Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic Watch Review
The Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic is equipped with a dozen rotating blades adorned with luminescent green arcs. With its COSC-certified movement and 44 mm steel PVD-coated case, can this latest model seduce luxury watch buyers?
Perrelet watch
A long, long time ago, in a sepia-toned age, I was a little boy with few worries. I loved nothing more than visiting my local Odeon cinema, dressed in short pants, clutching a bag of fudge and watching the latest Disney production. It was at this tender age, that I first learnt about hypnosis.
I still vividly recall watching Jungle Book and seeing Kaa, the conniving python, trying desperately to hypnotise little Mowgli. While this was a product of fiction, hypnotic behaviour does sometimes occur in nature. For example, explore the coral cities, located beneath the ocean surface, and you may see cuttlefish at play. Hardly the most attractive creature, the skin of the invertebrate incorporates numerous pigments which are able to evince different colours and patterns on demand. Performing a strobing display, the cuttlefish hypnotises its prey before devouring it!
Hypnotic watch
Perrelet, the historic watch brand founded in 1777, has recently conceived a new model that performs an animated hypnotic dance courtesy of a swirling pattern and a dozen rotating blades. The aptly named Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic employs the same tried and tested twirling system launched by the Maison back in 2009.
Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic dial
Twelve anodised aluminium blades sit beneath the hour, minute and centre seconds hands. With a twist of the wrist, the turbines rotate at dizzying speed with the gaps in between the blades affording sight of the dial, positioned below. The whirling motion of the blades reveals more and more of the lower dial, as if sharing a secret with the wearer. Once the blades come to rest, only fine slivers of the lower dial remain visible.
Usually, the Perrelet’s turbine blades are dressed in black and play a deferential role to the lower dial. They are like curtains which draw back to reveal the performance depicted on the lower surface. However, in this instance, with the Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic, both the blades and the lower dial are adorned with green swirling arcs. When the wearer awakens the turbine, both the blades and lower dial collaborate, entrancing the wearer with a captivating spectacle. Day or night, there’s no escaping the Turbine’s hypnotic spell, courtesy of the green Super-LumiNova gracing the blades and lower dial.
While the Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic brims with fun-filled charm, it remains a highly practical ownership proposition. The white hour and minute hands are fulsome, imparting meaning clearly. White indexes, a combination of plump Arabic numerals and unfussy batons, augment readability. Perrelet has presented the even-numbered indexes (Arabics) on small plinths that partially cantilever over the turbines, introducing a charming play with depths. Once again, the hour and minute hands, together with the indexes, emit a vivid green glow in restricted light.
The centre seconds hand is executed in an ebullient shade of red. It features an openworked counterweight at one end while the opposing tip almost kisses the track framing the display, conferring ease of read-off.
Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic case
Presented in a 44 mm stainless steel case, coated in black PVD, the housing has a stealthy character and acts as a foil for the flamboyant dial’s hypnotic show. When affixed to the wrist, the Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic appears smaller than its stated dimensions would suggest. This is primarily because the watch eschews elongated lugs. The calf leather strap, integrated within the case, features an alligator-style motif and secures to the wrist with a folding clasp.
To the rear of the watch, a pane of sapphire crystal grants sight of the in-house P-331-MH calibre.
Perrelet P-331-MH calibre
Abraham-Louis Perrelet (1729-1826), the founder of the eponymous Maison, will live forever within the annals of watchmaking. Indeed, he developed the first pedometer and famously invented the automatic movement in 1777.
Over the years, Perrelet has had several owners, but in 2004 the company was acquired by the Festina Group, owned by Spanish entrepreneur Miguel Rodriguez. Benefiting from the group’s industrial know-how, Perrelet transitioned from purchasing movements from third-party specialists, becoming a Manufacture in 2012. Seven years later, in 2019, Perrelet unveiled the P-331-MH calibre, the self-winding movement employed within the Turbine Hypnotic.
It is not the first time I have seen the P-331-MH calibre. It has featured in an array of models that I have reviewed over the years, including the Perrelet Turbine Carbon Forest Green, the Perrelet Turbine Carbon Black Edition and Perrelet Turbine Rainbow. Notably precise and robust, there is much wisdom in using this tried and tested in-house movement.
The P-331-MH calibre is chronometer-certified (COSC), providing independent assurance of its timekeeping prowess. To fulfil the requirements of COSC, a movement is subjected to a battery of tests over a 15-day period. Moreover, it is tested in five different positions and at three different temperatures. Throughout the evaluation period, its precision must remain within COSC’s stipulated range of -4 and +6 seconds per day.
Perrelet has also submitted the movement to the Laboratoire Dubois, an independent organisation that simulates wear by subjecting the watch head to an ‘ageing cycle’. Moreover, the timepiece is exposed to shocks and magnetism, widely considered horological foes. I’ve written extensively on this movement in much detail, should you wish to learn more about the Chronofiable certification.
The oscillating weight runs on ball bearings, mitigating friction and wear. The felloe of the rotor, the bulkiest part of the weight, runs in a trottoir, a channel that encircles the bridges. This feature reduces movement thickness. The trottoir is embellished with colimaçon, the rotor is grained and the bridges are adorned with perlage.
Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic – closing remarks
A few weeks ago, while visiting Geneva, I was given the opportunity to get hands-on with the Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic. Despite the watch being new, there was also a welcome familiarity to its composition. The hands, indexes, case and movement were like long lost friends; I know them well and once again felt at ease in their company. The Swiss marque has shrewdly kept these proven components.
However, the turbines and lower dial were unfamiliar. This seductive duo repeatedly flirted with my emotions and toyed with my perceptions of reality. Highly original, they don’t detract from the model’s time-telling talents, but then again, I’m not sure if I’ve fallen under the model’s hypnotic spell….
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: Perrelet Turbine Hypnotic
- Reference: A4063/C
- Case: stainless steel with black PVD coating, diameter 44 mm, height 13.82 mm, water resistance 5 ATM (50 m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, centre sweep seconds
- Movement: Perrelet in-house calibre P-331-MH, self-winding movement, frequency 28,800vph (4Hz), 25 jewels, power reserve (fully wound) = 42 hours, Chronofiable and COSC-certified
- Strap: black leather strap with alligator pattern, rubber lining and folding buckle in black PVD steel
- Price: €4,880 (RRP as of 14.5.2024)