The Favre Leuba Chief Tourbillon Limited Edition

Favre Leuba is among the oldest of watchmakers, founded in 1737 and ultimately sold by the family in the mid-1980s following the quartz crisis. Although ownership changed multiple times, it’s latest and perhaps most compelling relaunch happened last year when Patrik Hoffmann, former CEO of Ulysse Nardin took the helm and the new Chief Tourbillon is the brand’s most ambitious piece to date. Made in partnership with movement maker Jean-François Mojon of Chronode, the limited edition is the first tourbillon for the brand and relatively well priced for such a development.

The stainless steel cushion case is brushed and polished, coming in at 41mm in diameter and 11.45mm in height. Cutouts on both sides add an interesting detail, while the signed and slightly oversized crown is easy to manipulate. A slightly curved AR sapphire crystal protects the dial, while a sapphire exhibition case back displays the new tourbillon movement from Chronode, Mojon’s atelier. Water resistance is rated at 100 metres. A 22mm three-link steel bracelet with polished centre links and butterfly clasp comes standard, along with a second black rubber strap.

The Favre Leuba hourglass emblem is a focal point as the embossed black dial has a multidimensional hourglass pattern throughout. Multiple stampings create a three-level structure – 0.15mm raised sunray brushed triangles, 0.15mm recessed matte triangles and a foundational layer between the two. Rhodium-plated indices and hands have Super-LumiNova C1 X1 blue for nighttime legibility, while a blued small seconds hand sits within the star of the show, the 14.85mm tourbillon cage at 6 o’clock. The brushed tourbillon bridge between 3 and 9 o’clock holds the seconds track as the cage rotates every 60 seconds, while a simple minute track spans the outermost perimeter of the main dial.

Powering the Chief Tourbillon is the FL T01 hand-wound calibre, based on the established Chronode C502 from Jean-François Mojon. It has 23 jewels, beats at 21,600vph (3Hz) and comes with a 60-hour power reserve. Functions include central hours, minutes and small (tourbillon) seconds. The tourbillon brings the balance and escapement together into a rotating cage originally designed to counter the forces of gravity in static pocket watches. Finishing includes Côtes de Genève on an anthracite finish, blued screws and an hourglass emblem on the ratchet wheel, along with gold engravings of the logo and technical information.

The Chief Tourbillon is limited to 25 pieces and retails for CHF 24,800 or USD 27,300 with preorders available now. A reasonable price for a limited edition tourbillon from a historic brand and preeminent movement maker Jean-François Mojon. For more information and to place an order, please visit Favre Leuba’s website.