01
Soleillage
The dial
Brushed outward from the centre in a single pass, so light runs across the dial like a tide.
6 h by hand, per movement
Varenne Nocturne Tourbillon V-01
Manufacture Varenne · Genève
Tourbillon V-01. Eighty-eight pieces, each delivered in its own lacquered case.
I — The presentation
Opened once,by its owner.
Twelve coats of navy piano lacquer, rubbed back by hand between each. Inside, on ivory velvet, the watch waits at ten past ten.
II — The case
Polished by hand,brushed by habit.
Milled from one ingot of 18k 5N rose gold and finished by one artisan, first cut to final polish. Satin flanks, mirror chamfers.
- Diameter
- 41 mm
- Height
- 11.7 mm
- Case parts
- 52
III — The crown
It alreadyknows your time.
Pull the crown to its second position and the hands travel to your clock. Ours was set before it left Genève — to the zone you are reading this in.
V — Opening
Three hundredand twelve parts.
The caseback unscrews. The bridges lift, the carriage comes free, the train follows. Then the front: sapphire, bezel, hands, dial.
VI — Laid out
Every part, finished.
Including the faces no owner will ever see.
VII — The tourbillon
One turn a minute,against gravity.
Breguet's answer of 1801: carry the whole escapement in a rotating carriage, so the errors of each position cancel. Ours weighs 0.28 grams and holds 64 parts.
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph
- Rotation
- 60 s
- Carriage
- 0.28 g
IX — Reassembled
Open onboth sides.
A sapphire caseback shows the calibre at work: the barrel unwinding, the carriage turning, the balance beating six times a second.
- Power reserve
- 72 h
- Jewels
- 23
- Movement parts
- 187
IV — The drawing
Every line,drawn first.
Before a single part is cut, the calibre exists as twelve hundred drawings, toleranced to two microns.
VIII — The finishes
Light, shapedby hand.
Three decorations, each older than the industry that copies them. Ninety-two hours of hand-finishing on every movement.
02
Côtes de Genève
The bridges
Parallel waves cut by a turning wheel, continuous across every bridge as if they were one plate.
11 h by hand, per movement
03
Perlage
The main plate
Fourteen hundred overlapping circles, each struck by hand with a rotating peg.
19 h by hand, per movement
01Sapphire crystalDouble-domed, anti-reflective
02Bezel18k 5N gold, mirror polished
03HandsDauphine, faceted by hand
04DialMidnight sunburst
05Case middleBrushed flanks, polished chamfers
06Main platePerlage, one circle at a time
07Going trainBarrel, centre and third wheels
08Tourbillon carriage64 parts, 0.28 g
09BridgesCôtes de Genève
10CasebackSapphire exhibition window
X — Commission
Make it yours.
Eighty-eight pieces, each assembled to order. Delivery in fourteen months.
Ref. V01.RG.BL.CPrice on request
Maison Varenne
Time, kept beautifully.
- GenèveQuai du Mont-Blanc 7
- ParisPlace Vendôme 21
- TokyoGinza 6-chōme
- New YorkMadison Avenue 727