The Surprisingly Attainable Horage Autark Tourbillon

We’ve covered independent Swiss watchmaker Horage many times in the past few years, including several of its in-house movements from automatics to micro-rotors to tourbillons. The latest Autark Tourbillon separates itself as it’s truly a rare feat in watchmaking, combining a micro-rotor and tourbillon within the in-house K-TMR calibre. It’s all wrapped in Grade 5 titanium with Horage’s ultra-thin, micro-adjusting clasp, forgoing gold or platinum to keep the price attainable for such a piece. While thin, light and stylish, the Autark Tourbillon emphasises the technical expertise of the brand for a no-nonsense, high horology watch that won’t (entirely) break the bank.

How Did They Get Here?

Before jumping in, let’s take a quick look at how Horage got to this point, as few brands have attempted a micro-rotor tourbillon calibre. Although founded a couple of years earlier, it was 2009 when the company decided to become a vertically integrated manufacture and discontinue its first watch from Baselworld 2009, the Omnium, with an outsourced Swiss movement. Fast forward to 2015, and Horage launched the Jonas-K1, powered by the new in-house K1 automatic (the watch was named after watchmaker/engineer Jonas Nydegger), which later evolved into the Omnium K1. The second generation in-house automatic, the K3 calibre, recently debuted in Horage’s DecaFlux, but the K2 micro-rotor and hand-wound K-TOU tourbillon had already launched in models like the Supersede GMT and Tourbillon 2, respectively.

There were many requests from Horage’s enthusiast community to combine the K2 micro-rotor and K-TOU tourbillon calibres into a single movement, a challenge certainly not for the faint of heart. The knowledge gained from prior movement developments allowed the team to produce the K-TMR micro-rotor tourbillon within 18 months – a remarkable achievement in a relatively short time period. The Autark series (German for “independent” or “self-sufficient”) has been part of Horage’s portfolio for years and is known for integrated Grade 5 titanium cases and both the K1 automatic and K2 micro-rotor. K-TMR is the fourth in-house calibre for Horage with the most recent K3 automatic making five movements in total. The K3 has effectively replaced the original K1, however, so there’s currently four production movements.

Grade 5 Titanium Case and Bracelet

Not only are the case and bracelet Grade 5 titanium, but also the flying tourbillon cage. Grade 5 is a stronger and harder titanium variant and actually an alloy with some aluminium and vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V), while Grade 2 is simply commercially pure titanium. The case is moderately sized at 39.5mm in diameter and just shy of 9mm in height (lug-to-lug is 48.3mm), but the lug width is 22mm for a bolder presence that works on most wrist sizes. A polished bezel joins a mostly brushed finish, and the case sides have a distinctive cutout for style, which also emphasises how lightweight this titanium watch is. The right side forms a full crown guard for a sportier aesthetic, which makes sense as this isn’t your typical “fragile” tourbillon. The Horage team has taken this model on outdoor adventures above and below water, including Horage CEO Andi Felsl, who’s worn it snowboarding on many occasions. The signed crown doesn’t screw down, but water resistance is still 100 metres and coupled with the titanium case/bracelet, light ocean diving is safe if a diver’s bezel isn’t needed.

A sapphire crystal with multiple anti-reflective coatings protects the dial, while a sapphire exhibition case back displays the in-house K-TMR micro-rotor tourbillon. The case has an integrated sports watch design, and the titanium bracelet features Horage’s proprietary HMAC clasp. An internal pusher allows for a full 10mm of adjustment in 1mm increments, and the ultra-thin clasp itself is only 5.6mm, belying its tool-free extension capabilities.

Multiple Dial Colours and Textures (and a Complication to Boot)

The dial we have on-hand is a deep Sunray Blue that works very well with the natural Grade 5 titanium finish, having a somewhat greyish-blue tone indoors with more pop in sunlight. There’s also Sunray Black, Galactic Blue, Gradient Grey and Salmon. Not all have the same layout, however, as the blue and black dials are time-only, while the grey and salmon dials have a power reserve indicator at 10 o’clock. The Galactic Blue and Gradient Grey dials also have a nice texture, unlike the smooth black and salmon. One thing to note is our Sunray Blue model has recently been replaced in the lineup with the textured Galactic Blue dial, but there are otherwise no changes.

Both blue dials are time-only with open-worked silver hour and minute hands with Super-LumiNova within the upper halves. Applied indices with Super-LumiNova inserts surround the perimeter with a double index at 12 o’clock. A colour-matching minute track sits on an angled flange just under the outer bezel with bolder marks at the end of each index. The latter are red on the black dial for a stylish contrast. The power reserve indicator at 10 o’clock on the grey and salmon dials displays 72 hours within four coloured bars – blue, light blue, yellow and red – that provide a quick visual reference as to the state of the mainspring. The indicator sits within an applied steel aperture that matches the colour of the hands and indices (silver on the salmon dial and gold on the grey dial).

Flying Tourbillon

Of course, the main attraction is the large 60-second flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock. The titanium cage has a 43-piece construction and weighs only 0.29 grams, improving both accuracy and the power reserve. The blue silicon escapement is visible on close inspection and there’s also a silicon hairspring (a rarity for a small, independent brand). The tourbillon has a ceramic ball bearing design (seven 0.2mm ceramic balls) instead of a pinion and jewel setup, increasing durability and shock resistance, decreasing wear and allowing the watch to be a true daily driver and not relegated to special occasions. I’ve been wearing the Sunray Blue piece on my motorcycle, hiking on trails and in the pool, and it’s been flawless throughout.

K-TMR Micro-Rotor Calibre

Micro-rotors and tourbillons are fairly common when compared to minute repeaters, rattrapante chronographs, peripheral rotors and so on, but the combination of the two is certainly rare as micro-rotor calibres tend to have smaller balance wheels that aren’t well suited for power-hungry tourbillons. A more specialized design is required to marry the two together. The use of lightweight titanium for the tourbillon, silicon regulating components and a very efficient micro-rotor allow the K-TMR to not only work, but thrive with impressive specs. The micro-rotor itself is available in two metals, rhodium-plated tungsten or an upgrade to PT950 platinum. Both are very dense, but the increased density of platinum improves overall winding efficiency by 8%. Either option is comparable to the winding efficiency of a conventional automatic rotor, so there’s no disadvantage from the smaller micro-rotor design.

Silicon used for the escapement and hairspring provides less friction and wear, and silicon is completely anti-magnetic. The 30mm x 3.6mm K-TMR calibre has 24 jewels, beats at 3.5Hz and features a 72-hour power reserve, and accuracy is rated within -4/+6 seconds per day (exceeding the COSC accuracy standard). A blued screw on one of the tourbillon arms acts as a seconds indicator. Seen from the exhibition case back, decorations include Côtes de Genève, brushing and Horage’s signature grid pattern on an anthracite finish. Note – our watch is an early production model (prototype) without Côtes de Genève.

Final Thoughts

The Autark Tourbillon has a simple, classic aesthetic with a sporty vibe thanks to the integrated bracelet and crown guards. The titanium keeps it lightweight and comfortable for daily wear and it’s truly an all-occasion piece – black tie events to snowboarding to a day on the boat. You almost forget that the watch is a rare micro-rotor tourbillon. Price definitely plays a role as far as usage, because complex watches north of CHF 50,000 are often weekend or special occasion pieces. For example, the Bell & Ross BR-X2 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor retails for CHF 59,900 and that’s on the lower end of the scale for micro-rotor tourbillons.

The Autark Tourbillon retails for CHF 12,990 with the tungsten micro-rotor and CHF 14,990 with the platinum counterpart, and those prices also apply to the power reserve models. That’s certainly not cheap, but in context of what you’re getting, it’s an astounding value proposition. Horage is proving that high horology, in-house Swiss calibres don’t need to come with prices reserved for the wealthy and these are certainly attainable for a much wider audience.

For more information and to place an order, please visit Horage’s website.