Conillon - Purtec Mouvements

Contraction of “cone” and “tourbillon”

A reinterpretation of Walter Prendel’s inclined tourbillon, master watchmaker Eric Coudray, winner of the 2013/2014 Gaïa Prize, pushes the boundaries of contemporary tourbillon improvement in the early 2020s by creating the conical tourbillon: the Conillon. It owes its name to the trajectory of the balance wheel axis, which describes a cone during one revolution of the cage over time.

This caliber 701 TC, a manual-winding mechanical movement, oscillates at a frequency of 21,600 beats per hour (3Hz), with its spiral balance inclined at 30 degrees relative to the horizontal.

bold mechanics and aesthetics

Building on the work of German watchmaker Walter Prendel and his tourbillon with an inclined balance initially positioned at 6 o’clock, Eric Coudray revisits the inclined tourbillon and its bold engineering feat.

Walter Prendel aimed to demonstrate the relevance of his research in his Groitzsch workshops, located in Saxony, a region renowned for its advanced watchmaking development. He based his work on the theories of master watchmaker Alfred Helwig, improving the stability and regularity of an oblique tourbillon whose balance-spring assembly is inclined at 30° to the horizontal.