Thomas Prescher introduces the Nemo Captain with Triple-Axis Tourbillon

Thomas Prescher dives deeper into Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea legacy and finds inspiration in steampunk and art nouveau. After the Nemo Sailor, which was introduced a year ago, Thomas Prescher introduced the second watch of the Nemo series, the Nemo Captain.

The Nemo Captain shows similar visual characteristics, however it now incorporates Thomas Prescher’s Triple Axis Tourbillon and adds a new jumping hour indication. Minutes are shown through the round port-hole, hours are shown in a framed window. It’s good to see another piece of horological art from the master of tourbillons.

Thomas Prescher was the first to launch a Triple Axis Tourbillon and to this date there are not many who are capable of creating a tourbillon that rotates around 3 axis. In the Nemo Captain the Triple Axis Tourbillon not only serves for a magnificent visual display, but also as the minute hand.

It’s balance wheel vibrates with a frequency of 3Hz or 21,600 bph. The tourbillon’s 1st axis and 2nd both make a full revolution in one minute, the 3rd axis makes a revolution in 60 minutes. Connected to the tourbillon cage is a small arrow that helps the wearer read the time. But hey, let’s be real… when looking at this, I would totally forget about time.

The rotation height of the tourbillon, inside the tourbillon cage, is 12.2mm. So within these 12.2 mm the balance wheel rotates around three axis. Isn’t that incredibly impressive?! The jumping hours appear in the framed window, on the lower right side of the face.

For the Nemo Captain non-oxidizing materials were chosen. The lugs, front and back bezels of this captain’s piece are made from red gold and the middle part from palladium. Not having a dial in a classic sense, red gold was chosen for the appliqués of the Captain: a fabulous combination underscoring a maritime 19th century look.

It goes without saying that all parts, including the palladium dial and the pink gold appliqués are finished by hand, featuring brushed surfaces and polished chamfers.

The case measures 44 mm in diameter and 12 mm in height, while the sapphire crystal dome tops the case by about 4 mm to have a total height of around 16 mm. A really breathtaking detail is the crown, which is inspired by the form of historic valves.

For a detailed description of the Triple Axis Tourbillon I kindly invite you to read my earlier article on this magnificent timepiece here.

Both the top dome and display back had an anti-reflective treatment on both sides. The movement can be admired through the sapphire crystal case back. This is where you can see the full workings of the triple Axis Tourbillon, featuring a gold-plated brass main plate and bridge, which are hand-engraved with guilloché.

As usual Thomas Prescher uses hand-cut and hand-sewn straps made from crocodile leather on both sides. Thomas Prescher makes handmade watches to the very highest standards. He makes offers bespoke timepiece and modifications to client’s wishes.

For more information, please visit Thomas Prescher’s website.

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor for Monochrome Watches.