Independents

Laurent Ferrier Micro-Rotor: I came, I saw...I was conquered

 

I had decided at one point to stop three handed watches, I already have a few which get plenty of wrist time and didn’t really want or need another in my collection.

Last year I discovered the Laurent  Ferrier Micro-Rotor and was stunned by how what seemed such a classical and simple three handed watch could be so visually enchanting with a somewhat sotto voce elegance which I could definitely imagine on my wrist whilst driving full speed in a convertible Janguar E Type on the winding roads of the French Riviera, accompanied by a sumptuous Sophia Loren / Penelope Cruz / Heidi Klum  look alike while both of us are sipping Martinis.

BUT

And there was a but,

the  Micro-Rotor was an automatic and in my warped mind a heresy. “Good I though” the money saved by not buying the Micro Rotor would be well spent on the aforementioned Sophia Loren/ Penelope Cruz/ Heidi Klum look alike but unfortunately my libido was beaten to a pulp by my desire for Laurent  Ferrier (the watch not the man…)

I did manage to hold back for a very long time but the Micro-Roto had so many assets that resistance was futile. Sure it was an automatic, but not just any old automatic, it features a micro rotor placed underneath a gorgeous beveled bridge with an enhanced winding mechanism but most of all it features an inhouse escapement inspired by Abraham Louis Breguet’s natural escapement: a double direct impulse escapement with a silicon lever.

I finally took the jump and what a pleasant jump, a dive head first in a world of beauty and grace! I just loooove this watch which has been gracing my wrist for close to a month now.

I love the sleek elegant silhouette of the case, the  fiercly masculine sunburst grey dial, the delightful shape of the hands and the flawless movement finish.

The dial features an array of superb details like the brushed finis, the tappering indexes, chased pearlsfor the minutes andgorgeous hands

The form of the rotor bridge is a work of art in itself

the non traditional shape of the balance cock

What I love with Laurent Ferrier is that  the brand doesn’t keep copying the past  and even thoughthe designs are classical and the methods and techniques are traditional they have one foot set firmly in their epoch