Bob L.
387
Tacking on a Tourbillon
Among the great casual watches out there—and there are many of them—the AP Royal Oak and VC Overseas are two standouts. Comfortable, sporty watches that can be worn in a variety of settings. There is no need to tinker with the Royal Oak Jumbo and Overseas Automatic; they are great just as is.
Yet, tinker away the manufacturers do. They’ve added all sorts of complications—dual time, chronograph, perpetual calendars, and more. And a complication that I enjoy, whether sensible or not, is the tourbillon. So comparing the Royal Oak tourbillon to and Overseas tourbillon is fun task.
To begin with, the Royal Oak tourbillon comes in many varieties—different case sizes, flying vs. “standard,” different colors and dials. For the comparison, I’ve chose the Jumbo (a classic) with the flying tourbillon, also known as the RD#3. It is wonderfully wearable—not too big, fairly thin, and the tourbillon is somewhat subtle, to the extent a tourbillon can be. But the newly designed movement places the tourbillon flush with the dial, so you still get a nice view of the turning carriage.
For the Overseas, I’ve again chosen the classic layout, with the beautiful blue dial. But, unlike the AP, it is bigger than the standard automatic version. Both the dial and and the tourbillon are bolder than those of the AP, making it a bit “flashier.” But it’s a delight to watch in action.
No doubt, many would say that both of these watches are better without the added hole. There is no right or wrong when judging such things, of course. But I think both AP and VC did wonderful jobs with these versions, even if adding a tourbillon to a casual watch is a form of needless tinkering. 
Tacking on a Tourbillon
I understand the attraction of simple, yet special.
I like them both
