Horological Meandering

After a nine month wait, my Romain Gauthier Collection Prestige finally arrived, hand delivered by Romain Gauthier himself (not sure why he couldn't just give me a discount and send it via FedEx). 

As many of you are familiar, Romain’s Collection Prestige comes in four “flavours” – two in rose gold, one in white gold and one in platinum.

I selected the rose gold with champagne dial primarily for the gilt frost finishing that Romain applies to this version.  I also think that the champagne dial matches up nicely with the rose gold case.

Upon closer inspection, one can see the intricate nature of the hand guilloche.

The dial consists of three pieces made from solid 18K gold.  The hands are also crafted for solid 18K gold and then black polished.

While the dial may not be to the taste of everyone, it would be difficult to disagree that the movement is nothing short of breath taking, both in design and in finish.

Let's take a deep dive into the movement, calibre 2206 Hm, with larger photos.  I would apologise to those without broadband but seriously, in this day and age, there is no reason to be using dial up.

First stop, the balance wheel.  Note the unique design of the balance wheel, which is designed and manufactured by Romain.  He maintains that to be truly independent, he needed to be completely self-sufficient in the manufacturing of the heart of the movement.

Here is the balance wheel and mainspring before assembly.

If you look hard enough, you should be able to see part of the escape wheel and part of the pallet.  The pallet is of particular interest as rather than the usual T design, Romain’s pallet is a triangle, which from an engineering stand point provides greater rigidity and hence able to sustain greater levels of stress.  This is just one of the many interesting design features of the movement that is the result of micro engineering rather than aesthetics with the aim of increasing efficiency or strength.  The S-shaped screws also bear an interesting origin as they were designed to prevent slippage and wear on the screw heads rather than just to look good. 

Also note how polished the sinks are, even reflecting my tripod.  I also like the two toned bridge bearing the RG inscription.

All the gears are manufactured in-house by Romain and bear a striking design.  Each gear is milled from a single block of brass with a CNC machine rather than being stamped.  This gives the wheels greater rigidity as does the use of circular spoke rather than the traditional spoke design.

The perlage work underneath is also rather stunning.

The horizontal crown is also a distinguishing feature of the Collection Prestige.  Winding the crown does require some getting used to but it becomes second nature very quickly.  By placing the crown in this position, Romain is able to again enhance the efficiency of the movement by firstly reducing the number of parts required for time setting and winding and also the transfer of energy from the crown to the mainspring.  While it winds a little tight, it doesn't take that many rotations to fully wind the mainspring, which has a 60 hour power reserve.

The main bridge dominates the movement.  Here we see the evidence of excellent hand finishing by Romain’s watch maker, Sebastien Berney.  Each bridge is completely hand finished and no two bridges are alike, which Romain demonstrated with three different working examples.

Here is Sebastien working hard on hand beveling the bridge for my piece.

And here is a close up of the click, which also shows off the hand finishing of the gilt frosting on the bridge.

The main plate before assembly and gold coating but after gilt frosting has been applied by hand.  The entire movement is made from brass, which is then coated with 18K gold.  According to Romain, this is achieved by slowly rubbing the surface with diamond paste and powder in order to achieve the fine frosting, which retains a fine frosted finish even under a microscope.  Since I don't have a high power microscope with me, I'll take his word on it.

The finished main plate and bridge before gold plating and assembly.

Bits and pieces before assembly. Looks like a little hobby set, now where are those instructions?

Assembled movement, gold plated but before casing.

The finished product.  Note the subtle but yet complex shape of the case.

And of course, the wrist shot.  Measuring 41mm in diameter and 11.3mm thick, it wears well on the wrist although, it is a rather large watch.  The lack of the normal crown does help streamline the overall look.

My journey from mainstream brands to independents began with Romain back in November 2007.  This was a considerable risk for me, as up until then, I had swum in the safe end of the horological swimming pool with well established brands.  Not only was I taking a dive into the deep end, I was doing it with a relatively new brand in the independent scene.  This can be daunting when you consider that the Collection Prestige is priced equivalent to a Patek 5711, which many collectors would agreed is a “safer bet”.  However, Romain and I were able to discuss in depth his operations, which gave me the confidence in his ability to deliver.

What impressed me most about this piece is the singular vision that Romain had created.  By merging his micro engineering background with the traditions of watch making, he is able to realise and extract greater efficiency by enhancing the basic mechanical design of a wrist watch movement, which has remained largely unchanged. The result is an honest but striking piece that bears the hard work of Romain and Sebastien and a little touch of Philippe Dufour.

In summary, I love the passion that Romain has for his work and given his age, there is a huge future for him, not just for his own brand but for the role he will play with other independent watch makers. 

Thank you and I wish Romain and Sebastien all the best for the future.

Cheers

Gaz

This message has been edited by Gaz on 2008-07-13 08:46:48

 
Congrats for your new watch !

I really love the design of the caliber of the Prestige collection.

And it's one of the very few high end handwind watches with a high frequency (28800).

Here is a pic of Romain I took in Paris in 2007 :



Thanks a lot for your post and your comments.

Fr.Xavier

Gaz

Really a unique piece and something that you won't see so often, as you would say, a PP 5711 (which is a fine timepiece as well, but certainly not the same as your new acquisition).

Can't wait to hold it in my hands...

Just curious...what's the presentation box and packaging consist of?  Although like most of us, those things go in the closet never to be seen again, I'm interested if RG puts any special attention to that part of the purchase?

Congrats again and wear it in the best of health...a great present to celebrate the arrival of your other new family member..

Eric

However, its large and in transit.  It is actually a watch stand that allows the owner to set the Prestige as a table clock. 

Gaz

. . . and photos of your pride and joy. The movement is beautiful both architecturally and artistically, which is no mean feat . . . please let us know how it runs after the requisite break-in period. Congratulations on both the watch and for furthering the development of independent horology by your patronage . . . cordially, Art

Gaz

nt

Gaz

Thanks Gaz,

 

Wonderfully finished watch from a nice guy and a great review packed with information. I am not yet used to the off-centre chapter ring, but I do like the dial finish and the choice of metals and colours are wonderful.

 

Your photos show all the wonderful design and finishing techniques lovingly applied to this watch. I particularly like the engineering solutions brought in at the design stage. The watch design itself, from the movement to the case, is very coherent. The final wrist shots certainly confirm this.

 

I am left with a couple of questions: I assume you set the time with the same horizontal winding crown, but how easy is this to accomplish? Is cleaning under the crown going to be an issue and finally, are the numerals luminescent?

 

Bravo. Enjoy.

 

Andrew

Changing the time is pretty straight forward.  The bay in which the crown rests when closed has two recessess which allows one to grasp the edges of the crown and lift them up for adjusting the time.  It does not feel fragile at all and if anything it can hurt more sensitive fingers, given the serrated edge.  Once lifted, Romain recommends setting the time by  grasping the crown with two fingers to ensure the even distribution of the winding force. 

As for cleaning under the crown, the crown bay does act as a dust magnet but I use a camera lense brush to sweep gently under the crown when lifted, so no issues just yet.

The numerals are not luminescent.

Cheers
Gaz

I remember when I saw this watch the 1st time--the movement blew me away completely. At a 5711 price, this watch is an absurd bargain. I find the movement to be among the most beautiful and best finished I have ever seen--that is, in its own league, outside of the big brands, in league with the Great Independents.

I agree that the dial is not for everyone--I find it absolutely gorgeous, but.... it doesn't force my hand to sign the check, if you know what I mean.

Really an artist-made watch.

wear with the caseback up

Indeed, the dial is not for everyone but there is a degree of understated simplicity about the dial that masks the complexity of the movement behind it.  I guess I get a kick out of all the engineering details that went into the movement in order to achieve a time only piece.  Its sort of like a Simplicity kicked up a notch with solid engineering design.  While Dufour approached it from a traditional perspective, Romain did so from an engineer's perpective while recognisingthe importance of tradition.

From an engineering stand point, Romain asks the question why has the basic design of a watch movement remaind largely changed since it was conceived eons ago?  His question does not merely relate to the use of new materials to construct the same traidtional components but rather how does one innovate those traditional components to be more efficient, more tolerent to stress, etc.  I really like the way he has translated this into the movement design.

Cheers

Gaz

G

provocative questions and delicious results!

...and well worth the wait. The 'in progress' shots coming in from RG must have been both comforting and tantalising at the same time.

Congratulations - enjoy for a long time to come.

 

Cheers,

pplater.

and it can be quite an inclusive process, something one does not experience with the major brands.

Thanks for your comments.

Gaz

That is a fine piece of art work.  From the naked eye, I will rate it in the same category of Dufour's and Kari's work.

To me, the watch itself does not move me due to the design of the dial but It looks so much better on your wrist. Considering the labour of only 2 men and total production of 38 pieces, its price is reasonable.  I diasgree with your view on "safe bet", all those watches fetch above retail price will not stay perpetually in that way, not even Patek.

Regards

Ling

 

Considering only the two man labour, it

Was putting together the business plan for his brand, which incidentally was also his MBA paper.  As Romain tells it, Phillipe offered a lot of encouragement as well as insights into the finish of the piece.  One example was the curves of the main bridge, particularly the hollowed out area where it makes it very obvious that it can only be accomplished by hand.

Curiously enough, I had the chance to inspect Kari's personal Observatoire two weeks ago and he had applied the same gilt frosted finish on his.

In reference to the "safe bet", I did not mean just from a monetary perspective.  Rather, there are other factors like resources for post purchase servicing, especially since the entire movement is designed in house complete with s-shaped screws that does not make it easy for just any watch maker to open.  I used the 5711 as an illustration that at that particular price range, one could have purchased a Patek, which comes with the comfort of  long tradition and reputation or take a risk with Romain where his brand is only 2 years old and the only resources he has is Sebastien, himself and an atelier stuffed with CNC machines.

Cheers
Gaz

 

 

It was throughly an enjoyable read for me and very insightful. Gaz, congrats on a masterpiece!

Best,
Lionel

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user-comments.

This gentleman sure knows a lot, it will be fun to have an open-dialogue with him.
And he is a kind of maverick who wants to push the envelope of developing and try new concepts.
 
The dial may look simple but there is a subtlety.  A difficult feature even with the advance machinery.
There is a superbly fine dividing-line between every hour-segment on the guilloché !

Kong

He has very strong views on the efficiency of mechanical movements.  Glad he is translating those views into beautiful pieces.

Gaz

nt

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NT

G

No message body

than spend the same sort of money on a mainstream brand/model. you'll probably never meet anyone else with the same brand as you on his wrist and that uniqueness is all part of the ownership experience. it doesnt take much brain power to buy mainstream, but a lot of guts to spend big on a virtually unknown maker.

you, my friend have taken a huge horological step and put your trust and hard earned cash into something really special.

wear it in good health

Graham 

Congrat Gaz! I still remember that you were talking excitedly about waiting for its delivery during our GTG in New York at the end of February. Now it's a reality=)

Beautiful piece indeed, wear it in the best of health!

Cheers,

Jon