Cvstos Impresses With Its New Double Tourbillon Différentiel

Cvstos Impresses With Its New Double Tourbillon Différentiel

The independent Swiss brand bolsters its reputation for assertive designs and technical prowess with its latest eye-catching creation.

By Steven Rogers
Contributor

Since its foundation in 2005, Geneva-based independent brand Cvstos has developed quite a reputation for its bold, busy, contemporary designs and daring technical innovations.

Among its many complicated offerings are an automatic movement with twin time zone and instantaneous calendar, an anti-shock tourbillon minute repeater with 100m water resistance, and a split-second chronograph with mystery tourbillon. These creations always feature punchy, avant-garde stylings and are served up in an assertive, tonneau-shaped case.
 

Cvstos means “guardian” in Latin, and the company’s co-founders, Chairman Sassoun Sirmakes and Chief Designer Antonio Terranova, see themselves somewhat as custodians of a new, modern era of watchmaking.

Their latest creation, the Double Tourbillon Différentiel, carries on the brand’s quest to create eye-catching timepieces that pack plenty of wrist presence while continuing to push technical boundaries.

Four Barrels, Two Flying Tourbillons

Spectacularly dominating the Double Tourbillon Différentiel’s dial is the manually-wound, double-patented CVS8550 calibre. This 364-component movement was, like all of Cvstos’ 25 calibres, developed in collaboration with Télôs Watch and constructed on four different levels.

At the base is the mainplate, carrying four openwork mainspring barrels. The energy of the four barrels is transmitted in parallel to a differential, on the next level, which delivers an averaged-out, fluid supply of power to two independent flying tourbillons, at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, on the third level.
 

The differential gearing system is mounted on ceramic micro-ball bearings – rather than jeweled pivots – to reduce friction and wear, plus be more resistant to shocks.

And the fourth level comprises the time display, where the central hour and minute hands are accompanied by a large “12” mounted on a Y-shaped titanium bridge. The small seconds, displayed on a sapphire disk at 6 o’clock, are driven by the average rate of the two tourbillons, both of which take 60 seconds to make one full rotation.
 

Lively, Bold Dial

Within each imposing 16.2mm tourbillon cage beats a variable-inertia balance wheel, with mean-time screws, at a frequency of 4Hz. The cage, balance and screws are all made from titanium for reduced energy consumption.

The ballet of the two tourbillons, plus the rotation of the small seconds, creates a triple animation that makes the already bold dial even livelier.
 

The view through the display caseback is not to be sniffed at either. There are the four barrels and ball bearings on show, and several gears revealed through cut-outs in the mainplate and bridges that have been decorated with a number of contrasting finishes.
 

Case Options, Pricing & Availability

The Cvstos Double Tourbillon Différentiel is limited to just 25 movements, with prices starting at CHF 190,000. Owners can really go to town customizing their timepiece, beginning with a choice of a Challenge III case featuring a twin crown guard or a Sealiner case with porthole-shaped windows on each side of the caseband.
 

The Challenge III case measures 47mm x 54mm while the Sealiner case measures 41mm x 54mm, and both are available in 18K red gold, Grade 5 titanium, or steel. Different colored treatments, including blue, anthracite, and black, can be applied to the case components and the movement. And straps in alligator leather or rubber are available in a variety of colors.
 

For more information, please visit the Cvstos website.

(Images © Cvstos)

And receive each week a custom selection of articles.

Tested For You: A Comprehensive Look At Chronoswiss' 2021 Creations

By Steven RogersContributor
With bold designs, three-dimensional dials, and a palette of shifting colors, the Lucerne-based brand continues to stand out from the crowd.

De Bethune: Why Settle For One Watch When You Can Have Two?

By Sophie FurleyContributor
De Bethune presents a surprising new timepiece called the DB Kind of Two Tourbillon, featuring not one but two dials.

A New Aesthetic For Armin Strom’s Gravity Equal Force In Rose Gold

By Sophie FurleyContributor
Where many watchmakers love to make simple things complicated, Armin Strom strives to make the complicated simple.