Three tourbillons in one!

In 1973, a young Genevan by the name of Antoine Preziuso passed the entrance exam for the “Ecole d’Horlogerie de Genève”. Shortly after that came the quartz movement, causing havoc in mechanical watchmaking to the point of almost causing it to disappear. After five years of studies, the young watchmaker graduated with the best results from his school. He was then recruited by Patek Phillipe, the most selective and largest watchmaking brand at the time. He worked hard and proved his worth at the workshop for watch complications for two years. After that, he went on to work for Antiquorum and helped to open its first workshop for collectible watches’ restoration and assessment. This, especially what concerns restoring old pieces, was a new concept in watchmaking at the time.

Antoine Preziuso dans son atelier

The first workshop

In 1981, Preziuso, who was by then already an expert in watchmaking, opened his first workshop despite the difficult times the Swiss market was going through.

By then, he had gained an excellent reputation which brought him many clients. The “Musée d’Horlogerie de Genève”, as well as some of the greatest watch collectors, entrusted him with the creation of rare pieces. With his impressive CV, it was no wonder that the young watchmaker then started designing pieces. This is how prestigious Breguet came to confide in him the development and chain production of the world’s most complicated watches: minute repeater wristwatches and perpetual calendars.

Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon des Tourbillons sous la loupe

And of course soon enough, Preziuso created his first watch. And he certainly made an impression by introducing a minute repeater and perpetual calendar equipped with a patented system that wound the striking mechanism using a turning bezel. The piece also featured the “Côtes de Genève” hallmark. And as Prezusio is highly creative, he started to design complicated watches for different leading brands.

A craftsman at heart

As we can well imagine, Preziuso received numerous offers from the largest manufactures to work for them exclusively. While the Genevan watchmaker respected these big manufacturers that are a perfect example of quality and beautiful Swiss watchmaking seen throughout the world, he has always been his own master. He was born a craftsman and that is what has defined his whole professional career. In the early 1990s, he joined the “Académie des Horlogers de Créateurs Indépendants” (AHCI), founded by Vincent Calabrese amongst others. Today, he is still in close contact with the association as was seen when he exhibited his watches at the AHCI’s stand at BaselWorld 2015.

Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon des Tourbillons en noir

Since he had the means to do it, Preziuso tried to develop the brand by producing timepieces in mass. To do so, he hired some twenty employees. But after some time, the independent creator in him resurfaced and he chose to go (almost) solo again. And so, he settled in a remarkable house right in the middle of a park in the Genevan countryside. It is his source of inspiration and haven of peace and tranquility that has undoubtedly helped him to design – with the support of his son – the “Tourbillon of Tourbillons”, a crazy and unprecedented piece he introduced in Basel. We met him at his countryside house where he told us the story of this technical wonder.

As he explained: “The idea of a triple tourbillon dates back to the 2000s. It must be said that 3 is a magical number since it is associated with the three planetary systems. Since then, I had been thinking about a triple tourbillon that would spin in a tourbillon frame. In 2003, I made some sketches of the potential model. Then in 2004, I started developing the project mostly thanks to the arrival of 3D designing programs. At first, we obviously progressed slowly but in the end we were able to think and develop quite quickly.

Dessous de la Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon des Tourbillons

In what sense?

I was particularly focused on designing a new chronometry. I wanted to create a movement that functioned perfectly and that was based on an odd number. This would be an evolution in mechanics as well as generate excellent chronometry. In fact, it was a blend of several skills and I wanted to share it with my son, Florian, because I thought it would be useful to introduce him to this particular technique. He was 23 at the time and had developed the tourbillon in 3D. He saw me struggling with the problem and vouched to help me as it was an inviting challenge for a young person.

Was it challenging because of the different techniques you used in this watch?

Yes, to achieve high-precision chronometry we had to find a constant force that was very regular, and to avoid dispersion. We spent hours working on it, filed for many international patents and above all, kept it a secret until the time came for it to be revealed. However, in 2008, we were wrecked by the financial crisis, which forced us to put the project aside and make cutbacks. We were saved by the store on Bergues street but we had to lay some staff off. When things got better, my son suggested that we get back to it.

La Tourbillon des Tourbillons d'Antoine Preziuso et sa première création un micromètre réalisé à "Ecole d'Horlogerie de Genève"

So he took the lead this time…

We thus resumed and focused on energy. We brought it to the center under the movement and redistributed it through what is called a differential. However, I would rather call it a mechanical calculator as it measures the energy allocation for every tourbillon carriage. It was extremely important to make the three tourbillons spin simultaneously. For this to happen we created a sort of equilateral triangle. We proceeded to carry out tests, which were not satisfactory at first, but with constant hard work we managed to pull it off.

To achieve this, each of us considered the role of wheels and pondered over it individually before sharing our findings. We came to the conclusion that we had to set the tourbillons before making them visible. They could only be independent if they all spin together. We were satisfied with the result as, all in all, we had worked on this project for ten years. And, you know what, achieving this does not only require genius but also hard work, learning and constant questioning. We presented the result in Basel. Actually, it was important for us to be there as there was cause for celebration: the AHCI was celebrating its 30th year and we were celebrating our 35^th year.

Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon des Tourbillons

The Tourbillon of Tourbillons: technical details

AFP-TTR-3X Antoine Preziuso in-house mechanical and manual winding caliber. In-house and customized decorations. International patents.

• 39.80 x 10.80-mm.
• 65 rubies.
• 6 ball-bearing trains.
• Driving organ: parallel double barrel.
• Transmission organ: triple central planetary differential.
• Regulating organ: 3 “planetary satellite” tourbillons.
• Frequency: 3x21,600 VpH (3Hz).
• Rotation speed of the tourbillon carriages: 1t/min.
• Speed of the plate’s rotation: 1t/10min.
• 48-hour power reserve.
• 45-mm x14-mm case: combination of steel, 18K 5N gold and titanium Gr5.
• Details: screwed bezels on the middle via 8 18K-gold lateral pillars and 24 “Power” screws in titanium.
• Strap: Crocodile leather front and back.

www.antoine-preziuso.com

Pictures by JAG