WORLDTEMPUS - 2 March 2012
Elizabeth Doerr
Baselworld comes along every year just like Christmas. And for many it is like Christmas with all the exciting new mechanical timepieces on display all week. However, the scant few days left in the week before the world's largest and most important watch fair opens are without a doubt the most stressful for anyone associated with the industry. Martin Braun's little workshop in Alpnach, Switzerland is no exception as the watchmakers and engineers employed there scramble to complete last-minute preparations on the first tourbillon Martin Braun has ever designed.
The whirlwind lives
Today, there can hardly be a luxury watch brand without a tourbillon in its repertoire, and thus Braun has put his immeasurable skills to work to create one to accompany the perpetual calendar he launched last year. “This timepiece is the logical progression of our perpetual calendar and completes it perfectly,” Braun explains of the new launch. “Additionally, the idea was to integrate the calendar and thus present a beautiful and technically demanding dial.”
He combines this with his modified the Swiss lever escapement called the High Performance Escapement (HPE). By not having to compromise between effectivity and oil retention thanks to the use of silicon components, the HPE boasts more effectiveness according to him and does not need lubrication.
The visible tourbillon is 14.1 mm in diameter and holds a place of honor on the dial. This does not mean that the dial has become cluttered: to the contrary. The clean, architectural look of the qp model is exemplary, thanks in great part to the regulator style of the dial. The large sweep hand displays the minutes, while the hours are shown in the subdial at 9 o'clock.
This large manually wound movement with six days' power reserve is available housed in rose and white gold cases.
