Tourbillon within a watch: What is it for ?

What is a tourbillon in watchmaking?

A tourbillon is a horological complication whose primary purpose is to reduce the effect of gravity on the functioning of a mechanical watch. By reducing the effect of gravity on the movement of a mechanical watch, the latter becomes more accurate. 

History of the tourbillon in watchmaking 

• The whirlwind is a complication that arose when Abraham-Louis Breguet observed at the end of the 18th th It was during this century that mechanical watches of his time systematically gained or lost time. This discrepancy was caused by Earth's gravity. Indeed, at that time, watches were pocket watches, worn in a pocket and therefore always in a vertical position. Thus, the balance wheel and balance spring, also called the regulating organs of a watch, were, under the effect of gravity, more attracted towards the ground, and the oscillation produced by the balance wheel was no longer as regular.
• With Abraham Louis Breguet's first tourbillon, the idea was to allow the balance wheel to oscillate not only vertically but also through a full 360°, thus compensating for the effects of gravity. He filed a patent for the first tourbillon in 1801, but this technical feat was not revealed to the public until 1806. The tourbillon of a mechanical watch is a cage containing the balance wheel, the balance spring, and the escapement. This cage rotates on its axis, completing a full rotation every minute.
• Since then, the tourbillon within a mechanical watch has been constantly revisited and improved by major watchmaking houses. Thus, at the end of the 20th century...^th In the 19th century, it was determined that the tourbillon would be more effective if inclined at 30 degrees, and then tourbillons began to rotate on three axes, like the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gyrotourbillon. It seems important to point out that with the advent of the watch... Strap at the beginning of the 20th^th In the 20th century, the need for a tourbillon to improve accuracy became less obvious. Indeed, when a watch is worn on the wrist, it is never in the same position, so the effects of gravity are naturally compensated. Whether for a men's watch, a women's watch, and especially for a automatic watch, The tourbillon watch remains a symbol of fine watchmaking, a testament to true horological expertise whose complexity never ceases to fascinate and amaze us!