Whirlwind wonders
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon
The sort of watch to wear as you pen an eight-figure deal. Aside from being filthy handsome, it’s also jolly clever – its titanium tourbillon carriage weighs a feather-like 0.33 grams and sits in an automatic movement that comes in at just 6.4mm thick.
£46,300
www.jaegerlecoultre.com
Frederique Constant
Slim Line Tourbillon Manufacture
Because of the complexity of a tourbillon, it’s rare to find one priced south of £40k. Automatic, cased in steel and 18-carat rose gold, and with the addition of a day/night indicator, this is a lot of watch for your money.
£28,630
www.frederique-constant.com
Richard Mille
RM052 Tourbillon Skull
No, your eyes do not deceive you. That is indeed a skull, in the middle of a very expensive watch. This has a Grade 5 titanium case perfected through 255 separate machine operations, and the skull is more than a brooding aesthetic – its jaws hold the tourbillon cage in place.
£356,000
www.richardmille.com
Vacheron Constantin
Patrimony Tradionnelle 14-day Tourbillon
This pink gold timekeeper packs a massive 14-day power reserve under the hood. That means that as well as being highly accurate, the watch will run for 336 hours once fully wound. That’s a bit like being able to drive your car from London to Cape Town on a single tank of fuel. Incredible.
£202,500
www.vacheron-constantin.com
Patek Philippe
Reference 5101J
Patek does tourbillons the understated way, squirrelling away the intricacies of its movements. Flip the yellow gold, three-tiered case over though, and you get an eyeful of it stunning 10-day tourbillon movement, which has 72 parts yet tips the scales at a leaf-like 0.3 grams.
Price on request
www.patek.com