Haute Complication: The Magical Details Of The Geo Graham Orrery Tourbillon
There are some watches that are different, which take time to fully understand, and discover all the details that set this watch apart from others. One of these watches is the Geo Graham Orrery Tourbillon.
The story of the Geo Graham Orrery Tourbillon starts about three hunderd years ago, in 1713. The 4th Earl of Orrery, Charles Boyle, requested from George Graham the creation of a mechanical solar system, that showed the location of the planets as well as their orbits. Graham was happy to oblige and created the very first mechanical solar system model.
Of course, the temptation for the watch company that was founded to continue the legacy of George Graham was great to recreate this into a wrist watch, as was the complexity to achieve this. With the help of master watchmaker Christophe Claret, they prevailed and were able to recreate the mechanical solar system into a wearable size for around the wrist. Launched in 2013, it was just in time to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the original model.
For 2017 Graham updated the model, and make it an even more enticing watch. The Orrery Tourbillon is one of those watches that need, no, demands, a loupe, to really be able to soak in all the details, and appreciate the craftsmanship. One of the main differences from the original Orrery Tourbillon is that Graham used different materials to display the various celestial bodies. Although a tiny detail, it makes quite a difference. Now they are represented by minerals coming from the planets they represent.
The moon is sculpted from a moon meteorite, and this is where the loupe comes into play. Because the solar system is scaled, the moon is the smallest planets, measuring only 0.9mm in diameter. However, when you get up close and personal to it, you see a canning resemblance to that planet that we can enjoy from earth on most nights. Mars is created larger, 1.7mm in diameter, and made from the Tissint meteorite, which has fragments in it from Mars. Earth itself is crafted from turquoise.
The sun is perhaps the most remarkable feature of this watch: it is the engraved, baroque styled tourbillon in the center of this watch. Crafted from 18K pink gold and set with a diamond at the center, it represents the largest planet in our solar system. It is also another excuse to take out your loupe once more and get a deeper appreciation for the engravings, especially the two Phoenix heads.
The case is 48mm, which is large, but well used. Not only is most of the space on the dial took up by the solar system, but the back also shows a movement that is a nice fit in relation to the case. The watch is manual wind and comes with a power reserve of three days. It also shows a hundred year calendar, as well as a reference guide on how to reset the planets in case one of the correctors would be pushed too many times by accident. This is a feature that makes this watch even more remarkable, as rarely a complicated calendar watch allows for corrections by the consumer, and most of them need to be sent back to the manufacture for adjustment. Again, maybe a detail, but it is also evidence that the Orrery Tourbillon is a very thought through concept, much in the same way as the original was 300 years ago.
