He says he doesn’t really get excited about watches – which is surprising, coming from a man who has done more than most to take their mechanisms, especially the tourbillon, in extraordinary new directions. Then again, for Éric Coudray, who was born in 1965 in Foncine-le-Haut, a small town in the French Jura, it’s all about the mechanics. He chose his profession not out of any sense of vocation but because his father and grandfather were both watchmakers, had managed to make a decent living, and were indoors in the warm during the cold Jura winters. As it turned out, this would be the right choice for someone who describes his work as “tinkering with metal”. A remarkable constructor (someone who develops then builds watch movements), his achievements earned him the 2012 Prix Gaïa in the Craftsmanship-Creation category.
Éric Coudray
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Among contemporary movement constructors, Éric Coudray has done more than most to take watch mechanisms, especially the tourbillon, in extraordinary new directions.
His decision made, Éric Coudray studied first at the École d’Horlogerie in Besançon, then at the Technicum in La Chaux-de-Fonds, where he qualified as a “horloger-rhabilleur”. He completed his watchmaking education restoring antique watches at the Musée International d’Horlogerie, also in La Chaux-de-Fonds, followed by a brief stint back in France, in Versailles, again in restoration. He found his first real job as a watchmaker at Jaeger-LeCoultre in Le Sentier, Vallée de Joux, as well as the sympathetic ear of the Manufacture’s management who were quick to spot the newcomer’s potential. Hired in 1989, Éric Coudray would spend the next 19 years at La Grande Maison, where in 2001 he was given the green light to set up a separate studio developing complications. The Master Réveil, Reverso Minute Repeater and Reverso Retrograde Chronograph were just some of the movements that passed through his hands. However, his tour de force would be the Gyrotourbillon. This double-axis tourbillon in a sphere, combined with a perpetual calendar and an equation of time, sent ripples of amazement through the watch world. Before leaving Jaeger-LeCoultre, Éric Coudray’s parting gift would be a refined version of his invention. The Gyrotourbillon 2, in a Reverso, incorporates a cylindrical balance spring with terminal curves for enhanced isochronism.
A management shakeup brought a change of corporate culture at the head of the Le Sentier firm which prompted Éric Coudray to set off in search of new horizons, arriving at Cabestan where the Winch vertical tourbillon had yet to get off the ground. He came up with the solution but soon got itchy feet. His next adventure would be at TEC Ébauches, a specialist component manufacturer and part of TEC Group, where he arrived in 2016. Éric Coudray let his imagination run riot and conceived of the Spherion, a triple-axis tourbillon rotating on three planes in 8, 16 and 30 seconds, making it the fastest multi-axis tourbillon in the world. It found a home inside the MB&F Legacy Machine Thunderdome. After moving to Purtec, also part of TEC Group, Éric Coudray supercharged the Spherion and in 2021 proposed a double triple-axis tourbillon for Purnell’s Escape II with a special differential for this theatrical construction. The watch industry can be thankful for the cold Jura winters.
1989-2008
Employed by Jaeger-LeCoultre where in 2001 he set up an in-house studio developing complications.
2004
Gyrotourbillon with perpetual calendar and equation of time.
2008
Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 with cylindrical balance spring.
2008
Moved to Cabestan. Completed the movement for the Winch Vertical Tourbillon.
2012
Won the Prix Gaïa in the Craftsmanship-Creation category.
2016
Joined TEC Ébauches, part of TEC Group, in Vallorbe.
2019
Developed the Spherion triple-axis tourbillon, the world’s fastest multi-axis tourbillon, inside the MB&F Legacy Machine Thunderdome.
2021
Moved to Purtec, a movement developer, also part of TEC Group.
2021
Created the Double Spherion for Purnell’s Escape II.
