SB06-24 Le Jour

Debuting their first in-house calibre, the Sartory Billard SB06-24 Le Jour Flying Tourbillon watch is a triumph for this youthful independent watchmaking company, and a timepiece that places them at the upper echelon of the genre. Featuring guilloché by the prestigious Comblemine atelier, the watch showcases a flying tourbillon upon a beautifully arranged dial in a 24-hour format, and it comes presented in an elegant casing crafted by Voutilainen & Cattin. Immaculately finished, the movement aesthetics are further elevated by hand-finished detailing achieved by Philippe Narbel, who is widely recognised as an industry touchstone for Haute Horlogerie finishing.

Founded in 2015, Sartory Billard stand apart for offering a significant level of customisation at the time of purchase, giving a meaningful and personal element to the purchasing experience, and adding further to the exclusivity of each timepiece. The SBTV01 movement was initially conceived in response to a request by the members of the private watch collector club, CronotempVs. And, while CronotempVs played a pivotal role, collaborating in the design and development of the calibre, a number of renowned companies and individuals are associated with the manufacture of both the SB06-24 watch, and also the in-house movement, with craftsmanship at the highest level of contemporary independent watchmaking employed throughout its manufacture. The cases are by industry experts, Voutilainen & Cattin, and the dials are also crafted by highly skilled artisans. Furthermore, the SBTV01 flying tourbillon in-house movement was also developed with the in-put of the technical experts and watchmakers at Comblemine.

Lending uniqueness to the composition of the dial, a distinctive Sartory Billard proprietary hour hand is poised at the centre, and is double-ended to represent daytime and nighttime hours. Enabled by an additional gear module placed beneath the dial, the hand, which is tipped with an exquisite golden sun at one end, and a delightful little moon at the other, runs two times slower so that each end covers a twelve hour period in a continuous and endlessly fascinating loop. Thus, day and night reading of the current hour becomes an intuitive and charming experience, while the minutes are read in the normal manner.

On this example, the central section is decorated with glorious hand guilloché, but further métiers d’art variations are also possible. The numerals, which are pad printed onto a sapphire ring over shimmering aventurine glass, and which appear to ‘float’ above it, are also available in a choice of font styles at the discretion of the client. Finally, and adding further visual momentum to the dial, the majestic flying tourbillon is positioned in a generous aperture at the six o’clock location.

Revealed through a sapphire crystal caseback, the in-house Sartory Billard SBTV01 calibre is alive with Haute Horlogerie detailing and uniqueness. Offering maximum visibility of the guilloché finishing of the rose gold mainplate, the top bridge is crafted from sapphire, and is accompanied by a pair of gently arching bridges. Immaculately finished, and displaying black polished screws and polished chatons, the bevelling and inward angles of the bridges, together with the tourbillon cage have been hand finished by Philippe Narbel, and adhering to old-school methods, the assembly, regulation and testing of each SBTV01 calibre will be achieved by a single watchmaker. Beating at 21’600 vib/h (3Hz), the hand wound movement has a generous power reserve of 96 hours.

Manufactured by Voutilainen & Cattin, the case is available in options of 18ct rose gold, grade 5 titanium, platinum or stainless steel, and is perfectly proportioned at 41mm across, with a height of only 9.5mm. Beautifully constructed and executed, it is equipped with neatly curving lugs ensuring an ergonomic fit, and it is complemented by a domed sapphire crystal.

With prices commencing at €96,000 excluding UK/EU VAT, the Sartory Billard SB06-24 Le Jour Flying Tourbillon watch comes presented on a hand made leather strap by Scarlett Paris, with the colour and type to be chosen at the time of purchase by the client.