Hands-On with the Ciga Design Central Tourbillon Mount Everest Homage Edition

How about a watch equipped with a flying tourbillon mounted in the center, surrounded by a stone dial, and housed in a titanium case? A watch that is powered by a mechanical movement that offers an impressive 120-hour power reserve. While this may sound like something that will set you back the price of a new Porsche, it can be yours for $3,600, and that will probably make you wonder where the catch is.

The watch we are talking about here is the Ciga Design Central Tourbillon Mount Everest Homage Edition, which is proudly made in China. While this may sound like the catch you were looking for, it is actually the watch’s strength. Ciga Design decided to pay homage to the 70th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953. As the China-Nepal border runs through the summit, it makes it a logical topic for a Chinese brand. They really went the extra mile, as a team from Ciga Design visited the most famous mountain in the world together with Zhang Liang. Liang is the first Chinese mountaineer who accomplished the Explorers Grand Slam, which not only includes climbing the seven highest summits in the world, but also includes reaching both the North and South Pole. At Mount Everest, Ciga Design’s chief designer personally selected the rock of which the dials of the Central Tourbillon Mount Everest Homage Edition would be made.   

Making 47mm wearable

When it comes to watches, one should never focus just on numbers without experiencing them in the metal. This Ciga Design has a diameter of 47mm, which sounds quite imposing for someone with a modestly sized 7″ wrist like myself. However, as it lacks any lugs, it wears more like a 42mm watch. What also plays a vital role in this is that the height is a mere 13mm, and the weight is kept down by the extensive use of titanium. Ciga Design has actually made 47mm wearable for a rather regular watch enthusiast like myself.

The very high degree of wearing comfort is also thanks to the rubber strap, for which Ciga Design constructed a special system to attach it to the case. The texture is the same as the stone dial, and an emblem marks that this is the Mount Everest Homage Edition. A well-designed butterfly clasp with the Ciga Design logo keeps the watch firmly in place. While the elaborate strap connection to the case works very well, it does limit you to only being able to use straps provided by Ciga Design. That being said, the rock-textured strap is such a nice match to the rest of the watch that I can’t imagine anything else suiting equally well.

Climbing Details

Ciga Design knew that they were making a statement piece, so they went all in. This starts with the titanium case, in which the caseback is screwed. There we find a saying from Sir Edmund Hillary stating, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves,” in high relief font. The case combines polished and satin-brushed finishes with the bezel cleverly marking the hours. The stone dial is kept clean except for the silhouette of Mount Everest underneath with it, its height in meters. It is luminous so that it will light up at night. The same goes for small triangles into the two pickaxes that form the hour and minute hand. The circle around the opening for the flying central tourbillon has a ring around it that mentions that this is the 70th-anniversary edition of the first ascent of Mount Everest. The pickaxes are engraved with the words ‘courage’ and ‘exploration,’ while the minute hand features the flags of the United Nations, India, Nepal, and Great Britain, the first four flags that were ever placed on the summit of Mount Everest, in miniature. It really sets a theme and adds an additional cool factor to the watch.

The sapphire crystal is placed higher than the case, protecting it from potential damage, but here too, Ciga Design’s eye for detail is evident. The sapphire crystal is rounded on the edges, making it kind for clothing and pleasant to the touch, with less risk of chipping.

Catching the catch

So far there hasn’t been any sign of a catch that would make this Ciga Design less worthy of our admiration. It must be then the movement. While high-end Chinese-made watches still suffer from the country’s well-known capability of producing bulk for less, they are in a league of their own. When I put the Central Tourbillon Mount Everest Homage Edition on my timing machine I was pleased to see that in every position I could place it in, it ran well within Chronometer standards. That is quite an accomplishment, as tourbillons can be quite challenging to regulate properly. While the finishing is not at the level of say, an Omega De Ville Central Tourbillon, its price tag also doesn’t come even close to make this a fair comparison. For the money, the finishing is quite pleasing, even under magnification. When looking past the central tourbillon inside the movement, you even get a glimpse of engine-turned bridges. The main plate is kept quite solid, and although the text in relief looks nice, you do wonder what is underneath.

The only glimpse that you get, other than the back side of the tourbillon, is of part of the mainspring barrel. While I would have preferred a power reserve meter, it does get the job done. Winding the watch is a pleasure, thanks to the crown, which is nicely grooved. The Central Tourbillon Mount Everest Homage Edition is fitted with an overwind protection system, and you can hear and feel the mainspring slipping, indicating that you have reached the full 120 hours of power reserve.  

For the future

While this watch might not be to everybody’s taste, the concept is very well incorporated in nearly every detail of the watch. For Ciga Design it represents their own ascent of the horological Mount Everest. They have proved with the GPHG-winning Blue Planet, that they can also evolve an innovative concept, and what if they did the same with this Central Tourbillon? Imagine it with a dial made from aventurine or malachite, and a movement that is slightly more open worked. Especially at a comparable price point that would make for some incredible and hard-to-resist watches.

I expect that Chinese watchmaking will, within the next few years, consolidate its place within the high-quality watch world. This anticipation is based on what I see and experience with watches like this Ciga Design. Their creativity in design and eye for detail makes a difference, especially as they combine this with quality movements that offer a performance that can compete with their Swiss and Japanese counterparts in both precision and power reserve. In fact, there is no reason not to buy this Ciga Design. Especially when you are looking for a unique piece that can easily start a conversation, from the perspective of both design as well as its movement, this is a watch for you.   

For more info, visit Ciga Design, here.