Vanguart Orb Flying Tourbillon OpenAI: 7 exclusive watches

Seven watches, one private commission and an unprecedented meeting between two worlds that push the boundaries of innovation. Vanguart, the independent watchmaker based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, has unveiled an exclusive series of its Orb Flying Tourbillon made for OpenAI. Commissioned by Sam Altman, the company’s co-founder, this run of seven pieces was designed for selected members of the organisation. It will not be sold to the public.

The stakes of this collaboration go well beyond simple aesthetic customisation. The task was to weave into an already singular timepiece references to OpenAI’s culture, its technological ambitions and the questions that come with the development of artificial intelligence. The result is a series of discreet, sometimes cryptic engravings written directly into the architecture of the watch.

Vanguart Orb Flying Tourbillon: a singular mechanical architecture

Launched in 2024 after three years of development, the Orb Flying Tourbillon embodies Vanguart’s independent approach. The watch stands out for a mechanical construction built around a spectacular complication, but also for an original winding system that switches from automatic to manual mode directly from the crown.

Its architecture is organised around three major elements. At 6 o’clock, the flying tourbillon draws the eye to the movement’s regulating organ. At 12 o’clock, the winding barrel takes centre stage in the composition. Between these two poles, an orbital oscillating weight moves freely when the watch runs in automatic mode.

Selecting manual winding changes its behaviour: the oscillating weight comes to a standstill, revealing another reading of the mechanical architecture. This feature, operated from the crown, is one of the most remarkable particularities of the Orb.

The grade 5 titanium case measures 41 mm in diameter and just 10.5 mm thick. These are restrained proportions given the complexity of the movement, and they reflect the integration work carried out by the manufacture.

The calibre, also built in titanium according to the information provided, comprises 395 components and 35 jewels. It beats at 21,600 vibrations per hour, or 3 Hz, and offers a 60-hour power reserve. A rubber strap completes the package.

Seven pieces for OpenAI: customisation as a language

For this commission, the challenge was not to transform the mechanics but to give them a new meaning. Vanguart chose to preserve the Orb’s architecture in full while incorporating elements directly linked to OpenAI.

According to Mehmet Koruturk, the brand’s president and co-founder, nearly a third of the 33 people at Vanguart took part in the project. This level of involvement shows the importance given to a commission which, despite its extremely small volume, called for collective thinking about the visual and symbolic language of the watch.

The approach rests on a philosophy that Mehmet Koruturk sums up as follows: certain details are deliberately built into the watch so that they reveal themselves only to those who know where to look.

The result takes the form of a set of references engraved on different parts of the piece. The OpenAI logo appears on the barrel cover. Around the rotor, the quote “Compute is destiny” is written in capital letters. The crown pusher bears the word “Scaling”, while the caseback carries a line of Python code.

Each watch is also numbered and bears the inscription “Limited OpenAI”, confirming that it belongs to this private series of seven pieces.

“Compute is destiny”: tech culture written into the movement

Among the chosen inscriptions, “Compute is destiny” holds a special place. Engraved around the rotor, this phrase attributed to Sam Altman refers to the importance of computing power in the development of artificial intelligence.

The word “Scaling”, inscribed on the crown pusher, points to a central notion in the evolution of artificial intelligence systems: scaling up models and computing capacity.

These inscriptions are not mere signatures added to a watch. They are part of functional elements of the Orb, linking the references to OpenAI directly to the mechanical construction of the timepiece.

The choice of the crown and the rotor is particularly consistent with this approach. These components play a part in how the watch works and in its relationship with energy. Here they become the vehicle for a message about technology and its development.

The watch thus keeps its horological identity while gaining a narrative dimension unique to this commission.

A line of code on the caseback

The caseback holds another, even more explicit reference. A line of Python code is engraved on it:

if AGI.aligned: deploy()

This inscription, suggested by Axel Leuenberger, CEO of Vanguart, refers to AGI, or artificial general intelligence, and to the question of its alignment. The wording describes a precondition for deployment, symbolically expressing the idea that an artificial intelligence system must meet alignment requirements before it is put to use.

Mehmet Koruturk links this reference to an ethical conviction: artificial intelligence must be used for peaceful purposes.

The engraving therefore adds a further dimension to this edition. Beyond computing power and the growing capabilities of these systems, it speaks to the responsibility that comes with their development. Technology is not just about what it makes possible; it also involves the intentions and principles that guide its use.

This interpretation remains within the symbolic realm of customisation. It does not change how the movement works, but it gives the watch a particular story, tied directly to the client who commissioned it and to its technological environment.

A unique commission in Vanguart’s history

Since it was founded, eight years ago according to the information provided, Vanguart has produced fewer than 200 watches. The manufacture deliberately favours limited production, in keeping with its independent positioning and its approach to high complication.

The OpenAI series takes this logic to the extreme: seven pieces, designed as part of a single private commission and intended for selected members of the company. There are no plans to sell them.

For Axel Leuenberger, the Orb lent itself particularly well to this exercise thanks to its curves, volumes and geometries. Its architecture offers room for expression, making it possible to incorporate new meanings without altering the identity of the watch.

The Vanguart CEO explains that the aim was to translate certain concepts associated with artificial intelligence and the cultural shift that comes with it, and then to write them directly into the piece.

This collaboration highlights a particular side of independent watchmaking: the ability to design a watch as a personal object, where narrative value adds to mechanical complexity. In the case of the Orb Flying Tourbillon OpenAI, the references to technology are not simply stuck onto a generic timepiece. They sit at the heart of an existing architecture, designed to welcome a different reading without losing its identity.

Vanguart Orb Flying Tourbillon OpenAI

Functions	hours, minutes, flying tourbillon, automatic or manual winding selected from the crown
Movement	automatic mechanical calibre, titanium construction according to the information provided, 395 components, 35 jewels, frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz), 60-hour power reserve
Case	grade 5 titanium, 41 mm diameter, 10.5 mm thick
Architecture	flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock, winding barrel at 12 o’clock, orbital oscillating weight with automatic or manual mode selection
Strap	rubber
Customisation	OpenAI logo on the barrel cover, “Compute is destiny” around the rotor, “Scaling” on the crown pusher, Python inscription if AGI.aligned: deploy() and “Limited OpenAI” on the caseback
Edition	7 numbered pieces, made to private order for OpenAI
Availability	not for sale

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