Our Take

Our newest brand partner, Rémy Cools, is an exceptionally rare combination of youth and skill in watchmaking. It’s simply hard to have the required experiences and know-how to craft exquisite timepieces as a 20-something-year-old. Many watchmakers establish their skills over longer periods of time in the workshops of big maisons or bigger independent brands before venturing out on their own. Not Rémy. The Tourbillon Atelier is a testament to the young, French watchmaker’s capabilities and drive.

Compared to Cools’ previous timepiece, the Tourbillon Souscription, the Tourbillon Atelier’s movement is a whole 4mm thinner (huge by watchmaking standards). This is the most refined timepiece, the next evolutionary step, for the design and aesthetics that Cools established with the predecessor timepiece. For this update, one of the primary challenges was retaining the movement architecture’s three-dimensionality. “The three-dimensionality of the movement is something that I really wanted to keep – it is what I really like – but there are sacrifices to make when you are making a watch thinner and smaller,” mentioned Cools.

Alongside the smaller case diameter and more slim profile, the Tourbillon Atelier bears a traditional crown. The Tourbillon Souscription used two flip-up keys on the caseback for winding. What the removal of the two flip-up keys buys is now a full exhibition caseback without anything blocking one of the main stars of the show – the movement.

It’s clear that Cools works with meticulous attention to detail. The two-step bridges, overall geometry of the movement, is stunning. It compliments the abundance of fine finishing found throughout with micro-blasting finish on the pink gold base plate as well as a perfectly polished, massive ratchet wheel. Tying together one of his design motifs, the same pronounced balance cock design used to hold the tourbillon on the dial is retained for gearing in the movement.

While the geometry and finishing are exceptional, one of the major, surprising aspects of this timepiece is Cools’ work developing very technical components. The tourbillon cage features an in-house balance wheel. Generally, it’s the thing watchmakers want to tinker with the least. It takes serious confidence in one’s skills to navigate the chaos that is creating an in-house balance.

At 39mm in diameter and 12mm in thickness, the heft of the timepiece’s platinum case matches the same ultra-high-end feel of all other aspects of the Tourbillon Atelier. An exceptional contribution to modern independent watchmaking, there’s a long, bright future ahead for Cools and collectors of fine timepieces.

The Details

Movement:

• 33mm diameter
• 9mm thick
• 50 hours chronometric power reserve
• Frequency 2,5Hz ( 18,000 vb/h )
• 60 seconds Tourbillon
• Specific balance wheel and Swiss anchor escapement
• Hand formed Breguet hairspring
• Entirely hand finished ( visible and not visible parts )
• 235 components

Case and buckle:

• In Platinium
• 39mm diameter
• 12mm thick including 3mm higher sapphire crystal domed
• All sapphire glass
• Engraved Buckle and pin buckle in platinum

Dials and hands:

• Hours and minutes dials in silver with black indications hand printed
• Hand-formed and hand-polished steel hands.

Decorations:

• All of the decorations of the watch are made in the traditional way, by hand.