Remy Cools Tourbillon Atelier

[Ichiran]

The name Remy Cools first surfaced in 2018 when he won the FP Journe Young Talent Competition with his Mechanica Tempus Pendulette Tourbillon desk clock.

After graduating from Lycée Edgar Faure in 2018, Cools went to Greubel Forsey, where he worked on the Hand Made 1.

In 2019, Cools left Greubel Forsey and started his workshop on the shores of Lake Annecy, about 25 miles south of Geneva.

His first watch, the Souscription Tourbillon, features a 40mm stainless steel case that measures 15.5mm in thickness. 9 were made and they were sold. From Hodinkee - "The Souscription Tourbillon is finely finished throughout, with Cools using a number of techniques, including black polish, circular brushing, and sand-blasting. Of all the components, Cools says that manufacturing the wheels is the most difficult. He hand cuts every tooth on each wheel, each of which requires hundred of manipulations on the lathe. To give you an idea of scope, the center wheel alone has 80 teeth. And if you finish cutting the wheel but then mess up the anglage or circular graining? The entire piece is scrapped and it's back to the beginning."

His second watch, Tourbillon Atelier is a more compact 39mm diameter and a slimmer 12mm thickness. It is only released in a platinum case with a choice of rose or yellow gold dial. All parts are hand-finished in his workshop including the spoke of each wheel. A total of 36 will be made over 3 years at a pace of 12 per year, with the price set at EUR 159,000 (or S$255,000 with tax). It was released in November 2023 and I took a long time to deliberate on it because of the hefty price tag. Eventually my heart wins and hopefully my AD is able to deliver one for me. I simply love the finishing and the stunning aesthetics. I hope this thread could be updated with a photo of the watch on my wrist in the coming years.
https://www.remycools.com/timepieces.html

[charger_vital]

I hope you enjoy it. Post some pics when you get it.

[1William]

I like it.

[brandrea]

Wow Michael, you really dive deep into these brands; I’m so impressed with your knowledge.

I hope yours lands sooner than expected. Looks like it’ll be well worth the wait

[Ichiran]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Wow Michael, you really dive deep into these brands; I’m so impressed with your knowledge.

I hope yours lands sooner than expected. Looks like it’ll be well worth the wait

Thanks! My taste in watches evolves along the journey and I'm broadly buying what I like now

[WatchEater666]

I like his frosting style. The pic of the front doesn't do it justice.

[ChetBaker]

That’s a very charming piece. Congrats.

[Guppydriver]

Very clean dial. I love the simplicity of the dial combined with the complexity of the tourb.

[llngoc]

Hope to hear good news from you. This was high on my list but the price jump from souscription to platinum was too much to bear for my budget. Beautiful piece! And good luck.

[Ichiran]

Remy just replied my IG message. He said all 36 have been allocated.

I still hope to receive one from my AD. This is such a bummer.

[FrugalGreubel]

Originally Posted by Ichiran

Remy just replied my IG message. He said all 36 have been allocated.

I still hope to receive one from my AD. This is such a bummer.

Damn that’s a bummer. Hopefully the AD route works out. Send him another message saying even number allocations need to come to an end and he should have a run of 37 instead so you can get yours.

[Ichiran]

Originally Posted by FrugalGreubel

Damn that’s a bummer. Hopefully the AD route works out. Send him another message saying even number allocations need to come to an end and he should have a run of 37 instead so you can get yours.

Is there a grief support group for watches - I need one. But then again I'm getting used to it after missing AK-06, PB 2941, RP1, Vincent Deprez Tourbillon Classique, Tourbillon à Paris, and now this...

[FrugalGreubel]

Originally Posted by Ichiran

Is there a grief support group for watches - I need one. But then again I'm getting used to it after missing AK-06, PB 2941, RP1, Vincent Deprez Tourbillon Classique, Tourbillon à Paris, and now this...

Damn…that’s quite a list. I feel for you. Really hoping you’re able to get the Remy Cools. You’d definitely appreciate and enjoy that watch more than most. You have a backup watch you’re thinking of trying to get if this one doesn’t work out?

[Ichiran]

Originally Posted by FrugalGreubel

Damn…that’s quite a list. I feel for you. Really hoping you’re able to get the Remy Cools. You’d definitely appreciate and enjoy that watch more than most. You have a backup watch you’re thinking of trying to get if this one doesn’t work out?

No there is no back up. Such watches are not easy to come by. I should have placed an order earlier.

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by Ichiran

Is there a grief support group for watches - I need one. But then again I'm getting used to it after missing AK-06, PB 2941, RP1, Vincent Deprez Tourbillon Classique, Tourbillon à Paris, and now this...

This just happened to me with Kari’s Tourbillon. I contacted Kari and the last one was available but since I have always worked through my AD and I would like to stay loyal to them, I asked to work through them. But Kari preferred to work direct for this piece and it is now all sold out. But I am sure there will be more fantastic pieces coming our way.

I am not surprised it is all sold out since it was over a year ago which I found out I could not fit the price of this platinum piece into my budget. Really like the improved design with the thinner movement.

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by Ichiran

No there is no back up. Such watches are not easy to come by. I should have placed an order earlier.

You don’t need any backup anymore
I am sure they are all icing on the cake now

[FrugalGreubel]

Originally Posted by Ichiran

No there is no back up. Such watches are not easy to come by. I should have placed an order earlier.

Yea that’s the problem. There’s just so few of them and it’s not always so easy to reach out right away and try and get one. These are after all not small purchases lol. Well there’s still a chance your AD can get you one. Hopefully it’ll all work out.

[FrugalGreubel]

Originally Posted by llngoc

This just happened to me with Kari’s Tourbillon. I contacted Kari and the last one was available but since I have always worked through my AD and I would like to stay loyal to them, I asked to work through them. But Kari preferred to work direct for this piece and it is now all sold out. But I am sure there will be more fantastic pieces coming our way.

I am not surprised it is all sold out since it was over a year ago which I found out I could not fit the price of this platinum piece into my budget. Really like the improved design with the thinner movement.

Sorry the Kari didn’t work out. It was nice of you to stick by your AD. They better appreciate you.

[Ichiran]

Originally Posted by llngoc

You don’t need any backup anymore
I am sure they are all icing on the cake now

I'm looking to add an artisanal tourbillon. Maybe one is coming but I'm really not sure. The game has gotten very interesting in the past 5 years. New watchmakers new watches but availability is the biggest nightmare.

[Ichiran]

Originally Posted by FrugalGreubel

Yea that’s the problem. There’s just so few of them and it’s not always so easy to reach out right away and try and get one. These are after all not small purchases lol. Well there’s still a chance your AD can get you one. Hopefully it’ll all work out.

Thanks I hope so too
I will stop watching his videos for the time being.

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by Ichiran

I'm looking to add an artisanal tourbillon. Maybe one is coming but I'm really not sure. The game has gotten very interesting in the past 5 years. New watchmakers new watches but availability is the biggest nightmare.

Maybe Simon? I told him his next complication should be a tourbillion and he just smiled

[FrugalGreubel]

Originally Posted by llngoc

Maybe Simon? I told him his next complication should be a tourbillion and he just smiled

Can I get one too lol? I still never heard back from them after I made two separate inquiries and all I received were boilerplate/automatic responses.

At this point I’m assuming there’s 0 chance of getting any of the Chronomètre Artisans Editions but I’d happily get whatever he does next. I just wish there was a way to get in touch him besides flying there in person which is not feasible for me.

Tell him there’s a random stranger on a watch forum whose desperately tying to get one of his watches. Kevin O’Leary doesn’t need any more lol.

[adamegret]

How would you list and rank the ways of getting one of these independents’ pieces? 1. Meet and greet them in person 2. Be a famous collector 3. Be really fast and aggressive in emailing them?

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by adamegret

How would you list and rank the ways of getting one of these independents’ pieces? 1. Meet and greet them in person 2. Be a famous collector 3. Be really fast and aggressive in emailing them?

You need all three.

Or a lot of luck. I got lucky with Simon as he worked at MB&F so we have some common topics to discuss. But it seems like he’s also preferring to meet his prospective collector now too.

I also tried to get a Xhevdet and was referred by a friend who’s already on the order book. It was a no go, it seems like he only consider someone who he’d met personally now.

[kunlun]

Have you guys tried sending flowers and chocolate?

Go old school, write them a poem.

[FrugalGreubel]

Originally Posted by kunlun

Have you guys tried sending flowers and chocolate?

Go old school, write them a poem.

I’ll get real weird if it means I’ll get an allocation lol.

[llngoc]

Originally Posted by kunlun

Have you guys tried sending flowers and chocolate?

Go old school, write them a poem.

I can offer my first born

But I may never hear back from the watchmaker anymore

[Ichiran]

Originally Posted by FrugalGreubel

At this point I’m assuming there’s 0 chance of getting any of the Chronomètre Artisans Editions but I’d happily get whatever he does next. I just wish there was a way to get in touch him besides flying there in person which is not feasible for me.

I believe everyone will get it. Yesterday I spoke to another collector who was allocated the steel version. Please message Simon in IG.

[Ichiran]

Originally Posted by llngoc

Maybe Simon? I told him his next complication should be a tourbillion and he just smiled

A few watchmakers are making a tourbillon but I'm not sure about Simon. Anyway if we are not one of the 12 who got the Souscription, it will be impossible to get his next complications. Doobooloo gets everything he wants.

[FrugalGreubel]

Originally Posted by Ichiran

I believe everyone will get it. Yesterday I spoke to another collector who was allocated the steel version. Please message Simon in IG.

That would be nice but I’m pretty pessimistic about my chances.

Do you mean the main Simon Brette IG page? Or something else?