The tourbillon has played an important role in the story of Speake-Marin. The first timepiece ever to bear the Speake-Marin name was the Foundation Watch, a hand-made pocket watch equipped with a tourbillon escapement.
“The tourbillon is one of the things that I love most about watchmaking,” says Peter Speake-Marin. “Not because of the precision it gives to the timekeeping, but because of the animation it gives to the dial. It shows time moving in a way that a minute-repeater or a grande sonnerie, for example, cant offer. It’s something which, for me, is quite profound, illustrating the passing of time.”
The new Magister Vertical Double Tourbillon comes in a generous 46 mm Piccadilly case, which is available in either white or red gold.
A tour of the dial side begins with the large oven-fired enamel subdial with the hours and minutes displayed by Speake-Marin's signature blued-steel Foundation hands. Just above is a 72-hour power reserve indicator displaying available power by means of a cam-shaped disc that opens when fully wound to reveal the gears and mechanisms below, and gradually closes and signals empty when a red section of the disc reaches the central marker. Under the subdial is the day/night indicator.
The twin tourbillons are vertically aligned on the left of the dial. A single massive bridge, hand finished with mirror polished internal bevels, supports the upper side of both tourbillons. Each tourbillon has its own independent gear train powered by its own mainspring barrel. The two barrels are wound simultaneously via the crown.
The équilibreur de marche linking the two 60-second tourbillons consists of two concentric wheels arranged one on top of the other. A small spring sandwiched between the wheels has each end attached to a wheel. Each wheel rotates with its respective tourbillon cage and the spring between is tensioned when the rates of the two regulators differ, or if subjected to asymmetric shocks.
Inspiration for the movement bridge design and decoration of the Magister Vertical Double Tourbillon comes in part from one of the first tourbillons in the Speake-Marin collection: The Vintage Tourbillon Mk II. Like the Vintage Tourbillon, the Magister Vertical Double Tourbillon’s movement features German silver bridges, perlage and ruthenium plating. Geneva stripes covering the 3/4 plate movement differ from the status quo in that the waves run not in one direction but two, away from the centre of the plate.
The Magister Vertical Double Tourbillon is part of the Speake-Marin "J Class" collection and is a limited edition of 5 pieces in white gold and 5 pieces in red gold.
