The Tourbillon complication was developed by Abraham-Louis Bregeut in 1795 and first patented in 1801. The first use of these complications by Breguet was to make carriage clocks for Napoleon. The purpose of the tourbillon is to minimize the affects of gravity on time keeping by constantly rotating the escapement and balance wheel. This Breguet Messidor Tourbillon 3350 is one of the most beautiful and well balanced applications of the tourbillon; a gorgeous combination of art and engineering.