Perrelet Turbine Pilot 48mm Blue Dial

The “Turbine” series was first presented at Baselworld 2009 and upon its appearance, it sparked great interest, but also a tremendous polarization of opinions in watchmaking circles. If nothing else, it gave critics and analysts a reason to wag their tongues. Reviews, articles, comparisons, and what not followed in all sorts of known and unknown publications. The bombshell had been dropped. And Perrelet did not hesitate to ride the wave and to exploit to the fullest both the effect it caused and the good product. All sorts of variations on the Turbine theme followed – colors, sizes, limited editions – for all tastes, even the most eccentric, and audiences. Personally, we think that in some cases they simply overdid it and went beyond the bounds of decency, as for example with the Erotic series, where erotic illustrations are hidden under the turbine, but – as we have been convinced time and again – “there's a passenger for every train”. Initially, the series had a case size of 44 mm, and subsequently, in 2012, the Turbine XL was launched in an impressive 50 mm and the Turbine Diver in its 47.5 mm and 300 m water resistance. The turbine owes its origin to Perrelet's Double Rotor system, which was patented by the brand in 1995 and became one of Perrelet's signature features. As you can easily guess from the name, the system includes two rotors – one in the usual place for automatic movements, on the back of the movement, and the other, an additional rotor, is located on its front side, using the P-181 movement as a base. For the first Turbine model, launched in 2009, Perrelet used the Double Rotor principle, but replaced the front rotor with a turbine consisting of twelve blades. Later, the brand separated the turbine from the rear rotor, thus making the rotation of the “propeller” with every movement of the hand much more prolonged, and the overall effect much more appealing. The first thing that catches the eye of anyone who looks at this watch is, of course, the turbine itself. Unlike the series' diver turbines, which more closely resemble a submarine's propeller – with their slightly curved blades, on this watch the look is classic – “that of a jet engine”, and the number of blades is classic for the brand – 12. The blades themselves are in tone with the main color of the watch – black – and are set in motion with ease even with the slightest movement of the wrist. The hour and minute hands are large, massive, and again coated with a generous amount of Super-LumiNova, while the seconds hand is finished in blue. The model presented today is the new version of the pilot series of models launched in 2014. At first glance, it might sound confusing – a pilot's watch with this turbine on the dial?! But Perrelet has gone to great lengths to ensure the model's functionality and thus refute any doubts. The main, or so-called “base”, dial in this case is matte black with blue accents, and this allows the details of the blade to stand out well, and when it spins, the blue elements become visible. The bezel is movable and is operated by a separate crown at 3 o'clock, and in addition, there is an inner flange on the dial, intended for aviation calculations. The case measures 48 mm by 13.48 mm and despite its impressive size, the watch sits quite snugly on the wrist, thanks to the slightly curved case towards the practically non-existent bezel. The strap has a front part of high-quality crocodile leather, while the inner part is rubber, and this combines very well with the steel case of the watch and fits its lugs with absolute precision – the impression is truly that of a single whole. At the heart of the watch beats the automatic P331-MH movement, which powers the newer models in the Turbine collection. Through the transparent sapphire case back, you can enjoy this movement with Perrelet's now-signature decoration – the traditional Côtes de Genève, countless “P”s on the bridges, the skeletonized rotor with the brand's logo, etc.