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NWA Laurent Ferrier Galet Micro-Rotor Ice Blue FBN229.01

A bit of a late post, but this was my new summer watch this year (though my wife commandeered and wore it these past few months than I did .

This is an embodiment of the best of Swiss watch-making. It feature a, dare-i-say, sexy pebble-shaped profile with a magnetic Ice Blue dial featuring white gold markers and assegai-spear shaped hands; subdued classicism enhanced by its sunburst rays.

The movement on the back though is the true magic of this watch. It is a ‘natural escapement’ first envisioned by the father of horology Abraham-Louis Breguet over 200 years ago, it was never actually able to put into serial production due its complexity. While other variants have been made by greats like Voutilainen and Journe, no had been able to achieve a true natural escapement until Laurent Ferrier did a decade ago utilizing UV LIGA—similar to that used for modern semiconductors. This results is extreme accuracy and efficiency without the need for oil lubricants resulting in longer power reserves and rarer servicing. In fact, Rolex just debuted its version of this movement in the Land-Dweller released earlier this year.

Laurent Ferrier was a former race car driver at Le Mans and worked as Patek’s Technical and Creative Director and Head of Product Development for 40 years bringing the Nautilius and Aquanaut into reality. His namesake brand now produces only a few hundred pieces a year with extreme hand-finishing the likes of Gruebel and Voutilainen. Two quotes sum up LF aptly
“I don’t know why Laurent Ferrier doesn’t have a years-long waiting list” ~Tim Mosso
“Laurent Ferrier is what contemporary Patek should be if it continued on from its esteemed history” ~Ben Clymer