Singer Chris Brown spotted wearing a Cabestan

At what appears to be a promotional or fan-engagement event — identifiable by the toy figurines and branded backdrop — Chris Brown is wearing one of the most structurally unconventional watches ever brought to market: the Cabestan Vertical Winch Tourbillon in black PVD titanium, limited to just 50 pieces worldwide.

Cabestan, the brainchild of watchmaker Jean-François Ruchonnet and brought to market in the mid-2000s, built its entire identity around a single radical concept: a vertical chain-fusée movement in which a physical roller chain transmits torque from barrel to gear train, visible through the case architecture as a kind of kinetic sculpture. The movement — manually wound, featuring a flying tourbillon — is oriented vertically rather than horizontally, making the watch more akin to an industrial mechanism than a traditional dress or sport timepiece. The black PVD titanium variant doubles down on that industrial aesthetic with its matte, utilitarian finish and oversized rectangular case form.

From a collector standpoint, Cabestan occupies a rarefied niche. The brand never achieved the commercial footprint of Richard Mille or Urwerk, but it commands genuine respect among movement-focused collectors who value engineering originality over brand prestige. The 50-piece limitation in this configuration makes surviving examples particularly scarce on the secondary market. UK list price was cited at £145,000, placing it firmly in ultra-high-end independent watchmaking territory.

Chris Brown has historically gravitated toward watches that prioritize visual impact and exclusivity over conservative horological tradition — Richard Mille skeletons, AP Royal Oaks, and now the Cabestan. The Vertical Winch Tourbillon fits that profile precisely: it is visually arresting from across a room and entirely opaque to the uninitiated, which is exactly the kind of quiet flex that resonates in his cultural circle.

On the grey market, Cabestan Vertical Winch Tourbillons appear infrequently, and when they do, pricing reflects both the mechanical complexity and the brand's cult status rather than broad demand. Expect transactions in the $180,000–$220,000 range depending on condition and provenance — a watch that rewards the knowledgeable buyer who finds one.