Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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Girard-Perregaux���s master watchmakers spent four years perfecting the Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon. FLIRTING WITH LADY LUCK For those who love the glamour of Vegas but are bashful bettors, a host of timepieces offer the Strip���s whimsical appeal without the actual play. IN 2012, PERRELET UNVEILED ITS SPECIAL EDITION Turbine Poker watch, which features the brand���s in-house automatic movement with double rotor. Playing cards are showcased on the dial, which sits beneath the signature aesthetic of 12 black turbine blades that rotate as the front rotor, revealing different combinations of cards with every move of the wrist. The 44mm watch is crafted in stainless steel with a black diamondlike carbon finish that, combined with the black turbine blades, offers great contrast to the cards beneath. Other brands that have unveiled cool casino-inspired watches over the past few years include Roger Dubuis, which offers the complete La Mon��gasque line of watches that feature a dial meant to emulate the roulette wheels in a stylistic interpretation; Piaget, with the Piaget Limelight Party watch, which has a casino-motif dial of hearts and spades; and Bell & Ross, with its BR 01 Casino watch, whose roulette-wheel dial actually tells the time inventively, with the zero on the outer ring indicating the hour, the roulette ball on the inner ring the minutes, and the roulette wheel the seconds. The Special Edition Turbine Poker watch ($6,150) from Perrelet. Radiance, Aria, 702-590-8725; perrelet.com ies his idea of the gamble that time represents. The dial of the Vegas watch features the hours, the minutes, and a colorful, working roulette wheel. ���The idea came to me when I was in Las Vegas, totally immersed in the fantasy and flamboyant world of casinos,��� Muller says. ���It turned out that this innovation meant developing a sophisticated, complex mechanism.��� That mechanism was a truly technical advance in watchmaking that was finally made possible by the invention of a patented module added to the movement to make room for the gambling function. To play roulette, the wearer activates a push button coaxial to the crown. This releases a central needle that spins very quickly, then stops randomly on the winning number. Still made today, the watch is considered the forerunner of wrist games. to integrate all the functions and moving parts into the caliber as one movement. The Jackpot Tourbillon consists of more than 500 parts, all of which work in unison to tell time while also operating the slot machine, via a rack that starts and stops the reels and activates the chimes. The rectangular case of this limited-edition watch is fitted with a moveable handle that at first glance is barely noticeable as it connects internally to the rack and wraps around the crown. The fun begins when the wearer pulls the handle (like a slot machine), which slides the rack up. When it reaches its highest point, it starts the three reels spinning and slowly slides back down. About two-thirds of the way down, it activates stoppers that cease the spinning reels one by one and simultaneously triggers the striking mechanism, which chimes like the casino game. "CLIENTS WILL WAIT YEARS FOR ONE OF THESE COMPLICATED TIMEPIECES."���MICHAEL RYAN In 2007, Girard-Perregaux went a few steps further, unveiling its first-ever Vintage 1945 Jackpot Tourbillon, with the game on the dial side of the watch in full view. The spin-till-youwin watch was not only fitted with a tourbillon escapement (the pinnacle in watchmaking feats) but also featured a complete slot machine. To achieve the miniature technology and breathe gaming life into the timepiece, GirardPerregaux���s master watchmakers spent four years perfecting it. The concept was not to fit a game mechanism as an added module into a watch, but The spinning reels are revealed through a row of three apertures at 12. Each reel is fitted with five symbols, offering 125 possible combinations. The symbols���lacquered spades, hearts, diamonds, horseshoes, and the Liberty Bell���are reproductions of those found in the world���s first mechanical slot machine, the Liberty Bell, created in the late 1800s. The only winning jackpot on the wristwatch is three Liberty Bells in a row. Win or lose, a spin on one of these amazing toys for the wrist is a sure bet for any top timepiece connoisseur. V 112 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 110-113_V_Feat_Watches_Spring13.indd 112 2/11/13 12:49 PM