L. Leroy - Tourbillon Régulateur Squelette Art Déco
Paying Homage to This Famous Movement of the 20th Century
The Maison L. Leroy combines the fascinating tourbillon complication with the traditional art of the “squelettage” (skeletonization), two savoir-faire in which it excels.
The “Tourbillon Régulateur Squelette Art Déco” boasts a skilfully handmade open-worked decoration, which recalls the original Art Deco style whose graphic lines refer to the artistic movement of the beginning of the last century. Once again, L.Leroy demonstrates his great mastery in fine watchmaking, the result of over 230 years of history.
The case, crafted in 18K gold, is embellished on the case middle by a superposition of engraved triangles. Accuracy rhythms the dial with a series of symmetrical, repetitive, finely executed openings that invade the space creating a mirror effect between the tourbillon cage at 12 o’clock and the main time display positioned at 6 o’clock while the minutes are indicated by a long blued central hand.
The skeleton pattern gives enthusiasts and collectors alike the chance to dive into the very heart of the watch and appreciate this complicated, finely polished, bevelled and decorated movement. The same level of finishing is visible also on the case back which displays a precious open-worked oscillating weight bearing the interlaced initials of the logo (LL).
As new born in the “OSMIOR” collection, a line that brings together the remarkable complications of the Maison L.Leroy, the “Tourbillon Régulateur Squelette Art Déco” combines the cutting edge technology with the refined elegance of a handcrafted decoration.
The name OSMIOR refers to an ancient metal alloy primarily made of gold with a color comparable to platinum. This material was used regularly by the Maison to craft the cases of its “Grande Complication” watches and was thus the natural choice to designate the classical range of the L.Leroy collections.
Individually numbered, this self-winding tourbillon regulator movement is highlighted by its entirely hand-cut pattern. Each component of the calibre is patiently hand carved with a small hand saw, filed and chamfered. Very few artists still hold the secret of this art. Globally, they are counted on the fingers of one hand. Just for manual cutting of the parts, without assembly and adjustments, each movement requires almost two months of work. Together with the manufacture of the movement and the “habillage”, each timepiece takes about six months of work.
Regulator
The term “regulator” comes from the master clock used by watchmaking workshops to perform the final adjustments of the watches before delivering them to clients. To simplify the comparison of the indications between the watch and the parent clock, this latter generally displayed hours, minutes and seconds separately. Historical supplier for most national observatories worldwide from the end of the 19th century, L.Leroy produced a large number of these time-measuring machines intended for various scientific and industrial uses. Recognized as the pioneer of modern chronometry, the regulator combined with the tourbillon complication, couldn’t miss in the contemporary L.Leroy collection.
Tourbillon
The first tourbillon escapement system was patented by Abraham Louis Breguet in 1801. It compensated for most of the variations in rate that occur in the vertical positioned caused by the effect of earth’s gravity on the regulating organ. It is one of the most ingenious mechanical invention in watchmaking history but is also one of the most complex to achieve. Specifically developed by L.Leroy, it features an ultra-modern interpretation of the tourbillon system with an escapement (wheel and pallet) machined from pure diamond . This reduces the weight of the mechanism and increases its hardness. As a result, the high performance and chronometric stability (isochronism) of the watch can be granted longer than is possible with a classic system.