With wind in his sails following the successful Origine series, independent watchmaker Sylvain Pinaud returns with his most ambitious project yet, the succinctly named Tourbillon. The watch looks and feels a lot like its time-only predecessor, but the movement is in fact completely different, with twin mainspring barrels and a fast-rotating 30-second tourbillon.

The Tourbillon in platinum with a white agate dial.

Initial thoughts

Appetite remains strong for high-end time-only watches, but the leading independents are increasingly leaving simplicity behind and treating their collectors to additional complications. Mr Pinaud’s Tourbillon exemplifies this shift.

Despite the greater complexity of its movement, the Tourbillon is no larger than the simpler Origine. In fact, it’s about 1 mm smaller in diameter. That’s impressive considering it fits an extra mainspring barrel and adds a zero-reset seconds functionality to its namesake tourbillon.

This latter functionality — specifically its heart cam — is on full display through an opening in the running seconds sub-dial at nine o’clock.

But its the 30-second tourbillon that gives the watch its name, and which warrants special scrutiny. Fast-rotating tourbillons — which rotate more quickly than once per minute — are quite rare. They require more energy and greater care in assembly, since they almost invariably use lighter components.

In the case of the Tourbillon, the slender three-armed cage is made of titanium, resulting in a structure that’s about 20% lighter than it would otherwise be, according to Mr Pinaud. This pays dividends in terms of power reserve, which is a substantial 100 hours.

The Tourbillon in platinum with a black dial.

While not record setting, the rotational speed of the cage is more than enough to differentiate the Tourbillon from most of its peers — side by side, the difference between a 30-second tourbillon and a one-minute tourbillon is quite obvious.

The CHF180,000 asking price is more than double that of the similar-looking Origine, but the quality of the work on display is arguably worth it in a market that puts a premium on rarity, complexity, and hand craftsmanship.

Three configurations

The Tourbillon is available in three distinct 10-piece limited editions. The lightest of the trio features a titanium case — and movement — and a contemporary silver-and-grey livery with a white agate dial. Agate is increasingly popular, used by both Raúl Pages and David Candaux, offering the milky white look of enamel with the earthy magic of natural stone.

The Tourbillon in titanium.

The other two editions feature a platinum case and German silver bridges, as well as more traditional colourways.

While the choice between the platinum editions will come down to looks alone, the all-titanium edition will wear completely differently, weighing in at just 39 g compared to the platinum models’ 105 g.

An architectural design

The Tourbillon’s design closely echoes that of the Origine, with the same offset time display and exposed oscillator. This visual similarity results in a pleasing sense of cohesiveness, but it might also be a drawback — many will likely mistake the Tourbillon for an Origine.

Interestingly, while the front of the watch looks similar to that of the Origine, the view through the case back could hardly be more different. Gone is the solid plate and its singular barrel, along with — thankfully — the strange vacant area underneath the dial-side balance wheel.

The titanium Tourbillon features lightweight titanium bridges in the movement.

Instead, the Tourbillon features twin mainspring barrels supported by an open-plate architecture. The view through the case back is substantially improved by these changes, which reveal a number of thoughtful and attractive details.

For one thing, the moving parts are characterised by their architectural lightness, giving the entire movement a refined and elegant appearance. For example, the wheels of the going train are quite large, but appear very light due to their slender tapering arms and thin rims.

Likewise, the tourbillon components, both those visible from the front as well as the back, are open and airy, suggesting a keen understanding of the forces at play inside the movement.

The platinum editions feature gilded German silver plates and bridges.

The openworked bridges are just as impressive. While the over-emphasis on inward angles has become somewhat tiresome, the Mr Pinaud’s Tourbillon exemplifies why these seemingly small flourishes are so prized to begin with.

The bridges are shaped to create several attractive intersections that demonstrate mastery of anglage on both straight and curved surfaces.

Key facts and price

Sylvain Pinaud Tourbillon

Diameter: 39 mm
Height: 11.2 mm
Material: Titanium or platinum
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: Tourbillon
Functions: Hour, minute, and zero-reset seconds
Winding: Hand wind
Frequency: 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 100 hours

Strap: Leather with pin buckle

Limited edition: 30 pieces total
Availability: Direct from Sylvain Pinaud
Price: CHF180,000 excluding taxes

For more, visit Sylvain-pinaud.com.

Having debuted its first proprietary movement inside the Caballero last year, Singer Reimagined is building on the calibre by adding a second time zone. The DualTrack is powered by the same cleverly constructed movement, a manual wind with an impressive six day power reserve, but gains a 24-hour ring for a GMT function.

The watch adopts the cushion-shaped case that’s the brand signature, while the dial similarly preserve the aesthetic found on the brand’s trademark central chronographs, but with a 24-hour ring around the dial. Because the second time zone is an add-on over the calibre, the 24-scale ring is independently adjustable, rather than the local hour hand, making this “caller” GMT rather than a true “traveller” GMT.

Initial thoughts

I like the Singer aesthetic so this design is appealing, and it implements the dual time zone function logically and legibly. The in-house movement with a long power reserve is also a plus, especially since it has a novel four-barrel construction.

The only downside here is the “caller” type second time zone function. A “true” GMT with an independent local hour hand, as found on the Rolex GMT-Master II, is the most convenient format, since it requires fewest steps when setting the time while travelling, but this requires a built-from-the-ground-up calibre.

All things considered, that can be forgiven since the DualTrack is an attractive proposition overall. Like last year’s Caballero, the DualTrack is a useful watch with a reasonable price. It retails for CHF22,500, which is at the affordable end of the spectrum for such a movement from a small-scale independent maker.

Dual time zones

The DualTrack is larger than the time-only Caballero, with dimensions similar to the central chronograph models. The steel case is 43 mm wide and 15 mm, which is thick but not that large since the lugs are short. The lugs have been open worked, which accentuates the automotive-inspired theme of the design. The automotive elements continue with the chequered flag scale on the time display and speedometer-like dial.

The second time zone is indicated by a large 24-hour ring read against a fixed pointer at six o’clock, similar to the display on the Singer central chronograph. Next to the 24-hour ring is a deeply sloping minute track that gives the dial depth.

A recessed pusher in the case at nine o’clock advances the GMT ring in one-hour steps. Importantly, this pusher can be operated without any tools.

The ST5001 movement inside is essentially the same calibre as in the Caballero with the added GMT function. It is an original, interesting construction with a unique layout that is almost symmetrical, with the four barrels located equidistant from each other, while an elevated free-sprung balance sits in between one pair of mainsprings.

Key facts and price

Singer DualTrack
Ref.SR511-3 (green)
Ref. SR511-4 (red)

Diameter: 43 mm
Height: 15 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 100 m

Movement: ST5001
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and second time zone
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Winding: Manual
Power reserve: 144 hours, or six days

Strap: Rubber with folding buckle

Limited edition: No
Availability: From Singer retailers starting June 2026
Price: CHF22,500 before taxes

For more, visit Singerreimagined.com.