No machine on Earth demonstrates time quite like the tourbillon. Indeed it could be the most sophisticated physical depiction of an abstract notion ever developed by man. This hypnotic, rotating and oscillating mechanical world reveals multiple facets of time: its unfailing regularity, its intricacy, its inevitability and a culture of time measurement as old as humanity. In its Histoire de Tourbillon collection, Harry Winston recognizes the tourbillon as a medium of artistic expression unique in scope, depth and subject - a work of art that shows you not only the time, but the nature of time itself. Mathematicians, engineers, craftsmen, philosophers and designers combine to challenge the laws of physics by creating a mechanical dance that unveils time’s tantalizing secrets. The third series in Harry Winston’s exploration of the tourbillon choreographs two rotating escapements that guide the time unscathed through the pitfalls of gravity.
Three tourbillons are in action, each rotating at different speeds to perform distinct gravitydefying functions. Two of them are nested one inside the other to rotate the fourth dimension of time through the three dimensions of space. In this bi-axial tourbillon, one tourbillon carriage rotates every 40 seconds within a second carriage going around in 120 seconds on an axis perpendicular to the first. This ensures that the vibrating balance moves through every possible plane in relation to the field of gravity to average out positional errors. The third tourbillon carriage rotates a separate balance on a single axis in the conventional way, but at the relatively high speed of one revolution every 36 seconds. This tourbillon is most effective when the watch is in a vertical position, and by rotating the balance quickly it minimizes its exposure to the effects of gravity.
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