Since its launch in 2019, the Legacy Machine FlyingT has become a firm part of the brand’s collections and appeared in a number of forms.

Now there is a new collaboration with brand ‘Friend’ Emmanuel Tarpin, a 30 year old Paris-based jewellery designer who studied at Geneva’s Haute Ecole d’Art et Design (HEAD), followed with an internship with a studio working for Van Cleef & Arpels. After which he worked at Van Cleef & Arpels’ Haute Joaillerie workshop for three years before setting up his own studio in 2017, specialising in creating pieces for private clients. The first piece he created under his own name was a pair of geranium earrings.

With an interest in sculpture as well as jewellery, he is known for using a variety of materials, from his preferred aluminium to bronze and copper, amongst others, combining the pieces with gemstones, and with a focus on subject matter inspired by nature.

The two new limited edition (eight pieces each) LM FlyingTs, ‘Ice’ and ‘Blizzard’, are inspired by snow and stalagmites and hark back to his past experiences. They combine blue matte lapis lazuli dial plates with 18k white gold diamond-set cases. At Tarpin’s, all gold-coloured elements have been changed, the balance wheel blued, and the diamonds set into the centre of the tourbillon and two crowns were replaced by turquoise Paraiba stones.

‘Ice’ features asymmetrical diamond-set stalagmites that progress onto the sapphire crystal dome and the movement. Replicating their natural inspiration, each stalagmite is different. For this model, Tarpin took his inspiration from a trip to Lake Baïkal in Southern Siberia.

For ‘Blizzard’, Tarpin’s inspiration was being caught in them when skiing in the Alps. Brilliant-cut diamonds set under the sapphire crystal dome and closed-set diamonds set into the dial depict snowflakes on the ground.

The central flying 60-second tourbillon rising from the dial-plate of the LM FlyingT is not obscured by the new addition of diamonds and still a key visual part of these two new models.

The hours and minutes are displayed on a 50° vertically tilted dial with two serpentine hands and the case has two crowns – winding is on the left and setting, on the right of the case, which measures 39mm x 20mm. In order to display the time as precisely as possible on the inclined dial, conical gears are used to transmit torque.

Through the open case back (see the video below) can be seen the sand-blasted and polished sun-shaped rotor in 18k 5N+ red gold, titanium and platinum (the counterweight) on a ruthenium disc. The movement beats at 18,00 VPH and has a power reserve of 100 hours, made possible by the reduction in the number of gears.

For those who are wondering about carats, the details are as follows:

For ‘Ice’
• Brilliant-cut diamonds on the Ice decoration: ~ 0.611ct
• Brilliant-cut diamonds on the crowns: ~ 0.138ct
• Brilliant-cut diamonds on the case: ~ 1.402cts
• 2 paraibas on the crowns: ~ 0.11ct and 1 paraiba on the tourbillon: ~ 0.03ct

For ‘Blizzard’:
• Brilliant-cut diamonds on the dial: ~ 0.0457ct
• Brilliant-cut diamonds on the Blizzard decoration: ~ 0.921ct
• Brilliant-cut diamonds on the crowns: ~ 0.138ct
• Brilliant-cut diamonds on the case: ~ 1.402cts
• 2 paraibas on the crowns: ~ 0.11ct and 1 paraiba on the tourbillon: ~ 0.03ct

Coming on an alligator leather strap with white gold paved pin buckle, the RRP is CHF 160,000 (excluding taxes)/ EUR 168,000 (excluding taxes).

As well as being a jeweller, Emmanuel Tarpin is also a keen diver. This year has also seen his creation of the Jellyfish Brooch for Coral Gardeners, an NGO whose goals are to preserve and regenerate the coral reefs off the cost of Mo’orea in French Polynesia which are, as they are here in Australia and across the planet, suffering from the combined effects of climate change/ warming waters, pollution, and over-fishing in some cases.

Made from hand-carved rock crystal, titanium and diamonds, the Jellyfish Brooch is being sold to benefit Coral Gardeners, and is the first in what will be a series of pieces as a part of a long-term relationship. The sale of the Jellyfish and subsequent pieces follow Tarpin’s usual practice of first offering them to known clients.

To date, Coral Gardeners has planted over 24,500 corals as a part of their goal to plant one million corals around the world by 2025. Tarpin has done volunteer work with Coral Gardeners, and the Jellyfish Brooch and future creations are another part of what how he is looking to help them. Tarpin also visited an ecological pearl farm this year and also plans to visit opal mines in Mexico.

To find out more about their work and how you can support them, go to the Coral Gardeners website here.

[Photo credit: MB&F]

Categories: Limited Editions, MB&F, Watch Profile, watches, Women's watches

Tags: flying tourbillon, tourbillon