Rosneathian
1471
There is a mystique that makes them such a draw
The search for early references requires a fair bit of time and effort. I've struck up relationships with a number of established collectors as well as merchants who possess - or have possessed - some of his work in recent times. Let's see if that pays dividends.
There has been a dramatic uptrend in asking prices for early-to-mid period references in the last three years, not to mention wide variations in valuation. One merchant, for instance, currently has on offer pieces with asking prices between 50% and 300% above for exact same pieces with identical accoutrements. This on top of a sketchy grasp of the watches' specifications. This isn't unusual: the shared knowledge base is quite modest.
Having consulted Europa Star from 1989 to about 2005, it does seem that most if not all DR watches in mint-to-very good condition are available today for well below their original MSRP (notwithstanding the example above). This suggests that they remain undervalued, and implies the market has yet to fully recognise and price in their significance. This is a working assumption I'm willing to work with given how much influence Daniel Roth had: on Breguet, Lemania (and by extension Patek Philippe through their use of his iterations), his eponymous brand, and Bvlgari.
I regard him as a standard bearer of Anglo-French classicism, one of a quartet whose work is and will remain timeless.
More posts:
A lesser Daniel Roth from the early Bvlgari period, but one that still retains some design codes of the (by then) departed master.
This is a 2002 Daniel Roth Datomax in 18K pink gold, ref. 208.L.40.11. Here shown on a matt coffee lizard Camille Fournet strap. At 35mm x 38mm it recalls the classic sizing of his coveted watches of the early-to-mid 1990s. Mr. Roth had of course parted w...
Let's say there were early-, mid-, late- and post-Monsieur Roth watches that bore his name. Each transition was accompanied by a dilution of original intent and a departure from 'the code.'
This dilution reached its conclusion when Bvlgari finally dropped Daniel Roth (the name) from its watches. If I'm not mistaken this began at or around the time that LVMH became its majority owner in 2011. By then of course Daniel Roth (the man) had alread...
I love your style 🤗
I am a huge fan of DR watches , such elegant and timeless beauties with a own design. I also have a few DRs on my wishlist but currently happy with the ones I already got . ...
Thanks for sharing your collection
I enjoyed the photographs and surprised myself by being drawn in particular to the first one with the diamond-set bezel. Very nice indeed.
There is a mystique that makes them such a draw
The search for early references requires a fair bit of time and effort. I've struck up relationships with a number of established collectors as well as merchants who possess - or have possessed - some of his work in recent times. Let's see if that pays di...
