BASELNEWSFRANC VILA unveiled in Baselword 2009 a new version in orange Lightnium
Continuing his aim to bring together sport, state of the art engineering, architecture and modern art, Franc Vila has created a deep and vibrant contemporary blue version of his impressive skeleton tourbillon movement FV Nº 6, aesthetically inspired by contemporary art. FVa Nº 6 Tourbillon Planétaire Skeleton SuperLigero Concept was first introduced in Baselworl 2008. Its movement has been built for the first time ever in a Lithium-based alloy christened ”lightnium”. This new material is an extremely low density metal, formerly reserved for state of the art aeronautical engineering. It’s main characteristics are lightness combined with high tensile strength, allowing for structural weight reduction and an increase in the elasticity of the module.
Strong architectural design
Designed to be shock and stress resistant, FVa Nº 6 Tourbillon Planétaire Skeleton SuperLigero Concept is the result not only of an intense quest for aesthetics, but also of technical prowess. The creation of a movement with these characteristics in a material with these properties has led FRANC VILA to seek inspiration in disciplines not traditionally related to High-End Watchmaking. The structural design of the mechanism has its roots in modern architecture. By using an extremely low density material and reducing the movement to its minimum expression, it is made into a skeleton. All the while, maximum stability of the system is ensured by allowing the movement to be rigid enough to stand up to the stresses of the gear train, barrel and tourbillon thereby ensuring perfect performance. The lightness of this new material means that the movement is less affected by inertial forces. This advantage, combined with its strong architectural design, make this tourbillon the strongest and sportiest skeleton watch in it’s category.
Inspired by contemporary art
The staging of an aesthetic clearly inspired by contemporary art is a clear expression of the artistic background of the founder of the brand. We see this in the back of the movement and the impressive cage of the tourbillon which is constructed in coloured Lightnium and decorated with the logo of the firm. This timepiece is without doubt the most impressive proof to date of the artistic and technical sensibility of Franc Vila. He once again pushes his ethos to the maximum by creating a calibre which, while being a skeleton, maintains the characteristic “Esprit Unique” shape which gives all his creations their strong and unmistakable identity.
In the words of Franc Vila, “most skeleton watches are highly traditional machines, featuring ornate engraving and classical motifs in the style of Rococo Art. They don’t take care of the architecture of the movement. I wanted to create a contemporary skeleton tourbillon which evokes the senses with clear influences of contemporary art, design and modern architecture”.
Technically, the movement has 5 days of reserve power. It’s regulatory organ is a flying tourbillon which is equipped with the “Inertial Moment Control”. This control constantly and precisely regulates the tourbillon. A differential system of planetary gears allows a fast planetary winding function effectively reducing by two-thirds the number of turns needed to wind the watch.
The creation of FVa Nº 6 Tourbillon Planétaire Skeleton SuperLigero Concept places High-End Watchmaking on the crossroads of contemporary art, architecture, craftsmanship and advanced engineering, all of which come together in a high performance watch with the impressive naked beauty of a skeleton mechanism beating inside of it: this is modern art with all of its intense emotions.