High precision has been the endless pursuit of watchmakers for hundreds of years. In the 18th century, maritime powers dominated the world, and marine clocks demanded high precision, which led to a great leap in watchmaking. Important inventions of this period include extremely precise impact escapements, widely used temperature self-compensating screw balances, and anti-gravity tourbillon devices. Among them, the tourbillon is the most famous and has an irresistible attraction for watch fans. The tourbillon has been enduring since its invention in 1795, and even has a trend of rising in popularity year by year. The reason lies in the brilliant achievements of the inventor of the tourbillon, Master Breguet, the difficult manual production, the monopoly of technology, and the manufacturer's heart. However, the more important reason is the legendary development of the tourbillon that has been talked about for more than two hundred years.

On June 26, 1801, Master Breguet obtained a patent for a new type of timepiece escapement from the Paris Patent Office for a period of ten years. This new escapement is the so-called tourbillon device. However, according to expert research, Breguet had conceived this invention as early as 1795. After years of actual production and several months of preparing a complete application with a watercolor drawing of the device, the tourbillon was officially launched. Figure 1-1 shows the tourbillon device attached to the application when Breguet applied for a patent in 1801.

This novel device, which is designed to offset the influence of gravity and improve the accuracy of watches, is enough to illustrate Mr. Breguet's proud watchmaking talent just by conceiving the operating principle and mechanical structure. However, the difficulty of making a tourbillon is still very challenging for him, so the output is rare. The difficulty of making a tourbillon was the highest among all watch functions at that time, which also made it invaluable. Breguet's first tourbillon watch was not introduced until 1805, ten years after the idea came into being. The general public did not get to see the tourbillon until the National Exhibition of Goods in Paris in 1806. From 1805 to 1823, when Breguet died, a total of 35 tourbillon watches were sold. It was thanks to Breguet's efforts that the tourbillon was able to gradually develop and write the most brilliant page in the history of watches!

The tourbillon watches in the early 19th century were purely functional, just like Breguet's original intention of creating the tourbillon, which was to make the pocket watch placed vertically in the pocket more accurate. Therefore, the frame and splint design did not pay much attention to beauty, and it was rarely made in the same watch with other complex functions (other complex functions such as timekeeping and perpetual calendar often appear in super-complex function watches). Figure 1-2 shows a one-minute tourbillon pocket watch made in 1830. At that time, the tourbillon was still in its infancy, and there were very few watchmakers who could make this structure, so the tourbillon products at that time were quite rare, and those that have survived to this day are even rarer.