Good morning/afternoon/evening! In this weeks edition of Timepiece Digest we have a few topics to go over so grab a coffee, take a seat and get ready for your 6 minute a week watch update!
What is a Tourbillion?
It was invented in 1795 by watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet. Originally designed to improve timekeeping accuracy, the mechanism places the escapement and balance wheel inside a rotating cage, which turns on its axis—usually once per minute. This was meant to counteract the effects of gravity on the movement when a pocket watch sat vertically in a vest pocket all day.
In today’s wristwatches, tourbillons are less about function and more about form and prestige. Modern movements are already quite accurate, so the tourbillon has become more of a mechanical marvel and a symbol of watchmaking mastery.
Some of the most iconic watches that have a Tourbillion are:
Breguet Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat 5367 — ~$161,000
A sleek, ultra-thin tribute to the man who started it all.Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph — ~$310,000
Where bold design meets extreme complexity.Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon — ~$1.5 million
One of the most complicated wristwatches ever, and one of the most valuable.Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30° — ~$500,000
Known for unmatched finishing and multi-axis tourbillon mastery.Richard Mille RM 27-01 Rafael Nadal — ~$800,000
A featherweight tourbillon made to survive a tennis match. Yes, really.
Second hand prices are getting crazy!
Since the release of Rolex’s new watches this year at watches and wonders, there has been a lot of hype around a few pieces and somehow they have already found their way onto the second hand market.
The new pistachio dial Rolex OP has just sold at an auction for $20,900 USD. That's more than 3x it's retail…mental!
Recently a platinum Land-dweller has also sold online for $75,000 USD which is 25% above its retail price and I’m sure many others have sold as well, they’ve just been kept more secretive. Can’t be getting blacklisted by your AD!
Are Swatch headed to the ground?
So what’s going on with Swatch?
Firstly, who are they? The Swatch Group is a Swiss watch giant with 16 brands under its belt, from entry-level Swatch to luxury names like Omega and Breguet. They were founded in 1983 to revive Swiss watchmaking after the quartz crisis.
What’s going on now? Nick Hayek Jr. has been CEO since 2003; his sister Nayla chairs the board. Hayek isn’t very well liked by investors, he’s been known not to take on board feedback and doesn’t take everything seriously, such as having cigars while in press conferences' or writing reports in super small font or even sometimes different languages as a joke! His family owns 25% of the company while controlling 44% of the voting rights.
One critic said-“They’re running it like a family business.”
Why does this all mater? The numbers is why, in the last year Swatch shares are down 24% and last year their net profit dropped by 75% compared to 2023. Omega and Longines (who are owned by swatch) have dropped in sales by around 25% each in the last 5 years and Breguet revenue has dropped by 50% in the last 20 years. To put that in comparison, in the same time frame Patek Philippe’s sales have 7x.
Investors are NOT happy.
Watch of the week ⌚
Grand Seiko Heritage Collection Spring Drive Snowflake 41mm Ref. SBGA211G
