Antoine Preziuso begins the year (and decade!) in style at VincenzaOro, the season’s first – and Europe’s largest – jewellery and watchmaking event. The dedicated Vo Vintage space provides the perfect setting for Antoine Preziuso’s creations along with those of other fellow AHCI members (Horological Academy of Independent Creators). The show will be held from 17 to 22 January 2020 in Vicenza, Italy.
A must-attend event to discover the latest collections and new trends for the year.
“It is both a pleasure and a privilege to be exhibiting for the first time at the VicenzaOro Show with the AHCI”, says Antoine Preziuso, “I look forward to meeting a larger audience of people who love beautiful watches, and of course journalists and potential clients, and I am particularly delighted to exhibit in Italy, the country of my birth”.
Antoine Preziuso will be present a selection from his collection, including two Grand Robusto chronographs and a Tourbillon of Tourbillons. Steeped in poetry, the latter is a vibrant tribute to the most beautiful of watchmaking complications, the tourbillon. The three tourbillons of this exceptional timepiece are arranged on a plate and enter into resonance, oscillating at a stable frequency – like three hearts beating in unison. This technical feat, protected by three international patents, is made possible by a differential mounted at the centre of the movement, the development of which required several years of effort, calculation and imagination.
About ANTOINE PREZIUSO GENÈVE
Tradition, complications, innovation: these three words underpin the work of Antoine Preziuso, founder of the brand ANTOINE PREZIUSO GENÈVE, which in 2020 celebrates fourty years of independent watchmaking. From his studies at Geneva’s Ecole d’Horlogerie – where he discovered his calling – to the creation of the Tourbillon of Tourbillons (in close collaboration with his son Florian), Antoine Preziuso has always been inspired by three powerful values: respect for watchmaking tradition; mastery of major complications; and a constant quest for innovation in technique and design. It was Antoine Preziuso, for instance, who conceived the first watch entirely in meteorite: case, dial, buckle and hands in 2002. ANTOINE PREZIUSO GENÈVE is a family business. The passion for watchmaking, the love of uniqueness, of the luxury of good manufacturing that comes only from time and experience are values that Antoine Preziuso claims and shares with his family members.
Antoine Preziuso Grand Robusto Ref. GRSSO/0301311
The name Robusto – from the Latin robustus, meaning strong, well-built and vigorous.
Framed by a rugged cambered rectangular steel case the distinctive black carbon fibre dial forms the ideal backdrop for staging an astonishing set of features. The applied oversized, sloping Arabic numerals have become a trademark on certain models by Antoine Preziuso Genève. In this configuration, they are replaced at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock by four “displays with a difference”. Along the horizontal axis, the small seconds sub dial at 9 o’clock is counterbalanced by the 42-hour power-reserve indicator with its pointer moving steadily across a segment to keep track of the state of winding of the watch.
Meanwhile, the vertical axis offers an intriguing new take on two classic chronograph function indications: the 30-minute and 12-hour counters. Each is represented by a semi-circle and characterised by the absence of numerals, which are replaced with a two-tiered set of simplified segments that serve as a graduated scale. Reading it is at once simple and mesmerising, thanks to the steady motion of the double “propeller” hands. Perfecting the subtly symmetrical elegance of the overall effect, the sweep seconds hand is tipped by an arrow pointing to a triangular marker at 12 o’clock when it is at rest. At its opposite end, this hand carries the unmistakable brand logo.
This same symbol is picked up on the knurled easy-grip winding crown, set between the two start/stop and back-to-zero chronograph pushbuttons with their respective functions clearly spelt out in English! The sapphire crystal “showcase ” in the back enables one to view the delicate intricacies of the self winding movement, which may be open worked and hand-engraved, with parts ruthenium blackened to heighten their visual appeal. The gleaming metal surfaces surrounding this fascinating “window on time” are engraved with the individual series numbers, maker’s mark and other significant identifying characteristics befitting a model clearly destined for connoisseurs.
Movement
Swiss mechanical with self-winding calibre 7750RM3 – blue screws, personalised oscillating weight – “Côtes de Genève” decorative pattern – 25 jewels.
Function
Hour and minute – small and large seconds
Automatic chronograph with double-segment counter and double pointer-type indication – 42-hour power-reserve
Case
50 x 38 mm – steel 316L – caseback opened- sapphire glass.
Dial
Carbon fiber with several colour finitions– Large stylised arabic numbers painting with SuperLumiNova
Hands
SuperLuminova C1 and red
Crystal
Glass saphire
Strap
Full-grain crocodile leather – back in small-grain crocodile skin
Water Resistance
3ATU
Limited edition
From 001 to 999
Antoine Preziuso Tourbillon of Tourbillons
The Tourbillon of Tourbillons is imbued with the symbolism of the figure 3. It is powered by three tourbillons at a frequency of 3Hz, linked by a triple-differential and separated by three “masselottes” in finely engraved gold. The three tourbillons revolve on their axis every 60 seconds, while the plate completes six revolutions per hour. The sapphire glass on the back of the watch, with its Côtes de Genève patterning, shows three jewels at six o’clock, echoed by three smaller jewels at 12. The timepiece also evokes Past, Present and Future, while the complex architecture of its three-metal case exploits the three dimensions to the full. The Tourbillon of Tourbillons is full of explicit or hidden references to the figure 3 and its multiples – as befitting the measurement of Time on Earth, the third planet in the solar system!
Three international patents protect the Tourbillon of Tourbillons, reflecting the creativity and capacity for innovation of ANTOINE PREZIUSO GENÈVE, where the project was brought to fruition after a decade of research.
Multiple Tourbillons on a Revolving Plate
Associating three tourbillons on a revolving plate gives the timepiece unmatched regularity. Each tourbillon completes one rotation per minute, at a faster rhythm than the plate, which completes six rotations per hour (one rotation every ten minutes). The speed at which the tourbillons rotate is accelerated by this double revolution. They are placed equidistant from the centre of the plate, with their respective axes forming an equilateral triangle. Isochronism is enhanced by the fact that the three cages rotate on different axes and at variable speeds.
Resonance
The closeness of the three independent regulating tourbillons – and their positions on the plate – enable them to resonate, and naturally adopt an identical frequency through a phenomenon known as “synchronism”. When the tourbillons start to resonate, their amplitude increases significantly – in a manner perceptible to the naked eye. The system as a whole thus forms a single revolutionary regulator, vibrating at a perfectly stable frequency of 3 Hz.
Triple-Differential or Synchronizer
This differential is unique both in its conception and the variety of tasks it performs. It must distribute constant energy from the double-barrel to the three tourbillons through the centre of the watch, without affecting the axis of the hands; react if one the tourbillon stops working; and correct any variations in frequency. It contains the tiniest ball-bearing in the world, barely 1.6mm in diameter!
Movement
Calibre Antoine Preziuso AFP-TTR-3X
Winding manual
Power Reserve 48 hours
Dimension 39,8 mm
Total height 10,8 mm
Transmission planetary triple-differential gear
Regulator organs 3 tourbillons « planetary satellite »
Frequency 3 x 21’600Ah (3Hz)
Rotating speed 1 t/minute (tourbillons) ; 6 t/h (plate)
Components 570
Rubies 65
Ball-bearing 6
Barrels double serial barrels
Decoration chamfered bridges with Côtes de Genève
Patent 3 international patent
Function
Hours, minutes
Case
Shape round
Dimensions Ø 45 mm
Thickness 14 mm
Material White gold 18kt
Bezel screwed on to the middle of the watch via 8 lateral gold pillars and 24 “Power”screws in titanium.
Glass sapphire crystal with anti-reflection treatment.
Crown 18kt gold with logo AFP – Antoine, Florian Preziuso
Back Sapphire crystal
Strap
Crocodile leather front and back.
Deploying buckle
