Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Master Grand Tradition Gyrotourbillon 3

It’s got the perfect alignment of rare stones, rare crafts and high watchmaking, says Celine Yap.

IT’S BEEN 15 years since Jaeger-LeCoultre released the Gyrotourbillon but each time we look at this magnificent complication, how delightfully it spins and pirouettes on two different axes, it’s like falling in love all over again.

And who could blame us because every variation unveiled by the Grande Maison is practically a completely new showcase of technical innovation or amazing feats of hand craftsmanship and artistry.

This 2019 model is the latest iteration of the Master Grand Tradition Gyrotourbillon 3. Bringing a plethora of metiers d’arts to the watch, the manufacture debuts meteorite inlaying.

It is an incredibly delicate craft because meteorites, well, they do fall from the sky but they most certainly do not grow on trees. So it’s no overstatement to say that only the very best inlay artisans are skilled enough to work on meteorite. Abstract geometric patterns of this silvery-grey meteorite from Namibia assure that no two pieces are exactly alike.

But more importantly, they are shaped and polished by hand to fit into complex channels hollowed out to the exact thickness of each meteorite fragment, leaving only an ultra-fine border at the edges.

Meteorite features on the dial as well, surrounded by a ring of dark blue aventurine studded with applied Roman numerals. Other crafts featured are white grand feu enamel, handguilloché and hand-engraving

And then finally you see the Gyrotourbillon with its two carriages, spinning and rotating simultaneously in opposite directions, devoid of a bridge so it appears to be suspended in a void, like an asteroid hurtling through space but always on your wrist if you’ve got $765,000 sitting around.