BASELNEWS 2008DeWitt Tourbillon Différentiel - A colourful, whirling Tourbillon of precious metals
Patented in 2005, Dewitt’s Tourbillon Différentiel® has taken its place in the history of creative watchmaking and represents a significant breakthrough with respect to the basic working principles of a mechanical movement. Traditionally housed in a case that is a combination of titanium, rose gold and rubber, the Tourbillon Différentiel®, starting this year, will be clothed in 950 platinum, 18-carat rose gold and a blend of 18-carat rose and white gold.
Following in the footsteps of the Tourbillon Force Constante®, which was one of the world’s first watches to focus on the very essence of mechanical movement functions, the Tourbillon Différentiel® makes history with its ingenious patented power-reserve winding system in a tourbillon-equipped watch.
While regulating organs (tourbillons) correct a mechanical watch's precision by compensating for the effects of Earth's gravity, the differential system developed by DeWitt increases watch-winding speed considerably (2/3). In traditional watchmaking, mechanical means had already been designed to achieve this objective, with spherical or layered planetary gears.
The primary advantage of DeWitt’s system is that it drastically simplifies the construction of conventional planetary gears, substituting wheel arms for the two sets of contrate teeth on the rack-and-pinion wheels. Thanks to this innovation, the winding system for the power reserve indicator has been miniaturised, offering new possibilities for sequencing the parts of the movement and the aesthetics of the display. Housed in a solid precious metal case, the Academia Tourbillon Différentiel® shows the time directly on the bridges serving as a dial. These bridges come in different colours and enable the wearer to see the entire mechanism in action.