What, you might be thinking do cake and watches have in common?
An English proverb states: “You can’t have your cake and eat it”, which refers to accepting that if you are faced with two contradicting choices, you can only have one. Life is full of compromises, or as the Rolling Stones once sang: “You can’t always get what you want.”
Well, sometimes you can!
Back in 2020 we launched the Tourbillon 1. HORAGE rewrote the rulebook (we’ve made a habit of this) becoming one of the first independent watchmakers to engineer, build and deliver a truly in-house flying Tourbillon equipped timepiece at a previously unheard-of price point. This ‘mission impossible’ was made possible thanks to the incredible skill and dedication of the HORAGE team, the unwavering support of our community as well as the unique situation created by Covid 19 lockdowns.
Tourbillon 1 put HORAGE on the map and energized our engineering and watchmaking teams. Once you’ve established such a precedent there’s no turning back. We kept our momentum and within four years brought another two calibres to market. But many of our fans kept asking: “Can I buy a Tourbillon 01?”
Out of respect to all that supported the Tourbillon 1 project, we of course were unable to fulfil these requests. One Edition is just that, and we stick to our promises.
That doesn’t mean we haven’t been pondering how to make dreams come true and the 5th birthday of Tourbillon 1 seems like the perfect moment to let the proverbial cat out of the bag…..
Today we are proud to announce and reveal the Tourbillon 02 ‘Skeleton.’ This new addition to the Tourbillon 2 family brings together the aesthetic style embodied by the skeletonized main plates of Tourbillon 1 with technical refinements, features and improved legibility offered by the numeral set that defines all Tourbillon 2 models.
Pricing and materials
Back in 2020 the Tourbillon 1 was priced at 7,500 CHF excluding tax, duty & shipping. We dreamt of offering the new Tourbillon 2 Skeleton as close as possible to this price. Much has changed in the world in the intervening five years with inflation in many countries regularly exceeding 20%.
So, we are super happy to be able to offer almost the same cost for Tourbillon 2 Skeleton. This may be as close to actual time-travel that any of us ever get 😊
We will offer a choice of 3 different base materials for the Tourbillon 2 Skeleton: Stainless steel, 18K yellow gold and 18K white gold.
You might be familiar with our “Golden Ticket” concept. This means we don’t add a massive mark-up on precious metal cases. You pay the ‘base’ price of the stainless-steel timepiece and an additional cost for 18K yellow/white gold based on the market price of these metals. We calculate a nominal amount for processing.
The prices are as follows
Stainless Steel Case - 9,999 CHF
Yellow Gold Case - 9,999 CHF + Golden Ticket upgrade fee 8345 CHF = 18,344 CHF
White Gold Case - 9,999 CHF + Golden Ticket upgrade fee 6950 CHF = 16,949 CHF
Last but certainly not least on pricing…..offering a Tourbillon 2 Skeleton Stainless steel at under 10,000 CHF is pretty exceptional, but it creates an awkward inconsistency in the pricing structure of our existing (non-skeletonized) Tourbillon 2 range. Tourbillon 2 Livre de Durrow has previously cost 10,990 CHF.
To offer transparent and coherent pricing the Tourbillon 2 Stainless with Blue Livre de Durrow dial will now cost just 8,999 CHF and is available from stock.
As with Tourbillon 1 the new Tourbillon 2 Skeleton will be limited in availability! You won’t find it on our website or listed in the HORAGE web shop. You will need to get a bit more 'hands-on' to get one of these stunning new timepieces. Tourbillon 2 Skeleton will be available to order during the calendar year of 2025. Shipping will commence from June 2025. At the end of the year, we will close the order window and the number ordered at this point will be the total production run: just like with Tourbillon 1.
How can I get a Tourbillon 2 Skeleton timepiece?
1. Complete the allocation form - click here for order form
2. Contact one of the HORAGE Concierge team - click here for Concierge details
3. Visit HORAGE at one of our events during 2025
Want more product information? - click here for the full specification
How do you like the Tourbillon 2 Skeleton design? Tell us in the comments.
Stainless steel, white gold or yellow? Which metal is 'The One'?
David - sorry to be off topic - I'm curious what, if any, colors were ever used on the original KT1 top plate? I've seen silver and black ones, was there other options?
Also curious - was the movement in the KTMR considered for this watch, or does the micro rotor make it difficult to skeletonize?
I think the PR is a nice upgrade to the original movement and really nice to have on manual watches. With the skeleton dial it disappears if you aren't trying to find it, and there when you want it. Which is perfect.
Like Emilio, I'm not into the 'black-gold' myself, but wish you and the Horage team the best... and also hope to visit you in Switzerland sometime in 2025!
Many thanks for your quick reply; it's truly appreciated. I ll try to visit you in the coming months (something I had already been considering). Wishing you all the best.
Best regards,
Emilio
Great, many thanks! Is the dial’s grill black or dark grey? I guess you won't release a silver/white version like the Tourbillon 1 (which I liked much more), correct?). Do you plan to release any other colours? (Okay, I know I'll get the answer: “You never know what the future holds…” :) ) Apart from that—and aside from the differences in the calibre and the hour markers—are there any other distinctions between the two versions?
Lovely. A great improvement, anywhere in the UK to get hands on a proto?
How thick is the watch? Doesn't seem to be on the PDF
I know details are fresh but it'd be nice to know if both stainless and additional straps can be purchased, kinda confusing ❤️
Absolutely brilliant -- I've been lucky to hold every Horage ever made, and the tourbillon 1 skeleton was the one I loved the most. And of course, I couldn't have one ;) so I'm all in.
While I appreciate the idea of a skeleton revival for the T1, I find the power reserve redundant since the mainspring is already prominently displayed. Moreover, it disrupts the overall balance of the front.
Following up on my earlier post, I don’t want to sound negative or cast shade on Tourbillon 2 - it’s a great watch that Horage should be proud of and that I’m sure lots of enthusiasts will enjoy. I’ve been watching releases from Horage with interest over the last few years and have a huge respect for the technical innovation and value that the brand offers.
Although I’ve not been entirely convinced by the design of recent releases, I admire that Horage has its own design language. It’d be all too easy to put the excellent movements in derivative designs to please the masses and make a quick buck.
I’m hoping that 2025 will be the year that Horage releases a watch that I actually want to buy, rather than just respect from a distance.
interesting tourbillon… I like it a lot since I was in love with tourbillon 1, but time ended up showing me my true love… and it is lensman 1… since this is a 90% perfect watch with a small modification to the color of the indexes I could absolutely live only with it
Nice looking release Roger/David/Tzuyu and congrats on getting it out the door.👏
Personally, I've no issues with size - how it wears is infinitely more important to us small wrists. I can't wear a Breguet 37mm since the absurd lugs are too long, and am fine with a 43mm Seiko that fits like a glove. A well designed 41 is wonderful in my book despite a 15cm wrist.
Not great for me: Black (I like color, like that peacock microreg!) and polished hands and indices aren't ideal for me as they often are harder to see.
Some highlights for me: power reserve, the skeletonized barrel to see the state of the spring (I suppose less important now that there is a PR) and the big prize : a massive opening to see the entirety of your beautiful tourbillon.
Its beautiful refined tribute to the Tourbillon 1 and worth to spend time on wrists. So many have asked us if we can come up with a similar version and here we go.
I stopped wearing wrist watches and went back to pocket watches, I like the skeleton Tourbillon design! But I really dislike your Logo / name HORAGE right across the face.
With the greatest respect and I already know you will reject my proposal, you should change to something discrete, that does not shout Brand like an advertisement.
I do have ideas but you are designers , engineers, inventors it must be easy for you.
I prefer Tourbillon 1 since it has more of a modern aesthetic and more everyday functionality due to the lumed hands and indices.
Both Tourbillon 1, and unfortunately now also Tourbillon 2, are too big for my tastes - @41 mm diameter there’s too much dial real estate. IMHO watches with a dress watch design should be <39 mm diameter in order to look well proportioned on an average (~7”) wrist.
I can understand why Horage has chosen to skeletonise the Tourbillon 2 - it’s certainly a lot cheaper than designing a completely new watch. However for me there’s still a big gap in the Horage catalogue for a sub 40 mm Tourbillon watch with standard lugs and a modern contemporary style.
Im my book, a more compelling option for Tourbillon 2 would have been a Skeltonised Autark Tourbillon with a fully brushed or media blasted case and bracelet.
Full specifications Dropbox link indicates folder “does not exist”.