All these features were produced in partnership with watchmaker par excellence Christophe Claret. That should not be too much of a surprise. Christophe Claret developed the caliber G1800 manually wound movement with Graham for the watch, and it features the type of things you’d expect from Mr. Claret. The movement has a power reserve of 72 hours and operates at 3Hz. Aside from desiring a power reserve indicator on the rear of the movement, it is quite interesting.
Hopefully you’ve watched the video above that shows us adjusting the watch and seeing how everything works. The blue sapphire orb is the Earth, and a small ball which represents the Sun revolves around it showing the orbit of the moon. I like that the watch features a quick adjust for the moon. While this happens, the Earth moves around the entire dial making one full rotation each year. The same goes for Mars, but it rotates around the entire dial each “Mars year” (which is longer). Because it doesn’t have more planets, it is difficult to call the watch a planetarium. Though in a sense it really is a planetarium, just not a “full planetarium.” It’s an Orrery.
The case of the Tourbillon Orrery is large at 48mm wide in 18k pink gold. It is a rather standard case, but what is very unique is the sapphire crystal. Rather than just being domed, it is stepped with three levels, which makes it look wavy. Graham explained that there is some historical precedent for this design – which I will take their word for. It certainly makes the Tourbillon Orrery look more like an item out of antiquity.
So what else can we say that isn’t self evident in the design? THIS my friends is what a true collectors’ watch is. It was not built to satisfy any current actual need, but rather as an experiment in reproducing historic horological devices in a smaller, wearable package. It is interesting to see how modern watch designers re-interpret for enthusiasts what was once a state-of-the-art scientific instrument produced by geniuses of the day. For 2013 the Tourbillon Orrery will be for wealthy collectors of the day, and just a few of them as Graham is limiting its production to just 20 pieces Price is $330,000. graham1695.com
Tech specs from Graham:
Orrey Tourbillon
– Ref. 2GGBP.B01A
– Limited edition: 20 pieces
Functions: Manual Tourbillon Orrery, mechanical solar system model with 100 years calendar (two additional graduations of 100 years – 300 years in total). Year counter on the case back with planet correction indicators. (Moon: 7 years, Earth: 1156 years, Mars: 25 years). Hours, Minutes
Calibre G1800: high precision mechanical movement exclusively made for GRAHAM by Christophe Claret with Haute Horlogerie finishing, circular “Côtes de Genève” decoration, Tourbillon Orrery (solar system mecanism), 21’600 A/h (3Hz), Incabloc shock absorber, 35 jewels
– Power reserve : 72 hours – 2 barrels
Case: 48 mm pink gold (18K) case
– 17.60 mm thick
– Pink gold (18K) right hand control crowns (planets’ crown at 2 o’clock, manual winding and time crown at 3 o’clock), Moon corrector at 4 o’clock, Mars corrector at 10 o’clock
– Pink gold (18K) bezel
– Dome sapphire crystal (semi-spherical), anti-reflective coating on both faces. Full size dimension: 43.5mm opening See-through sapphire crystal case back with 100-year scale, Moon and Mars correction indicators and serial number hand-engraved
– Water resistance 160 feet / 50 m / 5 bar
Dial: Black dial with Geo.Graham Tourbillon Orrery inscription at 4 o’clock, 3 scales – from the outside to the centre: hours and minutes scale, Gregorian calendar (365.25 days – Earth indicates the date), Zodiac scale (12 astrological signs – Earth indicates the zodiac sign). Counter-clockwise reading. Solar system: The Moon (rhodium, Ø0.90 mm); The Earth (blue sapphire, Ø3.20 mm); Mars (ruby, Ø1.70 mm); The Sun (pink gold (18K) – hand-engraved Tourbillon bridge with 2 Phoenix heads inspired by George Graham decoration and a close set diamond at the centre (Ø2.50mm). Counter-clockwise reading.
– Off-centre skeleton pink gold (18K) hands with black Super-LumiNova coating
– Strap: Hand-sewn black croco, Pink gold (18K) pin buckle
