Corum Sails on Gilded Waves with New Admiral 45 Automatic Openworked Flying Tourbillon Carbon & Gold


Since Corum’s original Admiral’s Cup debuted in the 1960s as the quintessential timepiece for avid regatta fans and sailors, the model has become both a flagship (pun intended) of that Swiss watch brand and the foundation of an extensive and versatile modern collection, dubbed simply Admiral. The latest and most avant-garde evolution arrived at Watches & Wonders 2021, bringing together a skeletonized flying tourbillon caliber and a distinctive carbon-and-gold bi-material case construction.

Limited to just 48 pieces and referred to by Corum as the year’s “stand-out star,” the Admiral 45 Automatic Openworked Flyoing Tourbillon Carbon & Gold ushers a new case material into the manufacturer’s portfolio, made from fluctuating layers of ultra-light carbon and interspersed with areas of 18k gold glitter. The process used to create the case, which measures 45 mm in diameter and features the Admiral collection’s hallmark dodecagonal bezel, renders each one subtly unique from all the rest. The 5N rose gold crown, embedded between black-toned crown guards, helps render the case water-resistant to 100 meters.

The black and gold details continue on the openworked dial, which is essentially a panoramic view of the movement, Corum’s in-house, automatic Caliber CO 298, equipped with a 3-Hz flying tourbillon escapement at the 6 o’clock position. Two gold-toned Dauphine hands display the hour and minute on black pennant-shaped hour markers, inspired by the nautical flags of the original Admiral’s Cup watch, and a gold-toned brass minute ring on the flange. Also displayed on the face are a “STOP/START” power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock (the movement holds 72 hours) and a three-minute regatta countdown subdial at 9 o’clock, another nod to the model’s yacht-racing heritage.

Like its case, the timepiece’s strap is bi-material, made from rubber and synthetic textiles and embellished with genuine gold stitching to echo the case, the skeleton dial, and even the detailing on the wheel-shaped rotor of the movement, which is on display behind the sapphire exhibition caseback. The sturdy strap fastens to the wrist with a black PVD-coated titanium buckle. The Admiral 45 Automatic Openworked Flying Tourbillon Carbon & Gold is set to retail at $59,800.

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  1. OMG! Obviously, someone at Corum thought this is nice. But IMO, difficult to find an uglier and less refined timepiece. There is too much of everything. In addition, we can’t tell the time. The Admiral 45 Openworked is definitely lost at sea…

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  2. Virgil Howarth

    Hu Ray. Took first prize as the ugliest watch manufactured.

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  3. John G Kozeka

    LOVE your magazine! Love watches even more. Must say, Corum is a very fine brand. However, the Admiral 45 Openworked is just plain ugly. Broke one of my two absolute rules…First, you should be able to tell what time it is immediately. Watch useless if you have to “study it” for a while. Second, much like a beautiful woman…not wanting to see any “innards”. Have never, will never buy a “skeletonized” watch face. Just my personal preferences/opinion. Again…GREAT MAGAZINE! Look forward to every watch review.

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  4. My only problem with the Corum 45 it isn’t large enough. I wold like Corum to make 75mm version of this watch.

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