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In their history, Jaeger-LeCoultre has presented five gyrotourbillons: the first in 2004 \u2013 Master Gyrotourbillon 1, a follow up second variant in 2008 encased in their brand icon \u2013 the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 and in 2013, their Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon 3 Jubilee. Their fourth, \u00a0a truly wearable Gyrotourbillon in a slimmer brand signature \u2013 the 2016 Reverso Tribute Gyrotourbillon \u2013 was recognition that high horology\u2019s prime directive is a sacrosanct recognition that a watch is only as precise as the user who finds it comfortable enough to use as a timekeeping instrument on a daily basis.<\/p>\n
Consider the average precision of a traditional tourbillon with rates good enough to fall within COSC criteria of -4\/+6 seconds a day; comparatively, the Gyrotourbillon is a technical marvel: a multi-axis tourbillon comprising two cages inclined at different angles, spinning a blued spherical balance spring at different speeds in opposite directions with a vaunted precision deviating by a maximum of -1\/+1 second a day.<\/p>\n
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Hence, further advancing the art of multi-axis tourbillons, the Grande Maison presented their fifth (and at the time, celebrated as a magnum opus in arts of precision), the Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perp\u00e9tuel which debuted in 2019<\/a>, featuring a gyroscopic tourbillon that was significantly smaller than those preceding Gyrotourbillon timepieces presented during the last 15 years. In watchmaking, the act of creating a smaller calibre by reducing the size of its corresponding components, also reduces its error tolerance, hence successful miniaturisation efforts are highly valued and complications unto itself.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an adventure 30 years in the making, considering that in the 90s, Jaeger-LeCoultre\u2019s largest timepiece was only 41.5mm and the meant that proportionally speaking, a gyroscopic escapement with a balance that moved in three dimensions would have made the watch unbearably thick. Speaking to St\u00e9phane Belmont, Director of Heritage and Rare Pieces at SIHH 2019 during the launch of the Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perp\u00e9tuel, he fondly recalled how a serendipitous alchemy of time and aesthetic trends made Jaeger-LeCoultre\u2019s vision of the gyrotourbillon possible \u2013 the 2000s made lade large 43-44mm watches en vogue and computerised 3D renderings that simulated virtual complications in operation ushered a new era of gyroscopic regulators for the Le Sentier manufacture. Oh, and lest we forget to mention, CNC technology, the machine aided process of carving metal into precise shapes and curvatures had to avail itself as well, even today, the requirements for the components of Jaeger-LeCoultre\u2019s Gyrotourbillon 3 Meteorite<\/a> are so exacting that it is available only in limited 8 piece edition without an indication of waiting times.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThis type of system where the escapement is always moving is also a guarantee of precision as amplitude remains absolutely constant.\u201d \u2013 St\u00e9phane Belmont, Director of Heritage and Rare Pieces<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Jaeger-LeCoultre\u2019s gyrotourbillon is the work of Eric Coudray, Thierry Grenier- Boley, Andr\u00e9 Reymond, Jacques Coulet, Magali M\u00e9trailler and not forgetting the CAD specialist who helped implement 3D rendering technology at the Manufacture (he now heads the brand\u2019s R&D department in Le Sentier), the Master Gyrotourbillon was a heretofore unseen new escapement system not a modification of any pre-existing Tourbillon architecture \u2013 Pivoting in all dimensions and not just perpendicular and vertical axes \u2013 it was a complete system requiring perfect equilibrium in all positions and thus requiring all new parts and architecture hence the dependence on 3D modelling; additionally, the balance spring had to be a predefined shape because of its constantly changing angles which would have rendered it impossible to calculate a mean for the usual positions that a watch could be tested. In essence, Jaeger-LeCoultre\u2019s gyrotourbillon required a complete shift in paradigm. It appears that while Breguet might have invented the tourbillon, Jaeger-LeCoultre has definitively improved it.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHalf of my watchmaking is traditional . . . with a little bit of a development,\u201d \u2013 Eric Coudray<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Mr. Coudray and Ms. M\u00e9trailler worked in tandem, the former on the technical construction and the latter on aesthetics. Indeed, Coudray has been responsible for some of the most innovative 21st century horological developments and brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre have been among some of his patrons to recognise his visionary blend of 19th century techniques in concert with 20th century imagination. When Jaeger-LeCoultre finally released their Master Gyrotourbillon 1 in 2004, it was the world\u2019s second spherical dual-axis Tourbillon, the first belonged to Franck Muller but they were both, the works of Coudray \u2013 a spherical outer cage with once per minute rotation while an inner, perpendicularly mounted cage rotated every 24 seconds. It was an essential development considering that men\u2019s fashion since the age of Breguet had evolved beyond pocket watches in vest pockets and into highly mobile, wrist-worn, time-keeping instruments subject to rigorous arm movements and hence, gravitational and rotational forces. And now, close to 20 years since its introduction, evolved into a smaller, eminently more wearable form with more exacting tolerances.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nEven the hairsprings have evolved. Imagine that a regular hairspring is already one of the bigger challenges for a watch maison and then consider the evolution of the hairspring beginning from the\u00a0 Gyrotourbillon 1 with an ordinary flat hairspring, evolving into a cylindrical hairspring for the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2, and for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon 3, a spherical hairspring arguably the most optimal shape for isochronism but also the most challenging; Jaeger-LeCoultre had some able assistance from Lange & Sohne Uhren, the technical division of its Richemont sister brand in this regard.<\/p>\n
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\u201cJaeger-LeCoultre is one of the rare manufactures, we were the biggest integrated facility in Vall\u00e9e de Joux over 100 years ago, bringing craftsmen of all specialities with under one roof. Other brands began vertical integration only 25 years ago.\u201d \u2013 Stephane Belmont<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It\u2019s hard to imagine how the Grand Maison could have foreseen that their historical practice of having all the metiers under one roof for over 100 years could result in a multi-axis Tourbillon with incorporated in a fully integrated chronograph, and dressed with a meteorite dial and Grand Feu enamel subdials in one Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon 3 Meteorite. The Le Sentier manufacture describes it as \u201crepresenting the highest expression of Jaeger-LeCoultre\u2019s codes,\u201d and indeed, considering its first introduction in 2013, the Gyrotourbillon 3 has come a long way, ably representing the art of precision and the elegant artistic metiers that have since become emblematic of the brand.<\/p>\n
Mechanically and visually, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon 3 is Le Sentier\u2019s savoir-faire at its finest \u2013 at its heart, the blued spherical balance spring beating within the microcosm of two cages set at different angles, turning in opposite directions and at different speeds \u2013 this is truly a living masterpiece with no fewer than 592 components, embellished with the finest handcrafts in haute horlogerie.<\/p>\n
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