Any purchases made on this website may earn us a small commission, please click if you want to learn more.
Real tourbillon watches are no longer something only the rich and famous can afford. Thankfully to Chinese manufacturers such as Seagull, there is now such a thing as affordable tourbillon watches.
Unfortunately, tourbillon movements are still far more expensive than fashion brands and will generally cost you $500 and upwards. Although this is a nice alternative to having to buy an Audemars Piguet or Hublot that would have set you back a 5 figure sum.
Whilst there is no real need to have a tourbillon in a modern day mechanical watch, many can still appreciate the work and craftsmanship gone in to making such an intricate complication. It requires a huge amount of manpower, effort and tiny watch parts to construct a working tourbillon. If anything, this makes the invention of the tourbillon in 1801 by Breguet even more impressive.
The article below details which Chinese tourbillon watches you should consider buying, alongside which ones you should avoid. Thankfully there is a variety of tourbillon watches available for under $1000 which are fairly well made and well worth the pricetag.
Table of Contents
Are Cheap Tourbillon Watches Real?
The answer to this question is always changing. Do not be fooled by fake tourbillon watches which are all over the internet. If a tourbillon watch is real in todays day and age, it will not cost less than $400 as this is almost impossible to make.
Whilst this may change in the future due to cost of production, in the 21st century it is simply not possible right now.
Many brands claiming to make inexpensive tourbillon watches do their best to try and market their watches as tourbillons. In reality they just put a bridge over an open balance wheel and attempt to pass this off as a tourbillon to people who do not know about watches.
Does A Tourbillon Improve Accuracy?
Theoretically, a tourbillon will improve the accuracy of a watch, although mechanical watches are still no where near the accuracy of digital timepieces.
The idea behind a tourbillon is by putting the balance wheel and an escapement on the same platform, you will reduce any time loss or gain due to watch positioning. For example, it is well known that if you leave your watch face down on a flat surface, it will differ in how much time it loses compared to when the watch is face up.
A tourbillon is meant to get rid of this time discrepancy and make sure that the watch is running at the same rate from every different angle. Whilst a tourbillon certainly does this to some extent, whether it is particularly noticeable or worth the money is a different question entirely. Tourbillons are mostly just used to display wealth and are a nice complication to look at whilst a watch is running.
What Is The Difference Between A Tourbillon & A Flying Tourbillon?
The flying tourbillon was created some 120 years after the original tourbillon was invented by Breguet. Although these two complications are very similar, there is a distinct difference between the two.
This complication is called a flying tourbillon because of the way it rotates – this gives a “flying” apperance, hence the name. The difference between the two is that the flying variation of tourbillon is only supported by one bridge, this allows the tourbillon to rotate freely and allows it to be used as a seconds hand. Standard tourbillons are secured by 2 or more bridges which allows them to rotate, but not fly.
Are Tourbillons Fragile?
A toubillon is a very intricate and delicate part of a watch which is made of many parts. Swiss tourbillons are no more or less fragile than Chinese tourbillons, but obviously it is best to try and protect them from any damage.
In short, if you were to drop a tourbillon watch, this complication would have a much higher chance of breaking than any other part. This is somewhat true for any complicated watch – the more functions a mechanical watch has, the higher the chance is that something will go wrong.
Are Tourbillon Watches Expensive?
Tourbillon watches are extremely expensive. Even the cheapest Chinese-made tourbillons are considerably more expensive than fashion watches and even Swiss-made mechanical watches. The reason for this is that they are so complex and intricate to make.
Prior to the last decade, tourbillon watches were only really available to the super rich. As the far east had not yet been able to replicate a tourbillon, the only way you could get your hands on one was to buy from a Swiss-luxury brand. Thankfully as Chinese companies have now been able to replicate the age-old technology with mass production, the price of a tourbillon watch is now around the $1000 mark, rather than $50000.
Are Chinese Tourbillon Watches Any Good?
This really varies from brand to brand. Although China does have a bad reputation for watchmaking, not all brands are equal. Whilst “made in Switzerland” gives you a certain level of comfort in knowing that a watch will be good quality, “made in China” does not mean anything. It could be either positive or negative.
In summary, there is no general statement that can be made about Chinese made tourbillon watches. Some of them are absolute trash, where as others are very well made and have been proven to work at a high degree of accuracy after several years. In the short list below, only reliable Chinese tourbillons have been listed, poor brands have been excluded.
The downside of owning a Chinese tourbillon watch is that you likely will not be able to get it serviced. With that being said, a Swiss-made tourbillon watch could easily set you back $3000 for a single service, a lot more than the total cost of a Chinese made tourbillon purchased brand new.
The Best Affordable Tourbillon Watches
Reef Tiger
Although the Reef Tiger brand has a very dubious and questionable history, they are one of the leading Chinese watch manufacturers when it comes to higher end pieces. Reef Tiger are certainly not the kinds of quartz, or even solid mechanical watches, but are able to make some nicer and higher end watches than their rivals.
This model features a black dial with a domed sapphire crystal and a rather minimalist layout (other than the tourbillon). For what it’s worth, the flying tourbillon is used as a seconds hand on this watch, which is a common occurance throughout Chinese watches. This is likely because they all use a similar cloned Swiss movement.
For around $1000, you really can’t complain about what you’re getting for the money. As mentioned numerous times throughout this article, inexpensive tourbillon watches were not a thing all that long ago.
There is also a great youtube watch review of this exact model which was made after 1 year of wearing it here.
Ingersoll
Certainly not a brand you would associate with the word tourbillon. Ingersoll were once an all-American company but now make all of their watches in the far east due to production costs.
At the very least this is a very unusual looking watch. The dial of the watch is largely black and white with rose gold skeletonized bridges, showcasing the inner workings of the movement. This is also a relatively inexpensive tourbillon watch, costing less than $1500. Using a cabochan crown is also very unusual for a watch of this style, which makes the watch even more unique than it already appears.
If you want the most solid and reliable tourbillon which isn’t going to completely break the bank – this is your best option.
Aesop
More or less the cheapest tourbillon watch you can buy, for just under $500 this truly is a bargain. Whilst there are other Chinese brands that offer what they call “tourbillon watches” for a cheaper price, those are fake and do not have the real complication.
This is another Chinese tourbillon that makes use of the Seagull ST8230 movement, so there are no reliabililty issues. In short, this watch should probably cost around 2-3x the price that it does. The case and strap of the watch are certainly not outstanding, but given the price for the tourbillon complication alone, this is a real steal.
Of course, the brand “Aesop” is pretty much unknown. This is the gamble you take when buying Chinese watches. But a tourbillon for this price is pretty much unheard of.
Invicta S1 Rally Tourbillon
Well known for their oversized watches, Invicta are a brand which is either loved or despised depending on who you ask.
The S1 Rally is a series of square dialled watches made in a racing style. Whilst the S1 has been around for over a decade, the tourbillon variation is a lot newer.
As this is one of the only square dial tourbillon watches you will find for under $1000, it is pretty much a must have if you like the style. Thankfully, Invicta are a lot more reputable than Chinese watchmakers and have a 3-year warranty. In summary, this is a very good deal if you’re a fan of the Invicta brand.
OUPINKE
A clear pattern developing is that Chinese watch manufacturers are able to produce tourbillon watches for the cheapest price. You will not receive a prize for guessing which market this watch is aimed at – as the golden dragons should be a dead giveaway.
Obviously this watch is not going to be for everyone since it is so ostentatious. The semi-skeleton dragon dial is already very loud, not to mention that everything is gold plated. A nice feature of this watch is the exhibition caseback which shows off the tourbillon movement in its full glory. The movement itself has a solid 72 hour power reserve and the watch uses a sapphire crystal to protect from any unwanted scratches.
Overall, the specification of this watch is really not bad at all given the pricetag.
