SARTORY BILLARD SB06: THE CUSTOM-MADE FLYING TOURBILLON

Posted by lifata on December 21st, 2023

This summer, we had the chance to meet Armand Billard so he could tell us about his brand, Sartory Billard, and the unique philosophy he instills in it by offering almost endless customization possibilities. During this meeting, Armand told us that fine watchmaking pieces would be presented at the end of the year. Something promised, something delivered with this incredible new range bearing the reference SB06 and equipped with a flying tourbillon.

It all started in the summer of 2021, when the group of collectors CronotempVs approached the French house for the production of a flying tourbillon replica watch with the Sartory Billard spirit. After extensive research, Armand Billard decided to develop his own movement in partnership with Kari Voutilainen's company (one of the greatest master watchmakers), Comblémine, renowned for the quality of its work on dials and finishes, but also for the design of watchmaking projects. At the beginning of December, the group of collectors was able to take possession of 30 personalized versions of the SB06-12, delighted and grateful for the work done. At the same time, it must be said that the progress made is astonishing.

For a first movement, the young French house struck hard because the SBTV01 caliber, understand Sartory Billard Tourbillon Volant N°1, is very complex to make. Imagined at the end of the 18th century by Abraham-Louis Breguet, the tourbillon stands out from other movements by its escapement and its balance wheel mounted in a cage making a complete revolution on itself. This innovation aimed to attenuate the effect of gravity which altered the balance and degraded the precision of pocket fake watches uk. The result proposed by Sartory Billard and Comblémine is astonishing, the finishes are modern with an alternation of microblasting, polishing and brushing which are carried out by the famous angler-skeletonist Philippe Narbel. But what catches the eye is this central sapphire bridge, practically invisible and where the names of the two companies that collaborated on this project are engraved. This bridge really takes on its full meaning in the world of Sartory Billiards because it offers the collector the opportunity to admire the deck which he can personalize with guilloche, sandblasted or grained finishes in a wide choice of colors.

On the dial side, we find the myriad of possibilities that have made the brand famous since its major shift in 2018: polished, mother-of-pearl or guilloche titanium to name just a few. Two versions are available: the SB06-12 with hours and minutes function, similar to the SB05 version, then the SB06-24 version with a 24-hour dial. The latter has a double hand where a gold sun and a moon filled with LumiNova oppose each other which take turns to indicate the hours of day and night. Two options from SB06-24 are highlighted and named The Day and The Night. Le Jour, my favorite version, is in yellow gold with an outer dial in blue aventurine reminiscent of a starry sky, and a central dial in yellow gold, guilloché by hand in waves seeming to emanate from the tourbillon like solar rays. We can read the passage of time thanks to the hour hands which also indicate 10-minute intervals on the railway below the hour markers. The Night has the same aventurine exterior dial but features, in its center, a silver engraving of the Moon showing NASA's ultra-precise altimeter measurements. This version has a minute hand going around the dial in 60 minutes, in addition to the double 24-hour hand present on the Le Jour model.