<strong>The</strong> spiral hairspring <strong>of</strong> the Giga Tourbillon is made within the <strong>Franck</strong> <strong>Muller</strong> Group
“We made great efforts to lighten everything very substantially. <strong>The</strong> entire cage is made from titanium. <strong>The</strong> balance wheel is made from bronze barium, but it is very, very thin. We are really at the limit <strong>of</strong> what we are capable <strong>of</strong> creating, even with the most advanced technology possible” — jean-pierre golay, technical director is, it is very elastic and it takes enormous skill to poise and regulate it properly. This is a great deal more difficult.” His cousin Pierre-Michel Golay adds, “<strong>The</strong> spiral that you see in the Giga Tourbillon is made within the [<strong>Franck</strong> <strong>Muller</strong>] Group. <strong>The</strong> fact that we have this ability to create our own spirals was absolutely fundamental in making this watch possible. Because, suddenly, you have a balance wheel with four times the inertia as a regular wheel, so you must have a spiral that corresponds to this.” As you revel in the microcosm <strong>of</strong> the regulator, one component that is destined to draw attention is the large but beautifully skeletonized gold escapement wheel fixed to the cage. Golay explains, “<strong>The</strong> escapement wheel is developed in-house, but manufactured for us by Mimotec. It is created using the LIGA process, which allows us to create extremely light, complex and precise parts. You can see that this escapement wheel is very light; it is totally skeletonized, which is possible when you make things using LIGA. <strong>The</strong> material <strong>of</strong> the balance wheel is nickel phosphorous, which is then coated with a thin layer <strong>of</strong> gold. All the new tourbillons have escapements that are designed and produced in-house.” When asked <strong>of</strong> the possibilities new technology has allowed him, Golay explains, “Mimotec is incredible because it gives us the possibility to make parts that would otherwise be impossible to make, for example, wheels on two levels. Also, in the mysterious tourbillon rattrapante movement we created for Pierre-Michel Golay and for CVSTOS, the drive wheel uses teeth with a special elastic pr<strong>of</strong>ile that allows traditional lateral engagement with no displacement <strong>of</strong> the chronograph hand when the teeth <strong>of</strong> the chronograph wheel and the drive wheel mesh.” However, Golay is quick to dispel the notion that LIGA is a universal cure for all technical issues. He explains, “For certain applications, though, in general, I prefer steel. With spark erosion, we can produce springs with a diameter thinner than the human hair, so for the majority <strong>of</strong> applications, this is already fine. <strong>The</strong> other thing is that the material properties <strong>of</strong> nickel parts made with LIGA are not as good as the steel parts made with wire erosion. <strong>The</strong> problem with nickel parts is that they do not slide easily — they grip.” Look closely at the mounting point <strong>of</strong> the escapement wheel on the cage. Notice anything different here? In most tourbillons, the escapement wheel pinion is fixed directly to the cage. Here, the escapement wheel pinion rides on a special jewel to reduce friction even further. Says Golay, “This is really the optimum!” Powering this mighty behemoth are no less than four spring barrels arrayed in two stacked pairs. Each <strong>of</strong> these individual barrels are already larger than the traditional barrel found in a normal watch; together, they provide 10 days <strong>of</strong> uncompromised power to the Herculean regulator. Like the escapement wheel, these barrels are mounted on rubies to aid in smoothness <strong>of</strong> winding while harnessing their massive torque. A tiny power reserve indicator appears at 12 o’clock to tell you how much gas is in the tank. Finally, the Giga Tourbillon is really an uncompromised haut de gamme tourbillon in the very strictest sense <strong>of</strong> the term: to begin with, while other <strong>Franck</strong> <strong>Muller</strong> tourbillons are powered by a pinion that engages the toothed perimeter <strong>of</strong> the cage, here, a traditional tourbillon design has been used where the third wheel directly engages the pinion <strong>of</strong> the massive cage. In addition, the tourbillon is <strong>of</strong> the flying variety, where there is absolutely no upper bridge to obscure what is the most unadulterated viewing pleasure in all <strong>of</strong> horlogerie. <strong>The</strong> Giga Tourbillon is available in several different variations, though, to us, the one and only version has to be the fully skeletonized model that allows you to witness the dazzling power flow in this watch, which is an incredible testament to the in-house manufacturing capabilities and the tradition <strong>of</strong> technical innovation that is at the epicenter <strong>of</strong> <strong>Franck</strong> <strong>Muller</strong> Watchland. In conclusion, we can only state that the Colossus <strong>of</strong> Genthod is destined to soar above <strong>Franck</strong> <strong>Muller</strong> Watchland — a shining beacon to its creative capacity and revolutionary daring. H
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