And yes, I'm back to tell you about CODE41, a brand that holds a good place on the blog because I like their vision of watchmaking and I like brands constantly in search of novelty and innovation. After the X41, the DAY41 or the famous Mécascaphe, the Swiss brand CODE41 is back with an even crazier project: to offer an affordable Tourbillon watch.
I'm not going to tell you about the history of the brand because I've already done so in previous articles, so we're going to focus directly on the most important. CODE41 has just unveiled his first tourbillon watch. Let's go back to this great project that was born in July 2022.
I must admit that the tourbillon is one of my favorite complications, if we can call it a complication since it is not a question of a particular functionality like a GMT or a chronograph but more of an improvement of the mechanical watch movement.
Some call tourbillon watches watchmaker's grail, the supreme mastery of the watchmaking art, the most precise time possible mechanically speaking. The tourbillon watch mechanism was born thanks to the great Abraham-Louis Breguet. At the end of the 18th century, Monsieur Breguet noticed that the movement of mechanical pocket watches was influenced by the earth's gravity. These watches being very often in the same position, AL Breguet to create the tourbillon.
The tourbillon is a device that turns on itself, most often in 1 minute. This makes it possible to stir up the vertical positions and to apply gravity almost everywhere on the regulating organ of the watch. This therefore comes to avoid the advance or the delay and greatly increase the precision of the watch.
So much for the small presentation of the Tourbillon mechanism which also has the function of just making us happy and bewitching us. Admit that there is no more stylish than a tourbillon watch, but the only small glitch … is often the price.
This is precisely why CODE41 decided to embark on the adventure of Tourbillon T360. As usual, the teams of the brand based in Lausanne have decided to launch a questionnaire in order to sound out the community on the launch of a future project. For this edition, it was the tourbillon watch that won the votes.
With this news T360, CODE41 wishes on the one hand to finally make accessible the tourbillon watch, the Holy Grail of many collectors. But on the other hand, the brand also wants to offer an unprecedented degree of personalization: colors of the hands, bridges, bracelet and also the shape of the case...all while keeping a contemporary, assertive, almost futuristic style, which directly echoes the Brand DNA.
Let's talk little, talk well and get to the heart of the matter with the design of this T360. I was pleasantly surprised by the change in design of the case, which has been completely redone.
Two boxes will be offered for the T360the version NativeDNA and version stratum. Both versions will be exactly 42mm in diameter which is still reasonable.
The box NativeDNA is the one I prefer, it is for me the case that has made the success of the other collections of the watchmaker. A relatively thin case and above all super comfortable.
But for this new project, CODE41 unveils the Stratom case, with an even more urban design, both sporty and elegant, the latter sports a multi-layer construction with 4 small screws on the front and back.
These two cases are entirely in Grade 5 titanium, relatively strong material is light. For the rest, it is obviously a sapphire crystal that encloses the movement, on the front and also on the back for a breathtaking view.
If I had to give my opinion on this new Stratom case, I really like its finesse and its level of finish. Its architecture has been carefully thought out and I particularly like the lines on the sides of the case which give it a lot of lightness.
Regarding the dial, the architecture of the latter has once again been extremely well thought out by the brand. We find a fully skeletonized tourbillon watch which brings a real lightness especially if you opt for the Stratom box which I find a little more massive personally.
This dial will be available from 5 different colors : black blue, black orange, black red, blue and rainbow titanium, a color that goes super well with this new T360 tourbillon.
The dial is made up of various bridges, all of which support the movement elements. In total, about 5 bridges are visible on the front face of the dial and which bring a certain style which I have always been a big fan of at CODE41.
In the upper part of the dial we observe the barrel spring which will allow energy to be stored. The latter being completely openworked, it also gives us an indication of the power reserve of the watch.
The bridge located in the middle of the dial will support the mechanism that drives the hands of the CODE41 T360. These needles let's talk about them quickly. They are 3 in number (and yes there is one directly attached to the tourbillon cage). The hour and minute hands are 2 imposing openwork hands and they are coated with SuperLuminova for enhanced time reading even in the middle of the night. As for the seconds hand, it is found directly on the tourbillon mechanism. It takes the form of a small colored triangle that completes a complete revolution in 60 seconds.
As usual, CODE41 always remains very sober in terms of indexes and flatplans. We therefore find fairly thick baton indexes covered with SuperLuminova for the hour indication.
Now let's talk about the mainstay of this new CODE41 watch: the movement, or rather this magnificent tourbillon movement that we've been waiting for so long.
This tourbillon movement is a hand-wound mechanical movement entirely developed, designed and assembled in Switzerland by the brand's teams. The mechanism is visible on the front of the watch. This tourbillon offers 105 hours of power reserve which is very generous and personally I have more and more trouble with low power reserve watches so I'm happy to find over 100 hours on this watch.
As I said a little earlier, I really liked the fact of finding the small seconds directly on the tourbillon carriage. This cage is also available in several colors, which brings a little boost to this relatively sober watch.
The movement of the T360 is relatively accurate with a drift of -5/+5s/day. The tourbillon was subjected to a battery of impressive tests and obtained results well above the standards, something to reassure the most reluctant among you.
CODE41 once again maintains its transparency regarding the production of this new watch. The brand has surrounded itself with partners 100% Swiss for the development and manufacture of this T360 tourbillon. I have always been a big fan of this transparency and the traceability of all the components.
Here is the list of all CODE41 partners on this Tourbillon T360 watch project:
Before giving you my opinion on this latest release, let's talk about availability and above all...price. Indeed, the price is often the sinews of war in this kind of very ambitious project, especially when talking about a tourbillon.
Very sincerely I am amazed by the price of this T360 because it does not exceed the CHF10,000. Yes, a whirlwind 9898 Swiss francs. Good unfortunately for the French it makes €10,998 BUT…believe me, that's a very fair price for such a quality tourbillon watch.
Since the beginning of this project, CODE41 wanted to make this complication accessible to great amateurs and enthusiasts of fine watchmaking. It's done. Of course, the design may not please everyone, but there is plenty to do in terms of customization.
The T360 tourbillon is available for pre-order now from April 19, 2023 until May 17, 2023. So if you want to get a copy, it's here and it's going to go fast:
I personally find this very successful project and I can't wait to see the rest of the adventure at CODE41. This brand that never stops innovating really piqued my curiosity. I have the chance to own some of their models and I can tell you that the quality is really there. The watches hold up over time and that's thanks to the quality of the materials but also to all the tests that the watches undergo before being marketed.
Making a tourbillon accessible opens up the field of possibilities for future complications. My wish ? A Perpetual Calendar also accessible.
I'll give you a little recap of all the features of the watch below and I'll tell you guys very soon. See you soon.
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