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Daniel Roth Basel 2007 exclusive preview...
Mar 09, 2007,22:48 PM - (view entire thread)
Several of the posters in the competition got the complication right; the competition will run for several more days since one winner will be picked at random.

Unveiled here, in an exclusive for ThePuristS, is the new Daniel Roth perpetual calendar Time Equation with days of month indication. No other forums or media have this information at this time, until Baselworld itself ThePuristS will be the only media unveiling any Daniel Roth novelties for 2007.


Photos do not do this watch justice. The level of detail in the dial is amazing, as can be seen from the prototype dials shown below, shot last December at the manufacture.


From left to right: Dial for the platinum, white gold and rose gold models. The press photos above are of the platinum watch.

In terms of the complication this watch is equally unique. The equation of time function, on the upper left of the dial, indicates the difference between mean time and solar time. Solar time is the actual time measured by the earth's orbit around the sun, and because the earth travels in an ellipse instead of a perfect circle, the length of each day is not always exactly 24 hours. Mean time varies from solar time quite markedly on some days, for example on November 4, when it is approximately 16 minutes more than actual solar time.


Close-up of the equation of time indicator

Equation of time is an uncommon complication, with only a handful of the top houses like JLC (Gyrotourbillon) and AP (Jules Audemars EOT) boasting of watches with such complications. Even more uncommon, though less complex, is the days in a month indicator. This remarkably useful complication indicates the number of days in the particular month, thus the hand will point to 28 in February, and to 29 in February of a leap year.

This days of the month indicator is likely the most useful complication on the perpetual calendar since it solves the oft encountered problem of not knowing whether the month comes to an end on the 29th, 30th or 31st. Daniel Roth has filed a patent for this complication, and as far as I know it is the only such wristwatch on the market now.


The days in a month indicator


Finally, some personal thoughts...

I like this design a lot, it is the first of several well conceived timepieces Daniel Roth will unveil at Baselworld. There have been several comments on this forum about Daniel Roth going down the road of Franck Muller and Roger Dubuis, and focussing too much on extravagant designs. I think this perpetual calendar manages to balance between being contemporary yet subtle; it is by no means staid, but it still captures the traditional styling of Daniel Roth.

The use of the translucent sapphire discs to indicate month and day as well as the open sections of the dial continue the design trend started by the instantaneous perpetual calendar which uses a skeleton dial. Open dials are getting more common, with even low end watches using this trick to expose mechanisms which appear well finished at a quick glance, but do not hold up under scrutiny. Daniel Roth has quite obviously mastered the art of finishing, so their open dial models are appropriate to display the workmanship, while at the same time providing a certain flair. 

- SJX This message has been edited by SJX on 2007-03-10 01:00:02 This message has been edited by MTF on 2007-03-10 09:45:03

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