Looking for that Perfect Christmas Gift? A Wristwatch
by Arthur Warnier
You may have heard of the term 'tourbillon' (french for 'whirlwind' or 'vortex') while looking at luxury wristwatches for possibly giving as a Christmas gift.
Tourbillon wristwatches are much sought after because of their unique design and appearance. The design of the case frequently includes a transparent portion of the case, allowing the owner to watch its fascinating movements.
The reason for the invention of the tourbillon escapement was due to a problem with pocket watches. Pocket watches were usually carried by men in their vest watch pockets. Thus, they remained most of the time in a vertical position. That usual vertical position had a negative effect on accuracy due to the effects of gravity on operation of watches with conventional movements.
To counteract the minuscule, but important, effects of gravity, the tourbillon escapement was created. The tourbillon puts the timing mechanism into a cage which is rotated so as to average out the effects of gravity on the mechanism. The design usually serves to rotate it once a minute, but it can be done at any interval.
Many parts of extreme accuracy are required for tourbillon wristwatches, even moreso than for watches with more conventional movements. The watchmaking requirements for tourbillons makes them very rare and expensive, which in turn makes them so very attractive to those who can afford them.
Tourbillon escapements have been successfully miniaturized so that they can fit into wristwatch cases. This may have come with a price, as many consider that they are probably no more accurate in wristwatch movements than movements without them. Nevertheless, if you can afford one, a tourbillon watch could be a fabulous gift. If you can't afford one, there are many luxury watches of more conventional design, that while still very expensive, are usually nowhere nearly as expensive as a tourbillon.
Now, if you can't afford even one of the luxury brands you may have considered, you can still give a gift of a wristwatch that can compete in workmanship, design and finish with those other brands, and at substantially lesser prices.
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What to get for birthday gifts? Hmmm...
How about considering fine watches?
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