its elegance is amplified on the mainplate and bridges, which are conferred an alloy surface treatment composed of platinum, rhodium, ruthenium and indium.
Franck Muller Vanguard Gravity (RM512,217)
The first impression of the Vanguard Gravity is dominated by the tourbillon cage. Aluminium in structure and presented elliptically, the cage occupies the entire lower half of the iconic Cintree Curvex case. Those who wish to further highlight the crossed bridge may have it in a choice of six colours – with the crossed bridges starkly visible through blue sapphire crystal screens on both sides of the piece.
Greubel Forsey GMT (RM2,527,875)
Not content with a simple second time zone display using a window or a hand, this piece features an intricately detailed terrestrial globe between six o’clock and nine o’clock. It completes an anticlockwise rotation every 24 hours — in sync with our planet. In terms of hand finishing, the piece features frosting and bevelling alongside more subtle arts such as straight graining.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Double Flying Tourbillon (RM1,200,000)
The only manufacture to propose a skeleton double flying tourbillon, the star-shaped bridge in lieu of a solid dial is instantly recognisable as a design signature of this maverick manufacture. Just 188 of these pieces are available, with the Poincon de Geneve certification as proof of the labour and expertise required to produce them.
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Ultra-Thin Calibre 1731 (RM1,621,000)
With over two centuries of producing minute repeater timepieces, it comes as no surprise that Vacheron Constantin has in this reference the thinnest manual-winding minute repeater available. As the true soul of a repeater watch is its unique chime, each sound print is duly registered in the manufacture’s archive for lifelong repair and restoration.
Zenith Academy Tourbillon Georges Favre-Jacot (RM342,200)
The dial-free face of the piece allows a view of the magnificent hand-wound El Primero Calibre 4805 within, replete with its fuse-and-chain transmission. Power reserve is rated at over 50 hours and indicated between four and five o’clock. Limited to 150 pieces in black ceramic, with another 150 available in rose gold, the anthracite mainplate and bridges feature sandblasted, hand-chamfered and straight-grained finishes.
