The term tourbillon is French for ‘whirlwind’, which turns out to be an apt description when viewing the complication’s mesmerizing rotary motion.

The tourbillon complication was invented by master watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1795. 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. Then again, do watches really have any practical value when one carries around a cellphone?

Fittingly, Breguet continues to produce some of the most superlative tourbillon models. This ref. 3355 Classique Tourbillon is a beautiful example. Executed in a 35.5 mm 950 platinum case with minimalist straight lugs, the watch features an exquisite skeleton dial bearing all of the classic Breguet hallmarks. The dial, which has beautiful guilloché patterns on the bridges, gives us an insight of the craftsmanship the house of Breguet offers us.

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. On the lower half we can admire the tourbillon cage on top of which a three-armed seconds hand is mounted. When the watch is flipped over, a see through sapphire caseback gives an uncensored view of the exquisitely finished movement. This wonderful dress watch comes as a full set with the original box and papers. The watch is mounted on an intricately detailed 950 platinum bracelet with hidden folding clasp.