What is tourbillon? What are the main advantages and disadvantages?

"tourbillon" refers to the "rotating escapement speed regulating mechanism" in the mechanical clock. The feature of this device is that the balance wheel and the escapement mechanism can rotate 360 degrees together during operation, so the influence of gravity is minimized and the travel accuracy is improved. Its weight does not exceed 0.3 grams, but it is composed of more than 70 fine parts, most of which are hand-made, which is why it is expensive. It represents the extremely high level of mechanical watch manufacturing technology. Because of its unique operation mode, the dynamic artistic beauty of watches is brought to the extreme, so watches equipped with tourbillon devices are often valuable.

Three kinds of tourbillon

Tourbillion stands for "rotation" in French and also stands for the rotation of tourbillon device. From the appearance, the three tourbillon are different rotating forces.

The original appearance of tourbillon: 180 1 year, the watchmaker Breguet obtained the patent right of tourbillon. This great invention has a rotatable frame, which contains a balance wheel (the heart of the movement) and an escapement mechanism. When the flywheel frame rotates at a uniform speed, the balance wheel and the escapement mechanism constantly change positions during the movement, so as to offset the influence of gravity to the maximum extent (especially when the watch is placed vertically). Breguet's tourbillon consists of two basic parts: a rotating frame and a fixed bracket. The "balance splint" is attached to the rotating frame and rotates with the flywheel.

Flying-tourbillon Suspension Flight: 1927, Alfred Helwig, a professor of horology, made a model of "flying to tourbillon" in Germany. The word "fly" appears because there is no "fixed bracket" component in this structure. From the appearance, the bracket across the flywheel structure is cancelled, and the whole rotating frame is suspended, which improves the mystery and movement of the flywheel watch when it runs.

China tourbillon: The Mysterious Art of Rotation. Don't think that tourbillon is only the patent of Swiss watchmakers. 1993, Jiao Dayu, whose ancestral home is China, first invented and personally made the "Magic tourbillon" in the "Tianyixuan" watch studio. This groundbreaking invention quickly caused a sensation in the international watch industry, so it is also called "Jiao's Magic tourbillon" or "China tourbillon". Why is it called "magic"?

There are two reasons:

First, the traditional flywheel "rotating frame" and "fixed bracket" no longer exist; The weight of the flywheel is reduced by at least half, the accuracy and stability of walking are improved, and the shock-proof performance is enhanced.

Secondly, the balance splint made of metal is replaced by transparent glass, which no longer rotates with the flywheel. This structure is more mysterious in operation, which greatly improves the dynamic art of flywheel watches.