Nebula by Titan has introduced the “JALSA” Tourbillon, “a monumental tribute to Indian heritage and horological excellence.” Nebula – a premium sub-brand of India’s Titan Company Limited (“Titan”) – makes 18K and 22K solid gold jewellery watches for men and women.
The “JALSA” Tourbillon is Titan’s second flying tourbillon model, the first being the guilloché dial model featuring an off-centre indication for hours and minutes and a flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock.
The “JALSA” Tourbillon pays tribute to 225 years of Jaipur’s Hawa Mahal and marks Titan’s entry into the world of global haute horology.
“With JALSA, we are not just launching a watch — we are presenting a cultural artefact. It is a rare fusion of India’s artistic magnificence and watchmaking mastery, brought to life by our teams with unrelenting passion. As we present JALSA to the world at GPHG, we do so with pride — for India, for Titan, and for everything we carry within us.” – C. K. Venkataraman, Managing Director, Titan Company Limited.
Key Features
Functions
Image: The magnifying glass is part of the minutes hand, rotating clockwise around the dial allowing the wearer to have a magnified view of Sri Shakir Ali’s miniature artwork. Personally I would prefer the dial without it. Not sure what the white strip inside the sapphire crystal hands are.
Central hours and minutes.
Small seconds on tourbillon – indicated by the flying tourbillon bridge shaped as a “T” – the brand’s logo.
Flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock.
Dial
Image: A Métiers d’Art dial from India. I would love to see Titan develop a Métiers d’Art collection – simple time-only watches – showcasing a selection of India’s heritage and beauty on their dials, created by Indian artists, and powered by a world class movement developed by them.
Hand painted marble dial by Sri Shakir Ali, an Indian artist renowned for his Mughal and Persian miniature paintings. It depicts a royal procession at the Hawa Mahal, created using natural gemstone pigments and techniques that go back a few hundred years.
Sword shaped hour and minute hands are made from sapphire crystal. The minute hand comprises of a round magnifying glass.
Movement
Image: The bridges are inlaid with red agate, a gemstone.
Powered by calibre 7TH2, a manually wound in-house flying tourbillon movement. It drives the hours, minutes, and small seconds on tourbillon.
Parts: 144 “hand-finished components.” Jewels: 14. Frequency: 28,800 vph or 4 Hz. Power reserve: 36 hours.
Image: Titan’s flying tourbillon model launched last year to mark the brand’s 40th anniversary with its inner and outer guilloché dials. Notice the similar movement architecture of its calibre 7TH1 with that of the “JALSA” Tourbillon’s calibre 7TH2. The image on the right shows a Titan watchmaker working on the 7TH1. Notice its off-centre driven hours and minutes display.
Based on images, calibre 7TH2 has the same movement architecture as calibre 7TH1, which powers the brand’s 40th anniversary flying tourbillon model. The main difference being that the former has centrally driven hours and minutes, whereas the latter has off-centre driven hours and minutes.
Movement finishing: The bridges are cut in red agate, a gemstone. Titan states that the movement features 9 levels of decorative finishing.
4 Hz (28,800 VPH) is a modern beat rate that delivers more stable and accurate timekeeping. It is considered a high frequency for a tourbillon, many of which beat at a slower rate of 2.5 Hz (18,000 vph), 2.75 Hz (19,800 vph), and 3 Hz (21,600 VPH). (Please click here, here, and here to read our coverage on various tourbillons that beat at 3 Hz.) Examples of tourbillons that beat at 4 Hz are the Frederique Constant Classic Tourbillon Manufacture, the piece unique ArtyA Genève Curvy Purity Tourbillon Ruby, and IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph. Though there is no such rule, I would have preferred the calibre 7TH2 to beat at a slower rate of 2.5 Hz to 3 Hz. In my opinion it would better reflect the luxurious nature of the watch as depicted by the artwork on its dial – a procession featuring a maharaja on an elephant outside the Hawa Mahal – a palace built in 1799 whose name translates to “palace of winds” (it is also a palace of windows).
Case
Image: The red agate middle ring contrasts well with the 18K rose gold sections. I like how the 3-part construction creates the hollow lugs, giving the watch an element of lightness.
The case is made from 18K rose gold and red agate. It is a 3-part construction. The red agate middle ring is “wrapped” between both the 18K rose gold front and caseback sections.
Red agate “mirrors the striking sandstone-red architecture that defines Jaipur. Once cherished by Rajasthan’s royals, red agate was believed to offer protection, strength, and vitality – making it not just ornamental, but powerful.”
Case diameter: 43.50 mm. Thickness: 14.45 mm. Dial side and caseback feature a sapphire crystal. Water resistant up to 5 ATM or approximately 50 metres. The watch comes with a genuine alligator leather strap fitted to a deployant clasp made from gold-plated stainless steel.
Our Thoughts
My late mother was a Titan authorised retailer in Kolkata from the mid-1990’s to early 2000’s. Titan had a positive impact on our lives, for which I am forever grateful. It’s a company I have grown to love and respect. Hence, I find it difficult to write about them without a hint of bias.
I was intrigued when they launched the Flying Tourbillon last year to celebrate their 40th anniversary and pleasantly surprised with the newly launched Nebula by Titan “JALSA” Tourbillon. I have always wanted Titan to enter the world of haute horology and often wondered what took them so long.
Titan mentions that their flying tourbillon movement is “in-house” – often a misleading term. The global watchmaking industry would not function without an ecosystem of specialists and suppliers. I assume that Titan would have sought inputs from a movement specialist – most likely one in Switzerland – to help develop its first flying tourbillon calibre. Moving forward, they might require more specialist expertise as they seek to develop movements with other complications and grand complications.
Image: Red agate is known to offer healing and other benefits. Notice the Titan logo embossed on the crown.
The “JALSA” Tourbillon is less about the “tourbillon” itself and more about what it represents for the company moving forward. It shows that Titan has the intent to create haute horology watches for a discerning audience. My desire for them is to create a premium brand (Nebula not appropriate for what I am suggesting) for haute horology watches, similar to what Seiko achieved with Grand Seiko and Credor. A good start would be to have both a world class manually wound and automatic movement – powering models (with or without date) with beautiful dials and housed in stainless steel, precious metals, and perhaps even titanium cases – appealing to a global audience. These movements can be used as a base for future complications, such as a moon phase, retrograde date function, and a complete or annual calendar. Moving forward they can even add a perpetual calendar to their lineup. Developing an in-house column wheel chronograph movement would test their mettle as a watchmaker. Titan has the resources to make all this happen.
Titan wants to enter the “JALSA” Tourbillon in the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) awards ceremony later this year. I suppose they would seek a nomination either in the Tourbillon Watch category or Artistic Crafts category. We at The Cornea Impression wish them all the best.
Additional Details
Name: Nebula by Titan “JALSA” Tourbillon
Price: Indian Rupees (INR) 40,50,000 / (approximately) USD$ 47,000
Limited edition of 10 pieces.
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