These two limited edition Perrelet watches go together right? Sure they do, gambling and 007? I am going to be careful and not mention James Bond. Perrelet doesn’t mention James Bond and I don’t think they licensed the right to use that IP franchise. Though apparently “007” was OK to use. The imagery they use however when discussing the Turbine 007 watch on the new Turbine micro-site is strongly evocative of the James Bond theme – without outright saying so. The official name by the way of this watch is the Perrelet Turbine 007 License To Play watch.
Then there is the Perrelet Turbine Poker… which if you have a “license to play,” you can. This piece actual comes in three distinct models. The difference of each? The cards displayed under the turbine. Version 1 (Ref. A4018/1) has random cards and a pair of sevens. Version 2 (Ref. A4018/2) has a pair of sevens and two royal flushes. Version 3 (ref. A4018/3) has a pair of sevens, three kings, three jacks, and a few other random cards. Don’t ask why they are arranged that way (I don’t know).
Unlike the Perrelet Turbine XL America limited edition, these two models use the original Turbine case that is 44mm wide (and does not have the side claws). The Turbine 007 (ref. A8008/1) is done in a steel DLC black coated case with gold-toned elements throughout. The center of the turbine is actual 18k rose gold. License to Play what exactly? I think the watch is cool, but I don’t see the 007 theme in there that much. Perrelet will produce 888 of these.
You can see more information and videos here at Perrelet’s Turbine website. The Turbine Poker has a similarly toned 44mm steel case with a DLC coating. Both models feature Perrelet’s P-181 double rotor automatic movements. These are fun watches, and certainly novelties. Not for everyone, but the right wrists know how to make these timepieces feel at home. Prices are about $6,000 each.
It took almost a decade for Perrelet to eventually add a GMT to its series of Turbine watches, leaving precious few corners where the concept has not been applied. However, even with well more than a dozen options available in both regular and limited collections, it’s still quite a treat to see that the “turbine” rotor spinning on the dial. This time around, however, being a watch grounded in Greenwich Mean Time, the rotor spins to reveal an engraving of earth, generously decorated with wavy Côte de Genève traces — admittedly a fairly cool application, particularly since the map-inspired relief found on a lot of world timers or “traveler” watches tends to overwhelm the dial and also impede legibility. However, the Perrelet Turbine GMT merely shows the map “via” the 10 spinning blades of the telescope — plus they’ve got to be turning rather rapidly for this to work.Though largely book in theory, Perrelet believes its Turbine series still somewhat grounded in watchmaking lore — especially, with regards to Abraham-Louis Perrelet, credited as inventing the automatic view in 1777, hence the date being featured prominently on Perrelet dials. The Perrelet Turbine simultaneously pays homage to the spinning rotor of Abraham’s radical innovation and to the age of jet travel by exhibiting a second turbine-shaped rotor that freely spins over the dial in synch with the rotor winding the watch. All things considered, is your link to aviation a small tenuous? Maybe. Does the Perrelet of today really have anything to do with all the Perrelet from over 200 years back? Barely. But is the idea still fairly neat? Definitely.