It started out of frustration as a collector sought a high-quality portable loupe to admire his own collection as well as the replica Rolex watches that were presented to him in stores and at watch exhibitions. With even the very best loupes available on the market exhibiting some degree of optical aberration, the collector could not find one to meet his own exacting standards. So he decided to make his own.

The company now known as Loupe System Ltd. was thus born on this collector’s kitchen table, as he hand made his loupes using optical elements from professional cameras from the 1980s. The first 32 prototypes, using five optical elements arranged in three groups, were presented at Baselworld in 2012 and were quickly snapped up by serious watchmakers like Laurent Ferrier and Romain Gauthier.

Loupe System Model 01 and Model 02 loupes are now available commercially, retailing from 525 US dollars excluding tax. They are designed and built according to the same principles as a camera lens, with each lens covered with several coatings to maximize contrast, colour saturation and colour fidelity and to minimize flare. The complete absence of chromatic aberration and the fact that the loupes can show more detail than the human eye can actually process ensure a crystal clear image at magnifications of three times (for the Model 02) and six times (for the Model 01).

The latest range of accessories, which were on show as prototypes at Baselworld this year, opens up a whole new range of possibilities for this high-end loupe. Mounting cases for the iPhone and iPad allow the loupe to be used for macro photography, a high quality clip can be used for other smartphones and acts as a handy grip, while a rechargeable illuminator with both white and ultraviolet LEDs allows even more stunning close-up photography.

Loupe System Illuminator.
© Loupe System

Loupe System is also reaching out to jewellers and stone traders with its new Model 03 loupe with ten times magnification. It will most likely be sold only in combination with the new ring light system, with the UV light helping to show fluorescence in stones. Of course, it also works great as a macro photography lens for the iPhone and other smart phones!

The Loupe System Model 01 and Model 02 are available fully clad in silicone rubber, with a carbon fibre middle section or a black or brown alligator centre grip. Personalisation is also possible for larger orders. For more information, please visit www.loupesystem.com.

Loupe System case.
© Loupe System Fake Watches

Despite its numerous recent evolutions, the tourbillon remains a central complication in the field of contemporary fake Rolex watchmaking. Whether almost affordable or entirely out of reach, symbolically accurate or genuine instrument of timekeeping, it serves its initial purpose of improving the precision of the gold replica Rolex watches it equips, as well as proving the value of the brands that produce it.

Several models have brought with them dramatic price drops. In the latest episode of this downward spiral, TAG Heuer is working on a chronograph equipped with a tourbillon that is slated to retail at 15,000 Swiss francs – corresponding to around half the current cheapest version.

However, price is not the only parameter that defines a tourbillon. It is however the central element around which the movement, the design and even the name of the model are built. In these circumstances, it becomes a world in its own right comprising numerous variations and interpretations. Baselworld 2015 once again welcomed a series of new timepieces illustrating this diversity.

Hysek places the tourbillon centre stage. In this relatively rare configuration (there are barely more than five of this type), the Io Jumping Hours Tourbillon displays its flying carriage in the middle of the dial, framed by dragging minutes and jumping hours discs.

Hysek Io Jumping Hours Tourbillon.
© David Chokron/Worldtempus

At Bulgari, it is almost invisible, immersed in the transparency dominating the dial of the Tourbillon Saphir Ultranero. Above and beyond its unusual face, this model asserts itself even more powerfully by its incredible case that is all about pillars, protruberances and ultra-powerful visible screws.

Bulgari Tourbillon Saphir Ultranero.
© David Chokron/Worldtempus

Girard-Perregaux also presented a full-black version of its Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges. On this model featuring a black DLC-coated titanium case, matt black bridges straddling a colossal inclined matt black inner bezel ring, along with gold hands and barrel, the tourbillon plays a discreet role serving to inspire a highly expressive overall architectural effect.

Girard Perregaux Neo-Tourbillon with Three Bridges.
© David Chokron/Worldtempus

Conversely, Chopard opts for a fairly classical approach. Its modestly sized 40 mm L.U.C 1963 Tourbillon features a white Grand Feu enamel dial with a protruding tourbillon bridge. It nonetheless embodies a relatively modern interpretation compared with the rest of this elegant cheap fake watches UK.

Chopard L.U.C 1963 Tourbillon.
© David Chokron/Worldtempus

Moreover, this whole field is not merely about appearances, which are sometimes transcended by actual horological substance. That was no easy feat with the Histoire de Tourbillon 6 by Harry Winston. The design of this standout object highlights a triaxial tourbillon at 7 o’clock, housed beneath a sapphire dome. As well as being three-dimensional in all senses of the term, it also shares a ‘flatmate’, since the chronograph part of the model is regulated by a carrousel. The latter variation of the tourbillon serves in this case to literally double the functions, faces and indeed the exclusiveness of this huge, unclassifiable object.

Harry Winston Histoire de Tourbillon 6.
© David Chokron/Worldtempus

At the other end of the weight spectrum, De Bethune owns and uses the lightest tourbillon on the market, weighing a mere 0.18 grams and beating at the rare frequency of 5 Hz. It is fitted inside a DBS Tourbillon celebrating the 10^th anniversary of the eponymous case, which was the first truly exclusive De Bethune design. This light, fast-paced and iconoclastic model is based on an ultra-technical brand-specific approach.

De Bethune DBS Tourbillon.
© David Chokron/Worldtempus

Replica Rolex Watchmaking technique does not always relate to the movement and its mechanical properties. It can also lie in the actual production technologies. The Diamond MasterGraff Structural Tourbillon Skeleton by Graff is graced with such a slender, airy structure – composed of bridges ascending and descending inside a large empty space – that gemsetting these parts is a whole separate issue. The metal from which this movement is made was in fact set with baguette-cut diamonds and only subsequently machined to become a UK Replica ROLEX watch component. Proceeding in the standard opposite way would have destroyed the metal “girder work”, liable to be crushed by the force required to set the stones. Appearances are decidedly deceptive, since this creation looks so very light and yet its very existence is paradoxically made possible by a force that puts it in jeopardy.

Graff Diamond MasterGraff Structural Tourbillon Skeleton.
© David Chokron/Worldtempus