Hands-On Arcturus Lion City 2 Vanda Tourbillon Review
DON’T BUY A CHINESE TOURBILLON! At least, that’s what I constantly hear people say. And while I think that this advice is born out of good intentions, I don’t necessarily agree with it. At least fully. Let me tell you why I think the Arcturus Lion City 2 Vanda Tourbillon is the exception to this rule.
When you see a brand offering a watch with a tourbillon for $1,000 or $2,000 and not tens of (or even hundreds of) thousands of dollars, that is typically a sign that the brand is using a Chinese made tourbillon movement. And I have to say, that most watches with Chinese tourbillons are not well made or exciting. I see all of these low quality watches being sold on AliExpress. No matter the brand, they all seem like the same watch with the same case and dial and tourbillon movement, just with a different name slapped on. This is just making a watch with a tourbillon to make a watch with a tourbillon.
But every once in a while, a brand will take a Chinese tourbillon movement and do something unique and interesting with it. A few years ago Aventi did so, and now Singapore-based Arcturus is doing so with the Lion City 2 Vanda Tourbillon, which just launched on Kickstarter. While the Vanda Tourbillon is available with a number of different dial finishes, I reviewed the aventurine dial, which is probably my favorite among the collection.
Before we get into the watch aesthetically, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. That is, the tourbillon movement. The LC-2 Vanda Tourbillon runs on a manually wound Chinese-made Peacock SL-5200 Flying Tourbillon with 48-hours of power reserve and a frequency of 21,600VPH. The standard Peacock SL-5200 has an accuracy of +/- 10 seconds to +/- 20 seconds, but Arcturus has further regulated the movement to +/- 10 seconds. The tourbillon, which is displayed at 6 o’clock is the only part of the movement exposed dial side. On the caseback the movement is partially exposed, with the topside closed and displaying an engraving of Singapore's national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim. The part of the movement displayed through the caseback is finished well, if nothing extraordinary. It is definitely not on par with the movement finishing you would get on a Swiss tourbillon. But then again, you aren’t paying Swiss tourbillon prices. And I think Arcuturus was smart only displaying a portion of the movement, and opting for a semi-closed caseback.
Now the big question mark regarding a Chinese tourbillon is what do you do if the movement breaks down or servicing is needed. Well, Arcuturus actually has an answer for that. The brand is promising a 2 year international guaranty, plus they will cover 50% of all repair work needed for the subsequent 10 years after that. That gives me a lot of comfort. And as long as the brand is around, you should feel confident with your purchase.
Now, let’s get into the actual design of the watch. When you look at the LC-2 on a whole, it really resembles a much more expensive De Bethune. I personally see hints of the DB16 Tourbillon, DB28 Tourbillon and DB25T in the design, and indeed many people who saw the watch while I was wearing it asked if it was a De Bethune. However, the obvious difference between the two watches is the case. While they are both cushion-esque, the LC-2 doesn’t have the articulating, skeletonized lugs De Bethune is known for.
Speaking of the case, it’s a sizable 44mm, however it wears a bit smaller due to the small lugs. As such, it is 50mm lug-to-lug and the lugs are sloped downwards. Because of this, the watch doesn’t look outrageously large on my 6.75 inch wrist. The watch is 11.8mm thick, which to me isn’t too thick, but obviously it is also not very thin either. The watch also has an IWC-esque onion crown-guard that fits well with the more classic approach to the dial.
Out of all the features of the LC-2, I have to say that the dial is the most impressive part of the watch. I think that’s quite the statement for a watch that also has a tourbillon movement (regardless of where the tourbillon is manufactured). All versions of the LC-2 have a 3D domed hour track. It adds a little bit of extra height to the dial that contrasts well with the depth of the tourbillon. If you look closely you will notice that the Roman numeral indexes are actually cut-out and the main dial, here aventurine continues under the hour track. It works very well, and reminds me somewhat of the hour track on the De Bethune DB25 I talked about earlier.
The real star of this watch, however, is the aventurine dial. Generally seen on watches at much higher price-points, aventurine dials are typically glass dials mixed with thousands of tiny pieces of copper to give a beautiful sparkling aesthetic, that reminds me, at least, of the night-sky and stars within it. Depending on the method employed to make these dials, they can actually be pretty expensive to produce. I am not sure of Arcturus’ method, but the dial looks stunning and really sets the watch apart from other Chinese made tourbillons.
The domed hour track and aventurine dial clearly showcase that a lot of thought and attention to detail went into creating the LC-2. And this can be seen in other small details. For example, the sapphire crystal is not your typical circular crystal. Instead it is cut to have a “wing” toward the bottom, making the tourbillon and brand name visible and unobsctructed. The unique “eye-lid” caseback sapphire is another example of this attention to detail. And finally, the skeletonized hands lack lume, but are clearly unique. If you wait for the hour hand to reach 12 o’clock exactly, you will notice that it perfectly surrounds Arcturus’ Orchid Coin logo. Its a nice touch, and clearly shows me they were paying attention to every detail.
The one place where I was a lot underwhelmed was with the strap and deployant. The deployant is a standard, off the shelf, affair. It works, but it would have been nice if Arcturus had made something a little more custom and luxurious. The strap is leather embossed with alligator pattern. I understand why Arcturus chose to go this route, as the gator design looks more luxurious, But I am not a big fan. I generally prefer standard leather straps as opposed to fake gator. A true alligator strap is probably too expensive for this watch, so I would have preferred Arcturus offer it on a nice Italian leather strap (or at least give the option). this is by no means a dealbreaker for me, as I would probably just swap it out for something different once I received the watch.
Overall, I was very impressed by the Arcturus Lion City 2 Vanda Tourbillon. I think it looks luxurious and punches above its weight in terms of quality and attention to detail. As someone who probably won’t be in the market for a Swiss made tourbillon anytime soon, it is nice to see a watch that gives us mere mortals a chance to own such a desired complication without sacrificing attention to detail and thoughtful design choices. The Arcturus Lion City 2 Vanda Tourbillon with aventurine dial is currently on sale on Kickstarter for $1,420 USD. It is also available with a malachite dial for $1,194 USD and a guilloche-pattern dial for $968 USD. Make sure to check out their Kickstarter campaign here. You can also visit their website here.
