Van Bricht Old Mind Tourbillon Review

NoH · 2019-08-31T12:09:22Z

Explore the Van Bricht Old Mind Tourbillon: design, movement transparency, and collector debate on this new independent brand. See photos and insights.

I quite like it. Especially the guilloche pattern...

Photo credit Van Bricht on Instagram.

Photo credit Hodinkee.

I don’t know a whole lot about the chosen movement, so not sure how to assess the value other than rarity and general support of a new brand looking to make a name for themselves in an interesting (visually anyway) manner, though at this price range there are many many alternatives on the market... #confused! ;p

Thoughts?

All the best,
Niall

Key Points from the Discussion

The design elements like the lack of a bezel, box crystal, and moiré guilloché are commendable, but the simple hands and case could be improved with faceting, polishing, or a more integrated design.
There is a strong desire for transparency regarding the base caliber used by Van Bricht, as collectors expect honesty from new companies, especially when starting with a complex tourbillon.
The base movement supplier was initially identified as TEC Ebauches, and later BCP, but the company's shifting statements and claims about in-house production, followed by deleted Instagram posts, raised concerns about transparency and trust among collectors.
A meeting with Bernard, one of the founders, revealed inspiration from a family Patek pocket watch with a Réaumur temperature device and confirmed a workshop visit later in the year.
The Van Bricht team clarified that the movement is provided by an independent supplier near La Chaux-de-Fonds, fully reworked and hand-finished by Van Bricht, with unique hand decoration making each movement distinct.
The minimal bezel design, allowing the dial to fill the case, is a particularly appreciated aesthetic choice by the talented young Belgian founders.

The Discussion

sham1

Aug 31, 2019

by two very talented young Belgian men. I wish them much success as it is a very competitive market out there. I particularly like how the bezel is kept to a minimum so what we get is a dial filling up the case.

robsallnow

Aug 31, 2019

only thing I'd change is the typeface of the name on the dial

jmpTT

Aug 31, 2019

Big fan of Ressence, so I’m happy to see the Belgian scene grow out. I like the creative elements brought to the design by the young team, including the lack of a bezel, the box crystal and the moire guilloche pattern. The hands appear to be simple. If they could be faceted or polished to a mirror finish, legibility would be improved. I would like to see some alternatives to the very simple crown and case. While it works by blending into the background, it doesn’t seem like a perfect match for t

NoH

Aug 31, 2019

Fully agree, (also with the other comments!) and am especially appreciative of the points you made that I had not considered. I wonder what could be done to improve on the prototype design to meet these points... Am thinking about it, though not sure I’ll be happy enough to move fast enough to secure one of the 25 pieces. I do like that they have the balls to do this type of piece in order to shine a light on their new brand. And to hint at what may be to come in the future... All the best, Nial

Tim Jackson

Aug 31, 2019

Lovely looking tourbillon watch. Having spent a few mins reading about them, their website, IG etc. I applaud their initial effort. One thing that I'd appreciate though is a bit more transparency from the company as to what movement they are using from Switzerland, because their is no way this was from scratch. In this day and age I think collectors expect and deserve a bit more. Good to see young blood though entering the fray! Cheers, Tim

NoH

Sep 1, 2019

Yes, more info on the movement would be great! Only thing available was the calibre reference, but I’ve not been able to find any more out.

Key Points from the Discussion

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