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This $1.28 million watch is made of transparent sapphire

greubel forsey sapphire watch screen shot 2016 06 18 at 4 33 34 pm
Image used with permission by copyright holder
There are watches and then there are watches, and this $1.28 million masterpiece falls in the latter category. For anyone who appreciates the mechanics of a truly masterful timepiece, this device is truly something to behold. Greubel Forsey has just unveiled its Double Tourbillon 30° Technique, a luxury watch featuring an all-sapphire, completely transparent face. Heralded as the “pinnacle of transparency,” not a single piece of metal is used in the dial and case (well, except for the winding pin), which means that wearers and admirers alike can see all of the movement architecture and its workings.

The million-dollar watch is created from a one large sapphire crystal, which explains the gargantuan asking price. But you’ll be able to see literally everything in its 38.4 mm case, so if you’re a sucker for watch movement, look away — this may just be too tempting. Sapphire is used in every aspect in the watch, from the rounded, multi-angular case horns to the crown, and it puts the patented tourbillon movement on full display.

Featuring a hand-wound caliber complete with a 120-hour power reserve, the luxury watch has two tourbillon escapements, one contained inside another. The outer tourbillon completes a rotation every four minutes, and its inner tourbillon rotates every 60 seconds. The combination of all these features has won the movement a whopping 915 out of 1,000 possible points at International Chronometry Competition, a record in and of itself.

Only eight pieces are currently slated to be crafted by hand over the next three years, and each piece will set you back a stunning $1.275 million. Exclusive to the U.S., we can rest assured that enthusiasts from across the world will be dying to get their hands (or wrists) on these watches. And if you’ve got over a million dollars just lying around, there’s probably little better to spend it on than the Double Tourbillon 30° Technique.

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