FrontRunners October 2014 WATCHES AND JEWELRY

Power Hungry 

Like an american muscle car from the 1970s, the Franck Muller Giga Gong Tourbillon (www.franckmuller.com) is engineered to produce power—excessive amounts of it—not conserve it. Indeed, energy consumption is a touted feature of the brand’s entire series of large-format Giga Tourbillons. This latest entry adds an extra demand on the watch’s four massive barrels by including a striking-hour complication, which automatically chimes every half hour. The huge power requirements of this complication and the 20 mm tourbillon can be a drain on the watch’s power reserve. Indeed, if the wearer does not deactivate the chime—using the push button located at 4 o’clock on the case—the watch’s six-day power reserve will be exhausted in just 40 hours. An indicator on the dial denotes whether the chime is turned on or off. The $375,600 Giga Gong Tourbillon is available in two case styles: round and Franck Muller’s signature Cintrée Curvex.