These two limited edition Perrelet watches go together right? Sure they do, gambling and 007? I am going to be careful and not mention James Bond. Perrelet doesn’t mention James Bond and I don’t think they licensed the right to use that IP franchise. Though apparently “007” was OK to use. The imagery they use however when discussing the Turbine 007 watch on the new Turbine micro-site is strongly evocative of the James Bond theme – without outright saying so. The official name by the way of this watch is the Perrelet Turbine 007 License To Play watch.
Then there is the Perrelet Turbine Poker… which if you have a “license to play,” you can. This piece actual comes in three distinct models. The difference of each? The cards displayed under the turbine. Version 1 (Ref. A4018/1) has random cards and a pair of sevens. Version 2 (Ref. A4018/2) has a pair of sevens and two royal flushes. Version 3 (ref. A4018/3) has a pair of sevens, three kings, three jacks, and a few other random cards. Don’t ask why they are arranged that way (I don’t know).
Unlike the Perrelet Turbine XL America limited edition, these two models use the original Turbine case that is 44mm wide (and does not have the side claws). The Turbine 007 (ref. A8008/1) is done in a steel DLC black coated case with gold-toned elements throughout. The center of the turbine is actual 18k rose gold. License to Play what exactly? I think the watch is cool, but I don’t see the 007 theme in there that much. Perrelet will produce 888 of these.
You can see more information and videos here at Perrelet’s Turbine website. The Turbine Poker has a similarly toned 44mm steel case with a DLC coating. Both models feature Perrelet’s P-181 double rotor automatic movements. These are fun watches, and certainly novelties. Not for everyone, but the right wrists know how to make these timepieces feel at home. Prices are about $6,000 each.
Initially, Perrelet’s dual automatic rotor watches functioned with a rotor on the dial of this watch in addition to on the bottom of the motion (as is the case with most automatic movements). The idea was not only to reference that Perrelet was arguably the inventor of the automatic watch (sources somewhat differ on this point), but also to increase winding efficiency. The double automated rotor concept birthed the Perrelet Turbine which was made by Sebastien Perret (originally, at least) for the Perrelet brand.Perrelet did exactly what most companies with a hit product do, and that’s simply generate a series of models and limited edition models across precisely the exact same theme. Perrelet sort of overdid it using Turbine versions, and that combined with a poor market took out lots of the brand’s momentum. What’s strange is that despite Perrelet’s decent backing in the Festina Group, they’re extremely silent from a marketing standpoint. Why is that important? Well, cash into marketing is a very important element of earning any luxury brand successful today. It simply isn’t enough to have watches in stores anymore.I wrote more about the background of this Perrelet Turbine in this article I linked to above, so let’s get on with this hands-on adventure with all the Perrelet Turbine Skeleton version. There are in fact six versions of it, and this particular model in steel using all the leather strap is called the reference A1081/1A. The case is 44m wide, which makes it a sort of mid sized sized Perrelet Turbine version. You have many of the traditional elements like the PVD black-coated bezel and little “claws” on the bezel as well.The case also has a sort of hidden crown at 3 o’clock. It is not so much hidden, actually, as inset into the face of the case. The crown has a small fold-out manage which you can use to manually wind the watch as well as pull out the crown to correct the moment. The smooth, graceful lines of the Perrelet Turbine instance have always been nice, and I believe that this timepiece collection nevertheless represents an attractive and distinctive appearance.