Tourbillon is an art in the watchmaking world. And unknown to most, invented by master watchmaker: Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1795.

How it works is as follows, by suspending the escapement and balance wheel - the central parts of a mechanical watch movement—in a rotating cage, this ingenious mechanism can dramatically reduce the effects of gravity and thus improve the accuracy of a watch. Modern mechanical watches have little need for tourbillons as their accuracy has greatly improved due to new technical developments and production methods. Therefore, the tourbillon has become a testament of a watchmaker’s technical prowess and superior finishing techniques. In other words, a thing of mechanical and aesthetic beauty rather than something of practical value.

Fittingly, Breguet continues to produce some of the most superlative tourbillon models. This ref. 3357 is truly a sight to behold. Executed in a 35 mm 18k white gold case with minimalist straight lugs, the watch features an exquisite dial bearing all of the classic Breguet hallmarks. The white dial is engraved with a beautiful and intricate engraved guilloché pattern. The time can be read on a sub-dial—consisting of two silver rings with Roman numerals—with the help of the characteristic heat blued Breguet hands. A dramatic cutout on the lower half of the dial reveals the tourbillon cage on top of which a three-armed seconds hand is mounted. Not only the front of the watch takes your breath away. When you take a look at the rear of the watch, the see-through case shows you the astonishing view of the guilloché, floral patterned, movement.

This iconic piece of watchmaking art comes with the original wooden 'Heritage' box. The watch is carried by a beautiful grey suede strap with tanned leather on the inside. The current retail price is slightly above €115.000 which makes this an absolute bargain for a high-complication watch.