highlights


deLaCour reaches for the stars

April 2005



Pierre had the idea, Christophe the technical know-how. Together they have created a unique deLaCour Bitourbillon.

In the beginning, Pierre Koukjian, deLaCour’s highly imaginative designer, had an idea: to create a double tourbillon, with a second time zone and a moon phase indicator. As if the double tourbillon was not complicated enough, his concept went further: instead of a simple moon phase indicator … he visualized a shooting star traversing the moon every few minutes.
Christophe Claret, renowned for his genius in creating complicated movements and solving technical problems of this nature, met with Pierre and was not only surprised at the audacity of the concept since it included numerous technical challenges, but also he was astonished by the mechanical coherence of using twin tourbillons.
The result of their collaboration is the complex deLaCour Bitourbillon, a chef-d’oeuvres of creative thinking and ingenious watchmaking.


delacour


What it does …
The 18 carat pink gold Bitourbillon is equipped with a Calibre DC297 movement and indicates the hour and second time zone (GMT) with instantaneous change in the apertures at, respectively, 2 and 10 o’clock. A pushbutton on the left side of the case changes the GMT. The minutes are indicated by a single central hand and, if required, the seconds can be read by the rotating tourbillons. Indication of the moon phase is at 12 o’clock and is based on a lunar period equivalent to 29.5 days. In addition to the moon phase reading, there is an additional mechanism that controls a transparent sapphire disc with a printed metallized shooting star that passes discreetly across the face of the moon every 6 minutes. On the right side of the case, there is a rapid corrector pushbutton for the moon phase mechanism. To appreciate these three mechanisms of the Bitourbillon, the watch is equipped with a sapphire crystal caseback.

… and how it does it
Basically what happens is the going barrel drives a gear until the differential distributes the energy to the two flying tourbillons with a constant force. The differential allows the equalization of the function of the two tourbillons by establishing an average or mean time, thus improving the watch’s precision. One of the flying tourbillons turns clockwise and the other anti-clockwise and both have a blue sapphire at their centre. The watch has a power reserve of approximately 100 hours.

Be prepared to wait
Since the launch of deLaCour’s Bichrono last year, the brand has made tremendous headway into the world’s watch markets and the timepices (which includes a charming ladies’ model) can now be found in India, Russia, Japan, throughout the Middle East and most European countries. However, as Alan Jugy, the brand’s Commercial Director, explains, “The orders are coming in so fast we are having difficulty keeping up with them.” A meaningful accolade to a brand that began it’s career only eighteen months ago.
With the introduction of the exclusive Bitourbillon, deLaCour is clearly establishing itself as an innovative watchmaker, but you may have to wait a while to get your hands on one – although if you drop me a line, as a friendly Europa Star reader, I may just be able to get you towards the top of the waiting list.



Click here to subscribe to Europa Star Magazine.