Mario Canonizado 
As a certain Belgian musician once said, “Alors on danse!” A new rendition of the independent brand’s Carillon Tourbillon celebrates one of the most popular traditional holidays of Latin America.
The Biver brand isn’t one we often get to discuss on Watch Advice. Not because we don’t want to – especially since we’ve previously covered them with the release of the Biver x Bucherer Carillon Tourbillon – but simply because the watch industry is constantly evolving. Even within the slow and deliberate world of haute horlogerie, there are always new stories unfolding, and as much as we’d love to cover them all, sometimes there are just far too many!
This joint effort between the legendary Jean-Claude Biver and his son Pierre has been one of those stories quietly developing in the background. For those unfamiliar, JCB has been an icon of the industry for over four decades, beginning with the monumental acquisition and revival of Blancpain – reportedly the oldest watch brand in the world. From there, he played a pivotal role in shaping the modern watch industry, serving on Omega’s board of directors, becoming CEO of both Hublot and later TAG Heuer, and even dabbling in the cheese business! Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who knows the industry as intimately as Jean-Claude, with many in the watchmaking world having built their success on the foundation of his efforts.
So when Jean-Claude and his son, Pierre Biver, struck out on their own in 2023 to establish Biver Watches, hardly anyone was surprised. Jean-Claude had spent decades at the pinnacle of the industry, and Pierre was more than eager to help carry on his legacy. Unlike many other start-up watch brands, Biver Watches’ first official foray into horology was anything but cautious. Their debut, the Carillon Tourbillon collection, was a masterclass in refinement and precision engineering – an audacious statement that set the tone for the brand. This watch would go on to become the cornerstone of Biver Watches, its silhouette now a recognizable presence in the realm of haute horlogerie. And this year, that legacy continues as Biver expands upon its flagship collection with a striking new iteration of the Carillon Tourbillon La Dernière Danse (The Last Dance).
But calling the Carillon Tourbillon La Dernière Danse entirely ‘new’ would be a bit misleading, but that’s not a bad thing! Before this latest version stepped into the limelight, the original La Dernière Danse made its debut in October 2023 in Mexico City. This was no coincidence, as it premiered at the Salón Internacional de Alta Relojería (SIAR), one of the most prestigious watch fairs in the world. Given that the festival is deeply rooted in the Latin American market, La Dernière Danse paid tribute to Día de los Muertos, or ‘Day of the Dead’ – a beloved celebration that honours and remembers departed family members, friends, and other significant figures. While the original rose gold rendition was a pièce unique, it seems that the Biver family and their team felt the overwhelmingly positive response warranted more than just a one-off appearance. Thus, the new Carillon Tourbillon La Dernière Danse is reborn in 2025, blending the design DNA of the acclaimed original with fresh elements that set it apart from its predecessor.
Measuring up to 42mm case diameter supported by a 13mm thickness, the Carillon Tourbillon La Dernière Danse is not a small watch by any stretch of the imagination. This is by necessity, however; rather than being driven to make a watch large for the sake of it, Biver campaigned to integrate as many complexities into the watch as they possibly could – which we’ll get to later. For those that can handle it, the wearing experience should be a breeze, thanks large in part to the titanium case construction of the watch. While the original’s 18k rose gold case and bracelet were significantly more decadent, I don’t doubt that the weight of the watch would have sunk whichever poor soul that bought it halfway down into the Earth. Still, if you had that dial to look at all day, I wouldn’t mind either!
Speaking of the dial, its backdrop is crafted from heliotrope, more commonly known as bloodstone, named for its deep green colour, interspersed with flecks of red. For a watch designed to honour and commemorate the dead, I can’t think of a more fitting material for Biver to use. Resting atop this striking surface, the indexes, hands, and minute track are all rendered in 18k white gold, allowing the calaveras to take centre stage. In Mexican culture, calaveras (skeletons) are a traditional motif that celebrate the beauty of life. Here, a pair of calaveras – a male on the left and a female on the right – are meticulously hand-engraved in white gold. Dressed in festive attire, they raise their hands to the sky in a joyful dance. Framing the tourbillon at six o’clock, they bring an added sense of movement and liveliness to the celebration.
Turning the watch around, however, is a show in of itself. In line with the rest of the Biver Carillon Tourbillon collection, La Dernière Danse has been equipped with a version of the JCB-001 automatic movement, this one designated JCB-001-A. While it’s capable enough on its own – featuring a 72-hour power reserve atop a 3Hz/21,600VpH beat rate – the JCB-0001-A’s delicate hand-finishing truly pushes the limits of what is aesthetically capable. An array of finishings, from frosting to delicate perlage are all visible through the open case back, making for a veritable assault on the eyes with its use of varying gold hues. The JCB-0001-A also sports a micro-rotor, winding the watch without obstructing the view of the movement, as well as the desirable tourbillon and carillon complications. If you’re familiar with watches, the tourbillon is easy enough to explain – A mechanism that self-regulates the watch against the pull of gravity – but feel free to read more about it below.
Related Reading: The Art of Complications – Tourbillons
The carillon, on the other hand, takes a little more to explain. What Biver refers to here is simply a modification of the minute repeater complication. While a classic minute repeater is able to sound off the time from two gongs (hammers), a carillon minute repeater comes outfitted with three, offering the capability to create more nuanced melodies with the press of a button. It’s fairly easy to understand once you figure out how minute repeaters work, but if you’re completely lost with what I’m talking about here’s another article that’ll help get you going in the right direction.
Related Reading: The Art of Complications – The Minute Repeater
My Thoughts
On another late-night hunt for new and interesting watches to cover, I recall the Biver Carillon Tourbillon La Dernière Danse truly catching my eye. I’m a big sucker for anything related to Dia de los Muertos, so the fact that the Latin-inspired aesthetic of La Dernière Danse interested me isn’t that big of a shocker.
What interested me the most, however, was that it was coming from Biver. Though the Givrins-based brand has been fairly fresh on the scene of haute horlogerie, I had believed that they had already found a comfortable place in the market. With the release of their first Carillon Tourbillon, Biver made the kind of statement that tells the world: through rich design, engineering, and manufacturing philosophies, the watch is so refined that you, yourself, have to be similarly rich to appreciate it – a clear assertion of luxurious, inaccessible tastes. However, while that is true in the literal sense, never did I expect Biver to venture into a direction as culturally rich as they have with the La Dernière Danse.
Related Reading: List of The Best Halloween-Themed Watches!
Admittedly, the 2023 original probably should have raised some alarm bells in my head, but because it was a pièce unique, I never gave it much thought. It wasn’t until I saw the re-release of La Dernière Danse in 2025 that I realized the depth and cultural significance it carried. Not only that, but for some reason, it reminded me of the final scene of The Seventh Seal, with the iconic imagery of Danse Macabre. In a sense, then, I believe that Ingmar Bergman’s magnum opus and Biver’s La Dernière Danse operate within the same vein – with some distinct differences. While the Danse Macabre can be interpreted as a grim portrayal of death, La Dernière Danse flips the script and instead celebrates the opportunities of life. However, both combined convey one inescapable truth: Death is inescapable – so enjoy life while you still have it!
Reference: N/A (Biver Watches Carillon Tourbillon La Dernière Danse in Green)
Specifications:
- Dimensions: 42mm case diameter x 13.7mm thickness
- Case Material: Titanium
- Dial: Green/red bloodstone (Heliotrope)
- Movement: Automatic JCB-001-A with micro-rotor carillon minute repeater, and tourbillon complications
- Power Reserve: 72h
- Water Resistance: 50m (5bar)
- Strap: Black leather with titanium buckle
