While Laurent Ferrier originally made its name with timepieces that paid homage to traditional watchmaking, the brand has recently evolved towards to a more contemporary style, especially with its Sport collection that marries solid, classical mechanics with sporty case designs.

The latest addition to the line is the Grand Sport Tourbillon Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition, a limited edition in rose gold and green guilloche that celebrates the 70th anniversary of Singapore-based retailer Sincere Fine Watches.

Initial Thoughts

The Sincere edition is essentially a Grand Sport Tourbillon dressed in a warm and appealing palette. The green dial complements the 5N rose gold case, a rich combination that conveys a sense of old-school luxury and refinement, which suits the commemorative occasion well. 

Unusually, it is presented on a strap, instead of a bracelet that has been the norm for most of Laurent Ferrier’s sports watches to date. The strap makes the watch more wearable – a bracelet would mean a lot of gold – and also slightly more accessible in terms of price.

In typical Laurent Ferrier style, the quality of execution is high. The dial is made by Voutilainen’s Comblemine while the movement is decorated to an impressive level (though the bridges have a simpler linear brushed finish instead of the more traditional striping).

Intrinsically, the Sincere edition is an appealing iteration, but the Laurent Ferrier Sport line in general feels ambiguous as the design not entirely classical nor a true sports watch, while also being reminiscent of more famous sports watch designs. The Laurent Ferrier Sport boasts one of the highest level of decoration amongst comparable sports watch, but like many sports watch designs now, the form case with an integrated bracelet feels overused.

Wavy green

An interesting aspect of this edition is its striking “petrol green” guilloche dial. The distinctive wave pattern was chosen to symbolise the South China Sea that borders Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia — the countries where Sincere has historically had a strong presence.

Decorated with a deeply engraved wave guilloche, the dial is made by Comblemine, the dial owned by Kari Voutilainen that’s become a favourite of many independent watchmakers. This marks the first time Laurent Ferrier has installed an engine-turned dial in its Sports collection, which has previously relied on simpler dials with brushed finishing. Light plays pleasantly on the green, textured surface, which is complemented by slender, “Assegai” hands and markers.

The case design is ultimately an unusual blend of square and circle. Though the dial and crystal are round, the bezel is cushion shaped, giving the watch a vaguely cushion silhouette — a shape not unlike many other integrated bracelet luxury sports watches.

The case is well crafted and finished with alternating brushed and polished surfaces. An element that stands out is the big onion-shaped crown — a classic Laurent Ferrier design detail.

At 44 mm in diameter, the timepiece feels substantial, bordering on bulky. Its weight is reinforced by the case material. The heft and colour emphasise the luxury in luxury-sports watch.

The watch is presented on a green Nubuck leather strap, which slightly undermines the intended sportiness of the piece; a rubber strap would have been a more logical fit (and is is available as an option).

A classical movement

The movement inside the Grand Sport Tourbillon Sincere edition is the manually-wound LF 619.01. A very fine piece of mechanical engineering, the movement is constructed in a mostly classical fashion, with an architecturethat mimics old tourbillon chronometers made in the Geneva region.

The LF 619.01 has a mostly exposed going train secured by finger bridges. A pleasing nod to classical watchmaking is the blade-style linear click for the barrel, which has an impressive 80 hours of power reserve. 

Continuing with the classical architecture, the 3 Hz tourbillon regulator features a screwed balance and two inversely positioned hairsprings. Offset by 180°, the superimposed hairsprings theoretically compensate for gravity induced deviations due to their opposing motions. In conjunction with the tourbillon, the double hairsprings should result in a highly accurate movement. 

The movement is well-finished, if a bit austere. The ruthenium-treated bridges are brushed rather than striped. The screws, winding click, and three-point tourbillon bridge are black polished steel.

This makes for a dressed-down high-horology movement, which fits better with the sports theme, rather than a lavishly decorated calibre.

Key facts and price

Laurent Ferrier Grand Sport Tourbillon Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition
Ref. LCF044.R5.V1NC1

Diameter: 44 mm
Height: 13.4 mm
Material: 5N Red gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: LF 619.01
Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Manual
Power reserve: 80 hours

Strap: Petrol green Nubuck leather strap lined with Alcantara, with a 5N red gold folding clasp

Limited edition: 12 pieces
Availability: Only at Sincere Haute Horlogerie boutiques (SHH)
Price: 328,000 Singapore dollars including GST

For more, visit Sincerewatch.com.

Vacheron Constantin’s flagship launch for the year is the Les Cabinotiers “The Berkley” Grand Complication, but it a 1 kg pocket watch with 63 complications and an eight-figure price tag commissioned by a billionaire insurance entrepreneur. For more ordinary well-off persons, the brand’s halo product is the Tourbillon Chronograph Collection Excellence Platine.

Based on a model launched in pink gold in 2020, the Tourbillon Chronograph Collection Excellence Platine is a large but elegant watch executed to a high level, with both fine movement decoration and the usual all-platinum CEP treatment.

A periodic offering from Vacheron Constantin (VC) since 2006, the Collection Excellence Platine (CEP) is a series of limited editions that are variations of regular production models enhanced with the liberal use of platinum throughout the watch. Typically that means a platinum case and clasp, which are ordinary, but also an unusual sandblasted platinum dial and also a strap stitched with platinum-and-silk thread.

Initial thoughts

I’ve always liked the CEP series because it’s a subtle twist on the standard version, with the differences only really apparent to those in the know. At the same time, because the CEP treatment is simple, it often works better on some models than others.

With the CEP line now almost 20 years old, there are about a dozen CEP editions to demonstrate that point. The platinum treatment arguably works best with more complicated watches like the Traditionelle Split-Seconds Chronograph (which is perhaps the best CEP edition ever), or at least those with fancier aesthetics like the American 1921.

Not surprisingly, it works well on the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph, which has two complications plus a tourbillon. The dial is clean and almost monochromatic but the sub-dials and tourbillon add detail.

Like the standard version of the watch, this is fairly large at 42.5 mm wide and almost 12 mm high. The platinum case adds to the sense of size. It’s doesn’t feel too big, however, and both the weight and proportions work well. And it helps that the chronograph is single button, which eliminates pushers that would add to the perceived size.

Fortunately, the cal. 3200 inside is fairly large, so the registers and tourbillon on the dial are positioned proportionately to the overall diameter.

The movement is classical in style and decoration, so it’s worth admiring through the display back. While the movement finishing is excellent, it is identical to that in the regular production version. VC has never varied the movement finishing for CEP models, but that would be a welcome bonus, especially since the premium for CEP editions are substantial.

CEP

The Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph has the typical CEP look – primarily silver and shades of grey with dark blue accents. Though it might sound plain, it’s a good combination that is both appealing and distinct from the standard model.

Though the dial is clearly asymmetrical, it has good visual balance with the large logo at nine o’clock serving as a counterweight to the minute counter at three.

Like prior CEP models, the platinum dial has a fine blasted finish that catches the light in varied ways, resulting in a slightly different tone of grey or silver depending on the perspective.

To go with the platinum dial, the hour indices, two-tone hands (frosted and polished), and Maltese cross at nine are in 18k white gold. The blue accents come courtesy of the hands for the chronograph and power reserve that are in blued steel.

A discreet “Pt950” hallmark is printed in between four and five

With its muted colours, the focal point of the dial is the tourbillon at 12 o’clock. It’s presented in the usual VC style, with a Maltese cross carriage secured by a full bridge. While the tourbillon assembly gives the wide dial depth, the gilded balance wheel and gears are useful in adding colour to the detail.

One of the four screws for the carriage is blued, allowing it to function as a seconds pointer

Also rendered in platinum, the case has the same measurements as the standard model, 42.5 mm by 11.7 mm. It’s slim relative to the diameter, but still a large watch. The lugs are also long, adding to the large feel. That said, the case doesn’t feel clunky and wears reasonably well for a watch of this size.

The Traditionelle case design also incorporates various details that make it interesting, including a stepped bezel, fluted case back rim, Maltese cross-inspired lugs, and a relief Maltese cross on the pusher.

The cal. 3200

One of several movements launched with the Harmony collection in 2016 to mark the 260th anniversary of the brand, the cal. 3200 is a wide, slim movement with a diameter of 32.8 mm and thickness of 6.7 mm – dimensions that make it a good fit for the case. The thinness of the movement is notable, given its complications.

The cal. 3200 is traditional in its approach to the chronograph, which has a lateral coupling and column wheel. Chronograph enthusiasts will certainly appreciate the old-school layout.

A few VC details can be found in the movement, beyond the logo on the chronograph bridge. These include the Maltese cross on the column wheel and a gear with spokes forming a Maltese cross.

Like most VC mechanical movements, the cal. 3200 bears the Poinçon de Genève, a hallmark of both decorative and functional quality. The finishing certainly lives up to expectations, right done to the smallest details, including chamfered edges on the spokes of smaller gears.

As illustrated in our recent visit to the VC manufacture, some of the finishing is done by hand-operated machines and some entirely by hand, which is typical of establishment haute horlogerie brands that produce watches at scale. As a result, the decoration is as good as that of VC’s peers Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet.

But to echo an earlier point fine as it is, the decoration could have been tweaked slightly for a CEP edition, so as to set it apart from the regular production movement.

Key facts and price

Vacheron Constantin Traditionelle Tourbillon Chronograph “Collection Excellence Platine”
Ref. 5100T/000P-H041

Diameter: 42.5 mm
Height: 11.7 mm
Material: Platinum
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Cal. 3200
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds on tourbillon cage, tourbillon, monopusher chronograph and power reserve indicator
Winding: Hand-wind
Frequency: 18,000 beats per hour (2.5 Hz)
Power reserve: 65 hours

Strap: Alligator with platinum folding clasp

Limited edition: 50 pieces
Availability: Only from Vacheron Constantin boutiques
Price: In the region of US$330,000 before taxes

For more, visit Vacheronconstantin.com

Audemars Piguet (AP) first unveiled the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in 2016, in full-sized 41 mm format. It’s a technically interesting take on the brand’s signature luxury-sports watch. While it is a time-only watch, the skeletonised movement sports a pair of mirrored, superimposed balance wheels and hairsprings.

Though already available in 37 mm with a sparkly “frosted” case or entirely gem-set, the 37 mm model wasn’t offered in the classic Royal Oak finish. Now the movement makes its debut in a compact 37 mm case in the traditional brushed-and-polished finish. It’s available in either pink or white gold with the open-worked movement colour-matched to the case metal.

Initial thoughts 

The Double Balance Wheel model is something of a halo model for the Royal Oak range. Though it is not complicated in the functional sense, it is equipped with an interesting feature that theoretically contributes to chronometry. Add to that the distinctive aesthetics of the skeletonised movement, and the result is a watch that is classical Royal Oak in design yet more sophisticated in technical terms.

The original 41 mm model, however, was fairly large, and the angular form of the Royal Oak accentuated the size. The original 37 mm models were extravagant and perhaps too over-the-top for everyday wear. The new pair is easily more wearable and should appeal to a wider audience.

The new models are each priced at US$98,100, which is comparable to the earlier versions with a frosted finish. Though it seems like a big number for a time-only watch, the price is relatively reasonable considering the skeleton movement, double balances, and the all-gold bracelet.

Classic Royal Oak

The new models are essentially more traditional takes on the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked 37 mm. Replacing the frosted finish on earlier versions is the old-school matte brushed accented by polished bevels.

Both versions are identical in size at 37 mm in diameter and 10 mm thick. That’s 4 mm smaller than the full-sized model, and 0.1 mm thicker. The result is a watch that is proportionately thicker, giving it a slightly chunkier look.

The model is available in two guises: white gold with a rhodium-finish movement, or pink gold with a matching movement. Each has colour accents on the dial: the white gold model has a pale blue flange along with hour markers and hands in pink gold, while the pink gold model has a purple flange along with white gold hands and indices.

Cosmetic tweaks aside, the key feature of the watch is the cal. 3132 with double balance wheels. Secured by a full bridge visible between seven and nine o’clock, the twin balances boasts cumulatively greater inertia than a single balance, resulting in better stability over time. Moreover, each hairspring is superimposed but offset by 180 degrees, so the hairsprings “breathe” in opposite directions, which theoretically means they each cancel out the other’s positional errors.

The twin free-sprung balance wheels oscillate at 3 Hz, while the skeletonised rotor winds a single barrel that delivers a 45-hour power reserve. This is substantially than the 60 hours of the equivalent cal. 3120/3129 with only a single balance. That’s because the additional balance requires additional energy to oscillate, essentially twice the energy of a single balance, which trims the power reserve.

The skeletonisation is all about a monochromatic finish, clean lines, and geometric shapes

Key facts and price

Audemars Piguet Double Balance Wheel Openworked 37 mm
Ref. 15467BC.OO.1256BC.01 (white gold)
Ref. 15467OR.OO.1256OR.02 (pink gold)

Diameter: 37 mm
Height: 10 mm
Material: 18k white gold or pink gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water-resistance: 50 m

Movement: Cal. 3132
Functions: Hours, minutes and centre seconds
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 45 hours

Strap: Matching bracelet with folding clasp

Limited edition: No
Availability: At AP Houses and boutiques
Price: US$98,100

For more, visit Audemarspiguet.com.