Nice comparison. Personally, I am never going to own a tourby, either Swiss or Chinese. The mechanical system breaks the surface of the dial in too obtrusive form, and the time-keeping advantages are negligible for me, even if they are meant to be the last.1%.
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Review -- Rep vs. Gen: Audemars Piguet Tourbillon
- Thread starter machiavegli
- Start date
- 7/11/11
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Thanks jojo. And slaughterer, as the Latin saying goes... "de gustibus non est disputandum," there's no right or wrong when it comes to taste!
-Mach
-Mach
- 7/11/11
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On, forgot to mention. A tourbillon does not REALLY increase modern wristwatch timekeeping accuracy in any measurable way. It's more of an aesthetic thing. It was invented by Breguet way back when to improve the accuracy of pocket watches, which have a one-dimensional gravitational pull towards 6 o'clock when worn properly in a vest pocket. On a wristwatch, the vector of gravity on the movement changes every time you move your wrist, so the force tends to average out. I think of it as frosting on the cake. I've seen hundreds of beautiful Swiss watches (or so-labeled lol) in the wild, but only a few tourbies, and I remember every one, like "that person is as obsessed with watches as I want to be" 
-Mach
-Mach
Wow, thanks for that. I'm interested in tourbillon but afraid what it would take to get service? Does a local watch smith know how to service these things?
- 7/11/11
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Regarding repairability, based on my interactions with the rep world watch smiths, I strongly doubt any would take on a tourbillon; some are self-trained and will not service a chronograph. I asked a very good Swiss-trained watchsmith/watchmaker who lives in my town if he would try to fix a Chinese tourby if I needed and he said "no way".
But our rep group Authorized Dealers are AD's for a reason. If your tourby arrived nonfunctional they would take it back and make it right, you would likely be out postage and tracking; if it broke after use your AD would probably also be your only repair option.
-Mach
But our rep group Authorized Dealers are AD's for a reason. If your tourby arrived nonfunctional they would take it back and make it right, you would likely be out postage and tracking; if it broke after use your AD would probably also be your only repair option.
-Mach
- 7/11/11
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Servicing a tourbillon is probably not going to happen. Every smith I asked, even Ziggy at the time would not touch them. Basically, these are gen movements so they'll last a bit me thinks. They also keep very great time aside from them being loud.
- 7/11/11
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It's actually thinner than the AP Diver (which is 13.8 mm to 14.1 depending on your information source). Tourby weighs more than the H-fac AP Diver FC I reviewed.
- 7/11/11
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Thanks jojo.
I just found a cool post on RepGeek showing how to mod the hour reduction gear to get that closer to gen...
http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=240092
-Mach
I just found a cool post on RepGeek showing how to mod the hour reduction gear to get that closer to gen...
http://www.repgeek.com/showthread.php?t=240092
-Mach
- 8/7/14
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- 7/11/11
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Pannyforme,
Thanks. P.S. Love your sig quote ... Petronius is one of the best Latin authors ever. I'm probably the only other member that is in his fan club.
Thanks. P.S. Love your sig quote ... Petronius is one of the best Latin authors ever. I'm probably the only other member that is in his fan club.
Sorry for bringing this thread alive again.
But I fell in love with this one.
I must resist.
But I'm only humannn...
I will buy this.
But I fell in love with this one.
I must resist.
But I'm only humannn...
I will buy this.
- 7/11/11
- 496
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