Introducing – Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Limited Edition 2016

Carl F. Bucherer was founded in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1888 and has been based there ever since. Creating mechanical timepieces with one eye on traditional Swiss watchmaking and the other on contemporary design, the company even offers its own in-house movements in some collections. With the introduction of its first Tourbillon movement in 2013, the family-owned brand is now ready to incorporate this into the next model: The Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Limited Edition 2016.

Carl F. Bucherer started life as a retailer in Lucerne, but is now located in most of the large cities in Switzerland and various other cities throughout Europe like Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris, Vienna, and most recently the Danish capitol of Copenhagen. Operating under the name of Carl F. Bucherer since 2001, the brand has been producing watches much longer than just the last 15 years, but under the name of Bucherer Watches. Being an early adopter of a watch on a strap to be worn on the wrist, the company created its first ladies watch in 1919. The reason why the brand may not necessarily be top of mind though is that for a very long time the watches where only sold in Bucherer shops, somewhat limiting their exposure. They are definitely a brand with some very interesting technical achievements however.

The men’s collection can be divided into two categories; Manero and Patravi. The first being the elegant, dressy pillar featuring chronographs, perpetual calendars and simple time-and-date watches. The Patravi is the more sporty, or tool-oriented pillar of the brand including the Traveltec (GMT’s, second timezones, world travelers) and the Scubatec (Diver). The new Manero Tourbillon Limited Edition 2016 sits at the very top of the brand’s array of watches for the time being, and offers some features that set it apart from the masses. If you can call tourbillon-equipped watches “the masses”…

The 41.8mm gold case is relatively large for a dress watch, but not overly so compared to other tourbillon watches available. Let’s say it is a modern size for a dress watch, shall we? The white or red gold case houses the handwound CFB T1001 movement, developed and manufactured in-house. As we mentioned in the beginning of the article, more and more of the movements used by the brand are developed and manufactured under the umbrella of Carl F. Bucherer. This handwound caliber features a tourbillon of course, neatly visible through the cut-out in the bottom half of the dial. Besides that whirlwind of a complication, you will find a power reserve at 9, a date wheel surrounding the dial, and a 24-hour display at 12. The Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Limited Edition 2016 is a very usable watch, with practical indications, all integrated into one watch.

The black, brown or silver dial has a sunburst finish with circular pattern on the subdial at 12 and the power reserve gauge. The red gold markers surrounding the dial are shaped like little arrow-heads or little dots in some of the places where there is less space due to an indication. The Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon 2016 will come on a leather strap in either black of brown, depending on the color of the dial, with a matching gold buckle (red or white gold) and will come in a run of 188 pieces.

Specifications of the Carl F. Bucherer Manero Tourbillon Limited Edition 2016

• Movement: Hand-wound, CFB T1001, diameter 33 mm, height 6.2 mm, 35 jewels, power reserve 70h
• Functions: Tourbillon, power reserve, 24-hour display, date, hours, minutes
• Case: diameter 41.80 mm, height 12.58 mm – 18k white gold – double-sided anti-reflective, domed sapphire crystal, case back with sapphire crystal – water resistant up to 30 m (3atm),
• Dial: Black
• Strap: Louisiana alligator leather hand-stitched, folding clasp 18 karat white gold
• Limited Edition: 188 pieces