20:24 30.05.2018Kalendarium

2004 - Triple-Axis Flying Tourbillon in a wristwach

In 2004 Thomas Prescher developed the first Triple-Axis Flying Tourbillon with constant force in the carriage in a wristwatch. Presented at the Baselworld 2004 in Basel.

Inspired by the success of his pocket watches, two-axis tourbillon (Anthony Randall's carriage clock) and three-axis tourbillon (Richard Good's carriage clock from the 1980s) Thomas Prescher started working on a further miniaturization of multi-axis mechanics.

He added a third axis that revolved once every hour. The construction of such a tourbillon wristwatch was considered long impossible: it was thought that the movement height would be too great for practical use in wristwatches and that the weight of the additional components would not let enough energy get through to the balance. Thomas Prescher found a many solutions to address these issues and developed the first Triple-Axis Flying Tourbillon with constant force in the carriage in a wristwatch.

Special features of the construction:

· Flying tourbillon construction on all axes
· Movement, Caliber TP 3W6A.3, designed and constructed in-house
· First Triple Axis Tourbillon wristwatch with constant force mechanism in the carriage
· Tourbillon is secured in a specially designed flexible spring to absorb shocks

Distribution of bearing jewels of tourbillon’s axis:

First axis :
-Balance: 5
-Escapement: 4
-Constant force mechanism: 4
-Axis: 2

Second axis:
-Flying arm: 2

Third axis:
-Drive mechanism: 4
-Setting mechanism: 4

Height of tourbillon rotation: 2.2 mm
Revolution time: one minute
Constant force reloading: 6 times per second
Diameter of balance wheel: 9.5 mm
Diameter of cage: 13.4 mm
Weight of first, second, and third axes with ball bearing: 2.879 grams