Weap-One Diamond Asymmetrical Flying Tourbillon
Titanium and sapphire
Power reserve: 50 h, 21600 vph
Skeleton movement
Rebellion WEAP-ONE Diamond Asymmetrical Flying Tourbillon
Rebellion continues its quest for performance and takes us off the beaten track with a surprising evolution of the Weap-One unveiled in 2017. Its asymmetrical 60-second flying tourbillon is transformed thanks to the use of a high-tech material: the synthetic diamond. A judicious use of sapphire crystal offers this mechanical masterpiece to be literally highlighted at the heart of the WEAP-ONE Diamond Asymmetrical Flying Tourbillon.
Always looking for performance and innovation, for Rebellion, the exception is the rule. The Weap-One goes beyond the limits of imagination. The WEAP-ONE Diamond Asymmetrical Flying Tourbillon explores a new dimension. With its slender structure combining titanium and sapphire, the WEAP-ONE Diamond Asymmetrical Flying Tourbillon is unlike any other timepiece. Two wheel-nut crowns close its atypical cylinder-shaped case. In titanium on the original model, they are here machined from sapphire crystal. The one on the right allows the movement to be wound; the one on the left allows the time to be set. The hours and minutes are displayed using two rollers also machined from sapphire crystal and positioned on the ends of the case. Between the time information, an asymmetrical flying tourbillon with a rotation speed of 60 seconds evolves on several axes.
Atomic feat
A world first, the WEAP-ONE Diamond Asymmetrical Flying Tourbillon houses a regulating organ with a cage made of diamond. But not just any since it is a high-tech material used in the aerospace industry for its multiple properties with the advantage of being unbreakable.
Rebellion turned to the Japanese company Adamant Namiki Precision, which uses a patented production method, at high pressure and high temperature, to produce this surprising flat atomic diamond.
Its manufacturing method is spectacular and you have to be patient to obtain the desired length. The Japanese company has opted for heteroepitaxy, a qualitative process by chemical vapour deposition, which allows thin layers a few nanometres thick to grow from the perfectly polished surface of a single crystal. Result? It takes longer than a plant to grow. Judge for yourself! It takes 40 days to produce one millimetre of this synthetic diamond. It therefore took the equivalent of 280 days to obtain the 7 millimetres required for the tourbillon component.
To this were added 80 days of delicate polishing, achieved by using a CMP plasma fusion process. The manufacturing of this unique cage required a full year, which is unheard of to date.
The regulating organ is placed on a frame, which is held on each side on rotating plates. On the right, the plate turns at 1 turns per minute, on the left at 0.5 turns per minute. This difference in speed creates variations in positions in the frame so that the tourbillon can evolve in all of the available space. A combination of several differentials, directly inspired by racing cars, has been developed to compensate for these variations in speed and therefore guarantee a regular force on the regulating organ. The plates can be compared to the wheels of a car, which turn at different speeds in a bend and the tourbillon to the drive shaft, with a differential between the two that allows everything to work.
Thanks to the presence of its tourbillon, the WEAP-ONE Diamond Asymmetrical Flying Tourbillon effectively resists against the negative effects of gravity. Precision and performance are therefore assured. The calibre guarantees 50 hours of power reserve once wound.
This ingenious manual-winding movement is the result of a complex assembly of 529 components, resulting from a development in collaboration with the Concepto team and designed by Fabrice Gonet and Olivier Leu.
More than just a watch...
The other asset of this timepiece is its ability to transform itself to meet all your desires. The case is clipped onto its strap using a support. Just detach it to transform it into a table clock. Thanks to various accessories specially created for it, the WEAP-ONE Diamond Asymmetrical Flying Tourbillon can also accompany you in your car or become the elegant companion of your daily life by transforming into a pocket watch with a resolutely futuristic style.