There is also the matter of functionality. The in-house made CFB T1001 manually wound movement features the time, 24 hour indicator (AM/PM indicator), date, tourbillon, and a power reserve indicator. Essentially this is just a time and date watch, with the added benefit of knowing AM/PM, as well as when to wind your movement. These features are attractively laid out on the dial offering a rather good level of visual balance. The funny thing is that while nothing about the case, hands, or dial look all that unique, the competent assortment of features and elements makes the Manero Tourbillon watch stand out.

The CFB T1001 movement has a power reserve of 70 hours. The tourbillon is of course visible through through the dial, and it serves as the seconds indicator. I sort of like the thick, no-nonsense tourbillon bridge that adds an element of strength to an otherwise fragile looking (and actually fragile) complication. Around the dial is a peripheral date indicator. Personally I don’t like these, but some people love them. The idea is to offer an alternative to a date disc, but in a space where you can read 31 markers easily. It isn’t really that big a deal, but I always see the date hand and think it is a seconds hands… which then irritates me because it isn’t moving. But in this case, given the overall concept of the Manero Tourbillon, it feels like a welcome extra feature.

There is a lot of old-school luxury style in the Manero Tourbillon. Carl F. Bucherer certainly wasn’t trying to stir-up the tourbillon world by releasing their first tourbillon – and this is certainly one of those models in the brand’s collection that looks to the past more than the future. It is a very traditional timepiece for those who really like traditional timepieces. The watch itself is 41.8mm wide and 12.52mm thick on a brown alligator strap. That is a very nice mid-size that will look good on most men. The case is in 18k rose gold and the dial silver. One thing that I would have loved to see on the dial was lume, but at least you have little gold dots on the dial (no they don’t glow).

The Manero Tourbillon will not be an unlimited production model even though I am pretty sure Carl F. Bucherer will start to release more and more tourbillons each year to bolster the higher-end segment of the brand. From a top-end model such as this tourbillon, the brand will also continue to feature timepieces with base Swiss ETA movements. They do seem to want to offer a very well-rounded collection. Carl F. Bucherer will produce just 188 piece of the limited edition Manero Tourbillon at a price of $98,800. carl-f-bucherer.com