ROMAIN GAUTHIER – Freedom CONTINUUM Titanium Edition One

 

ROMAIN GAUTHIER – Freedom CONTINUUM Titanium Edition One - 2021

 CONTINUUM
Titanium Edition One

Romain Gauthier opening new horizons with a refined and modern new timepiece.

Continuum reflects Romain’s creative freedom with a modern and youthful design. This new timepiece is the result of more than 16 years of know-how acquired through the development of the brand and the Manufacture.

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Technical in nature, casual in style and free in spirit, the Freedom collection has enabled the creation of this piece, which represents a true continuity in space time, a vision of the future and opens the doors to new horizons for the brand.

During its creation, it was clear to Romain that the case had to harmonize with the movement. It had to be contemporary and uncluttered. But not only that – comfort, ergonomics and the choice of materials also contributed to the design of this case made entirely of Grade 5 titanium. The dial, also of Grade 5 titanium, adds to the consistency of the piece and evokes a sense of continuity, as no circle completes the time indication.

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Inspired by the finger bridges style, the design of the movement follows the watchmaking history of the Vallée de Joux, with a modern approach, reflecting Romain’s vision of the evolution of tradition.

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For the launch of Continuum, Romain Gauthier presents the first edition in titanium – timeless thanks to the choice of colors and textures with subtle red highlights. Continuum, Titanium Edition One, is a 28-piece limited edition, engraved “1 of 28” on the back of each movement.

CONTINUUM IN DETAIL

Flow and continuity to the fore on an atypical dial

As befits its name, Continuum is all about modernity and continuity, both in terms of its movement architecture and dial design. If the observer looks closely, he will see that the hour-minute hands are actually off-centred on the horizontal axis and the hour indices taper ever so slightly and are of varying lengths, while the 5-second intervals of the small seconds at 7 o’clock are also marked by tapering bright red lines of differing lengths.

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Romain explains this purposeful play on perspective, saying: “Rather than a series of enclosed circles, as we often see in watchmaking, I wanted an open, airy dial on which full or part orthogonal lines form vanishing points with the axes of the hands, reinforcing the notion of continuity.”

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The tapering, three-dimensional hands and index are made from 18k white gold and filled with Super-LumiNova for enhanced legibility, as are the numerals and applied hour markers, each of which has been produced from a single piece of white gold and features bevelled edges to give a punchy presence. The dial plate itself is made from natural titanium that has been sand-blasted and treated with a special coating that protects it against UV rays.

Eye-catching case and strap high on details

Framing the dial is a titanium bezel whose eye-catching, geometric profile is unlike anything previously seen on a Romain Gauthier timepiece.  

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The bezel is first machined into a round shape featuring a circular bevel before six straight sides are cut into it to create 6 facets. While these facets, which have been polished, reflect the light and bring the bezel to life, the rest of the bezel absorbs light thanks to its satin-finishing. The same facetted design is replicated around the sapphire crystal on the back of the watch.

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In between the bezel and caseback, the one-piece caseband and lugs are geometrically sculpted, with satin and polished finishes as well as aesthetic grooves cleverly deployed to draw out the resulting shapes. Meanwhile, the rubber strap with titanium pin buckle follows the form of the angular lugs and rounded caseband so it appears as a continuous, organic extension of the case.

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And not for the first time in his work, Romain has placed the crown for winding and time-setting at 2 o’clock, freeing up space for wrist movement. A rubber ring around the crown makes it easier to manipulate, as well as adding a dash of colour to the timepiece.

Clever stop-seconds mechanism that uses a snail cam

Romain has endowed Continuum with a stop-seconds – or hacking seconds – mechanism, allowing the wearer to set the time exactly according to a reference time.

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Like many stop-seconds mechanisms, a brake is placed on Continuum’s balance wheel when the crown is pulled out. But instead of using a straight or L-shaped balance stop lever to halt the balance, Romain has opted to employ a snail cam that performs a double function: It touches and stops the balance wheel when the crown is pulled out and, when the crown is pushed back in, the snail cam makes a turn, with its increasingly wide form giving the balance an impulse to help it start beating again. 

Those familiar with the brand will know Romain has used the snail cam’s unique shape in his past creations: It appears on the watchmaker’s acclaimed Logical One.

In-house movement where design and decoration meet modernity

The themes of modernity and continuity carry over to the manual-winding, in-house movement, which is gloriously on show through the display back.

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Taking centre stage are a number of finger bridges – historically typical of the Vallée de Joux, Romain’s birthplace – but reinterpreted here in a contemporary way. For starters, these bridges are horizontally configured and feature a ‘stepped’ shape – previously seen on some of Logical One’s bridges – that not only provides volume and depth, but also gives the sense that the bridges are literally flowing over the gears and balance wheel, with no clear end to them.

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Like the case components and the dial plate, the bridges are made from lightweight, natural Grade 5 titanium and they boast contrasting tones and textures thanks to a variety of finishes. The outer edges of each bridge all feature a double bevel, while the flat bridge surfaces and rubies are each framed by a raised border that has been straight-grained. Within these borders, the hand-finishing specialists at Manufacture Romain Gauthier have used a special hand-engraving technique to create a highly original dimpled texture. The movement mainplate beneath has been hand-frosted.

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The impressive decoration doesn’t stop with the bridges and mainplate: Romain’s trademark gears and ratchet wheel featuring circular, bevelled spokes have been circular-grained, while the click, snail cam and screws with S-slot heads – another signature of Romain – have been highly polished. Finally, the lid of the mainspring barrel has been embellished with a superb snailing decoration.

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Continuum’s regulator features the Romain Gauthier balance wheel with curved arms and calibrated eccentric weights, plus hand-assembled pallet lever that is triangular for maximum rigidity.
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Collection  Freedom

Name:  CONTINUUM Titanium Edition One

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Ref.  MON00500

Edition
28-piece limited edition in natural Grade 5 titanium, engraved “1 of 28” on the back of the movement

Features and indications
Off-centred hours and minutes
Small seconds at 7 o’clock
Natural Grade 5 titanium case, dial and movement bridges and mainplate
In-house movement featuring stop-seconds mechanism
Sporty rubber strap
Dial and hands
Dial in sandblasted natural Grade 5 titanium with protective layer against UV rays
Off-centred hours and minutes
Small seconds at 7 o’clock with 5-second intervals marked by tapering bright red lines
Super-LumiNova-filled 18k white gold hands and applied numerals and hour markers
Movement and finishing
In-house, hand-wound movement
Dimensions: 32.10 mm x 5.50 mm
Power reserve: 60 hours
Number of jewels: 24
Number of components: 154
Balance frequency: 28,800 vph / 4Hz
Components made from: Titanium, steel, stainless steel and German silver
Finishing: Superlative decoration by hand
Treatment: Natural titanium bridges and rhodium-treated gears.
Case
Material: Natural Grade 5 titanium
Dimensions: 41mm x 9.55mm, lugs to lugs: 49.5 mm
Water resistance: 50m/5atm/160ft
Crown for winding and time-setting featuring coloured rubber ring, at 2 o’clock
Watch supplied with two rubber crown rings, one in red, the other in grey
Sapphire crystal with interior anti-reflection coating, front and display back
Strap and buckle
Supplied with grey rubber strap with specially developed, satin-finished and polished natural Grade 5 titanium pin buckle.
Total weight of the watch: 55g, including rubber strap and pin buckle

Retail price: CHF 37,000 without taxes

 
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ROMAIN GAUTHIER – Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette Edition

ROMAIN GAUTHIER – Exception Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette Edition 2020

INSIGHT MICRO-ROTOR SQUELETTE

With a stunning, skeletonised, in-house movement featuring superlatively
hand-finished mainplate and bridges in ultra-light, natural titanium

This year marks the 15th anniversary of Romain Gauthier. It is fitting, then, that the Swiss watchmaker’s latest creation, Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette, calls on an area of craftsmanship for which he and his team have been heralded since the birth of the brand in 2005: hand-finishing.

By opening up and stripping down his high-end, time-only automatic calibre, Romain has created a truly contemporary skeleton watch that is a technical and artistic tour de force. Not only do the skeletonised, ultra-light natural titanium bridges and mainplate help to reveal the mesmerising mechanics of the in-house movement, they also provide the perfect platform for the Romain Gauthier anglage specialists to demonstrate their immense skills. For each Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette movement features as many as 250 hours devoted to anglage alone, that’s to say the bevelling, softening, smoothing and polishing by hand of the bridges and mainplate, in an extraordinary demonstration of watchmaking artistry.

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Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette is available in a 42mm case made out of Carbonium®, a cutting-edge carbon composite sourced from aerospace-grade fibres that is light, mechanically resistant and catches the eye with its dynamic veining. This is a customisable “Manufacture Only” edition available exclusively via Manufacture Romain Gauthier. Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette is also available as customisable 39.5mm precious metal or titanium “Special Orders” through Romain Gauthier or its retail partners. To show the mouthwatering possibilities, Romain has created two Special Order examples, one in 18k red gold and another in 950 platinum.

INSIGHT MICRO-ROTOR SQUELETTE IN DETAIL

Skeletonising Insight Micro-Rotor

For either technical or aesthetic reasons, not every calibre lends itself to skeletonisation, and Romain Gauthier’s in-house movements are no different. “If you skeletonised my first movement Prestige HM/HMS, there would be sizeable voids leaving little to see except the hair on your wrist, and that’s not ideal,” says Romain. “The open architecture of my Logical One means that if you opened it up even more, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to view more of the mechanics than what you can already see. However, my Insight Micro-Rotor jumps out as a natural fit for skeletonisation.”

Insight Micro-Rotor is Romain Gauthier’s high-end, automatic timepiece of which the hour, minute and small second indications are powered by an in-house calibre boasting bidirectional micro-rotor made from 22k solid gold. Visible dial side and through the display back, this oscillating weight turns smoothly between two bridges, each fitted with a friction-minimising, wear-resistant ruby bearing. In whichever direction the micro-rotor swings, it winds a serially operating double mainspring barrel offering 80 hours of power at full wind. For Romain, the architecture of the arcing bridges, the position of the balance and micro-rotor, and the layout of the gears and barrels meant skeletonising this movement would really add something.

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He says: “As I worked on the design and explored potential executions, it became clear that skeletonising Insight Micro-Rotor would not leave awkward gaps, but would instead reveal previously hidden details and create new ones, making this movement even more expressive.”

Material decisions: Making the mainplate and bridges in ultra-light, natural titanium

Romain’s design for opening up the Insight Micro-Rotor entailed skeletonising the mainplate and eight bridges that, until now, have been made in solid brass. At the thicknesses he envisaged, going as thin as 0.7mm, skeletonised brass bridges wouldn’t have necessarily held up. Grade 5 titanium, however, offered the requisite strength and a lightness that could reduce the overall weight of the movement to 15.95g, the ability to look good naturally without the need for galvanic deposition, and the ability to be hand-polished. All the same, machining titanium has its challenges.

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“Titanium takes longer than brass to machine the material into the required shape. Progress is slower and more incremental, with more steps required for each piece,” says Romain. “It wears down tools and can break them more easily. There is always a risk of fire, so you must avoid unmonitored machining during the night. And it also tests the machine operators’ ability to work within +/- 2-micron tolerances because if any holes are a fraction too small, the jewels could break when the watchmakers drive them in.”

Off-the-scale hand-finishing drawing on 15 years of savoir-faire

If machining the titanium mainplate and bridges of Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette has its challenges, they pale in comparison to the challenges of hand-finishing them. For this skeletonised movement calls on a particular savoir-faire for which Romain and his team have garnered plenty of plaudits since the brand was founded in 2005: anglage, or the art of bevelling, softening, smoothing and polishing components by hand.

Put simply, anglage beautifies the component by creating a polished bevel between its surface and its flanks, one which catches the light and the eye. The angleur or angleuse creates a bevel using a steel file, then softens and smooths the material, first with degussit stone then using a series of buffs with emery-paper tip gradually going from a coarser to a finer grain, before polishing the bevel using the woody stem of the locally-growing gentian plant with diamond paste. It requires skill, experience and patience, and even relatively simply-shaped bridges made in brass can each take tens of hours to bevel, soften, smooth and polish by hand.

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As you can imagine, the skeletonised mainplate and bridges of the Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette tested the talents of the Romain Gauthier anglage team on an entirely new level. One thing was the complexity of the shapes created by the skeletonisation, featuring no fewer than 156 sharp, internal angles that make it tricky for these artisans to access with their handheld tools, while limiting the scope of movement that their hands can make. Another thing was the way in which the titanium behaves.

“In all my 17 years as an angleuse, I have never worked on a movement consisting of so much titanium,“ says Sylvie Devaux, Head of Anglage at Manufacture Romain Gauthier. “I’ve worked on brass, steel, gold and German silver components and am even used to working on the titanium constant-force bridge of Romain’s Logical One, which takes a good 20 hours to finish by hand. But Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette is another proposition for me and my team.

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“The same properties that make titanium a challenge to machine also make it extremely difficult to hand-finish. Each of the bevelling, softening, smoothing and polishing stages take far longer than working with brass. You have to repeat steps, sometimes twice. Titanium tends to stick to our anglage tools, and we have to keep trimming the ends of the buffs and gentian so they stay effective. You also sometimes come across micro-grains in the titanium that detach, leaving tiny spots. The only solution is to go back over the angle all again.”

Indeed, it takes one Romain Gauthier anglage specialist no fewer than 250 hours to bevel, soften, smooth and polish by hand the natural titanium mainplate and eight bridges needed for one Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette.

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And that’s not even counting the time it takes Sylvie and her team to carry out other decorative techniques applied by hand to these components, such as polishing the screw and jewel countersinks using an ebony spindle, satin-finishing the flanks and hand-frosting the flat surfaces.

In fact, when you add up all the hours devoted to decorating the entire movement by hand or by hand-operated tools – including anglage, hand-frosting, polishing countersinks, circular graining, straight graining and snailing – it comes to over 350 hours of work!

Sylvie concludes: “Performing the anglage for one Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette is a real test of mental stamina. For a month and a half, 8 hours a day, you have to really be in the zone, concentrating so hard. It is like a marathon. You have to approach it angle by angle, component by component, until you finally reach the finish line and get that feeling of accomplishment.”

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In addition to hand-polished bevels, customers can opt for matte-finished bevels on their Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette, giving a slightly more understated look. The latter removes the need for the hand-polishing stage, but still involves the steps of bevelling, softening and smoothing by hand.

Raising the bar for contemporary skeleton watches

While the superlatively hand-finished, skeletonised mainplate and bridges of the Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette are a spectacle in themselves, opening up the calibre uncovers a raft of fresh details.

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Between 1 o’clock and 3 o’clock, the winding and time-setting mechanisms are more visible with a cluster of Romain Gauthier S-slot screws on show. We can now see one of the mainspring barrels, decorated by snailing, at 5 o’clock and, at 7 o’clock, circular-grained gears with circular, bevelled arms. The increased sense of depth created by this skeletonisation makes the balance wheel at 6 o’clock appear as though it is floating, while the snailed micro-rotor at 9 o’clock sways more dramatically than ever between the stripped-down bridges.

The spectacle continues through the display back where the micro-rotor can be seen engaging the visible train of gears, beginning with the reversing gear that gives the mechanism its bidirectionality. The highly-decorated barrels and ratchet wheels are now more exposed, while the sinuous shapes of the bridges are juxtaposed by the straight-grained, linear plaquettes adorning them.

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“I feel that skeletonising the Insight Micro-Rotor takes this calibre to a more technical level,” says Romain. “The wearer can marvel at the gears and other moving parts that are now on show and appreciate the architecture even more. Opening up the movement also creates more layers making it more three-dimensional. The result, for me, is a real contemporary skeleton watch.”

Manufacture-Only Carbonium® Edition

Romain Gauthier always knew that if he was ever going to create a timepiece that collectors could purchase exclusively through Manufacture Romain Gauthier, it needed to be something special with a strong identity. And so, for his first ever Manufacture-Only edition, Romain has chosen to present probably his sportiest looking watch to date: An Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette with case, crown, dial and buckle made out of Carbonium®.

Carbonium® is a high-tech, high-performance, carbon fibre composite invented and produced by French company Lavoisier Composites. It is made by employing a special compression-moulding process to ‘upcycle’ the epoxy resin and carbon fibres found in prepreg tapes sourced from the aerospace industry – fibres once earmarked to form part of an airliner wing, fin or fuselage.

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Romain says: “I have been interested in presenting a watch in carbon fibre for some time, but I was always waiting to find the right material, one that is a bona fide, technical carbon composite. I found that material in Carbonium®. I was drawn to Carbonium® because not only does it possess excellent mechanical properties, but it also looks fabulous and wears light on the wrist.”

To make each of the Carbonium® elements for this timepiece, Lavoisier Composites creates Carbonium® blocks which are then finely shaped on a 5-axis machining centre before being matte-finished for a slightly silky surface appearance. In accordance with Romain’s wishes, Lavoisier chose a long fibre length of 50mm, in their eyes the sweet spot between mouldability, aesthetics and mechanical properties.

Indeed, the carbon fibre in Carbonium® is three times more rigid than titanium, yet twice as light. The fully assembled Carbonium® case for Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette weighs in at just 15.36g. So with the cased-up movement weighing 31.31g, it is fair to say this Carbonium® edition feels like a feather on the wrist.

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What is more, at 42mm in diameter, this case is larger than the Insight Micro-Rotor case in precious metal or titanium (39.5mm). That is because the rigid and fibre-rich nature of Carbonium® means localised increases in case dimensions needed to be made in order to machine it optimally. The extra couple of millimetres only serve to increase the assertive presence of the Carbonium® which bears a striking, organic-looking, veined pattern. As you turn the watch, the veins take it in turns to reflect the light, lending the case a real vivacity.

With carbon fibre watches, often the movement is placed in a watertight cylinder within an unwaterproofed case. Romain was keen to avoid this ‘hack’ and instead wanted the skeletonised movement to be protected from humidity by the Carbonium® case itself. To that end, Lavoisier Composites performed a multi-step waterproofing process developed especially for this Romain Gauthier case, that saw resin injected into the micropores – invisible to the naked eye – on the inside of the case to prevent water from entering it.

As for the “Manufacture Only” status of this edition, Romain Gauthier feels that this will enhance its appeal to collectors. “Purchasing this timepiece directly from us, our collectors will know that they are acquiring an exciting timepiece that they won’t find anywhere else,” says Romain. “Those who own it will, in a sense, become part of a club of owners who understand how this watch represents me in terms of the architectural movement, the extreme level of hand-finishing and the technical-yet-casual nature of the Carbonium® case. And they will know that they will have made a considerable contribution to supporting our watchmaking.”

Customisable elements include the final finishing to the bridges and mainplate (hand-polished or matte-finished bevels); colour of the steel hands, dial accents and plaquette engravings; and colour of the natural rubber strap. The example here features hand-polished bevels, Pacific blue and white dial accents, and Pacific blue steel hands and natural rubber strap.


Precious metal or titanium “Special Orders” available through Manufacture Romain Gauthier or its retailers

Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette can also be requested as a “Special Order” in a 39.5mm precious metal or natural or black DLC Grade 5 titanium case, either directly via the brand or through Romain Gauthier retailers. To fuel our imaginations, Romain has created two Special Order examples featured here.

One is in 18k red gold featuring an oven-fired black enamel dial greyed by hand-frosting with white and gilded dial accents, complemented by 18k red gold hands; mainplate and bridges bevelled, softened and smoothed by hand, then matte-finished; and gilded micro-rotor, plaquettes and balance wheel. It is fitted with a grey, natural rubber strap with 18k red gold pin buckle.

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The other example is in 950 platinum featuring an oven-fired, satin-blue enamel dial made in house by Romain’s wife Ana Gauthier, with white dial accents, accompanied by 18k white gold hands; bridges and mainplate bevelled, softened, smoothed and polished by hand; and rhodium-treated micro-rotor, plaquettes and balance wheel. It is accompanied by a navy-blue alligator leather strap with 18k white gold pin buckle.

Elements that collectors or retailers can customise include the material of the case; final finishing to the bridges and mainplate (hand-polished or matte-finished bevels); colour of the dial and dial accents; material and colour of the hands; colour of the plaquettes and their engravings; and the material and colour of the strap.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette Manufacture-Only Carbonium® Edition

Features and indications
Off-centre hours, minutes and small seconds
In-house, automatic movement
Superlatively hand-finished, skeletonised mainplate and bridges in natural titanium
22k gold bidirectional micro-rotor
Double mainspring barrel in series giving 80-hour power reserve
42mm Carbonium® case
Available exclusively through Manufacture Romain Gauthier

Dial and hands
Carbonium® hour-minute dial and small seconds dial (monobloc)
Skeletonised hour and minute hands in matte-finished steel
Solid small seconds hand in matte-finished steel
Colour of hands and dial accents customisable
Movement and finishing
Dimensions: 32.1mm x 6.8mm
Power reserve: 80 hours
Number of jewels: 33
Number of components: 206
Balance frequency: 28,800 vph / 4Hz
Components in: 22k gold micro-rotor, titanium, steel,
stainless steel, beryllium copper, brass and German silver
Choice of final finishing to the bridges and mainplate (hand-polished or matte-finished bevels)
Colour of plaquette engravings customisable
Case
Material: Carbonium®
Dimensions: 42mm x 12.9mm at highest point
Water resistance: 50m/5atm/170ft
Sapphire crystal with interior anti-reflection coating, front and display back
Carbonium® crown for manual winding and time-setting at 2 o’clock
Strap and buckle
Natural rubber strap, colour customisable
Carbonium® pin buckle


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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette Special Orders

Features and indications
Off-centre hours, minutes and small seconds
In-house, automatic movement
Superlatively hand-finished, skeletonised mainplate and bridges in natural titanium
22k gold bidirectional micro-rotor
Double mainspring barrel in series giving 80-hour power reserve
39.5mm precious metal or natural or black DLC Grade 5 titanium case
Available through Manufacture Romain Gauthier or its retailers
Dial and hands
Oven-fired enamel dial
Skeletonised hour and minute hands
Solid small seconds hand
Finishing of the dial, material of the hands, colour of the hands and dial accents customisable
Movement and finishing
Dimensions: 32.1mm x 6.8mm
Power reserve: 80 hours
Number of jewels: 33
Number of components: 206
Balance frequency: 28,800 vph / 4Hz
Components in: 22k gold micro-rotor, titanium, steel,
stainless steel, beryllium copper, brass and German silver
Choice of final finishing to the bridges and mainplate (hand-polished or matte-finished bevels)
Colour of plaquettes and plaquette engravings customisable
Case
Material:

• 18k red gold,
• 18k white gold,
• 950 platinum or natural or black DLC Grade 5 titanium

Dimensions: 39.5mm x 12.9mm at highest point
Water resistance: 50m/5atm/170ft
Sapphire crystal with interior anti-reflection coating, front and display back
Crown for manual winding and time-setting at 2 o’clock
Strap and buckle
Natural rubber strap or alligator leather strap hand-stitched in Switzerland, colour customisable
Pin or deployant buckle
Buckle in material to match case, except for platinum case which is accompanied by 18k white gold buckle

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ROMAIN GAUTHIER – Insight Micro-Rotor Lady Gold Edition

ROMAIN GAUTHIER – Insight Micro-Rotor LADY Mother-of-pearl Dial Gold Limited Edition

More than just a pretty face

With its highly visible, intricately engineered, automatic movement featuring snow-set micro-rotor and its gently shimmering mother-of-pearl dial, Insight Micro-Rotor Lady – Romain Gauthier’s first ladies’ watch – is for those women who want their timepieces blessed with more than just a pretty face.

“Increasingly, female collectors are looking to own truly exceptional mechanical timepieces,” says Gauthier. “While aesthetics still play a role, these women want the real deal in terms of innovative mechanisms and fine hand-finishing. Insight Micro-Rotor Lady offers this combination of style and substance.”

Insight Micro-Rotor Lady’s hour-minute subdial and small seconds are crafted from mother of pearl exuding a gorgeous iridescent sheen, indications powered by an in-house calibre that boasts a bidirectional micro-rotor made from 22k gold. The front of this oscillating weight is spectacularly decorated with brilliant-cut diamonds of varying sizes.

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Framed by a cut-out in the mainplate – also adorned with mother of pearl – the sparkling micro-rotor turns fluidly and noiselessly between two bridges, each fitted with a friction-minimising, wear-resistant ruby bearing. However subtly and in whichever direction the micro-rotor swings, it efficiently winds a serially operating double mainspring barrel that, when fully wound, provides a generous 80 hours of power.

The dial is a picture of depth and harmony, with the mother-of-pearl subdials and mainplate cover superbly setting off the red gold hands, gilded balance wheel and red gold treated plaquette and bridges that are hand bevelled and straight-grained. The arcs of the sweeping bridges marry with the inner contours of the red gold case.

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The case’s 39.5mm diameter ensures a comfortable fit on slim wrists. Impressive design details include a lip in the caseband that flares out to meet the bezel; the crown placed at 2 o’clock to free up space for wrist movement; and the bombé sapphire crystal which gradually rises so its highest point is over the hour-minute display – the true centre of the dial in Romain Gauthier’s eyes.

There are more beguiling views of the movement through the display back. Here the micro-rotor can be see setting the visible train of gears in motion, starting with the reversing gear that lends the mechanism its bidirectionality. The gears and ratchets stand out for their circular arms that feature eye-catching bevels

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Meanwhile, the golden bridges are decorated with hand-made, hand polished bevels and jewel countersinks and are fixed in place using Romain Gauthier’s signature screws with aesthetic S-slot. The sinuosity of the bridges is nicely juxtaposed by the linearity of the straight-grained finishing and four plaquettes.

“With Insight Micro-Rotor Lady, I wanted to create something that is feminine, but which avoids clichés of femininity, and something that is technical but where the showpiece complication provides a simplicity of use,” says Gauthier. “A few turns of the crown get the movement going, you set the time, put the watch on and let the micro-rotor do its work. You can then just enjoy it as an elegant and reliable daily companion.”

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Insight Micro-Rotor Lady is available in two 10-piece limited editions in red gold: with Tahitian black mother-of-pearl dial and anthracite strap, and with Australian extra white mother-of-pearl dial with white strap.

INSIGHT MICRO-ROTOR LADY IN DETAIL

Mother-of-pearl dial and mainplate cover

Insight Micro-Rotor Lady comes in two limited editions: With Tahitian black mother-of-pearl dial and with Australian extra white mother-of-pearl dial. In each case, the hour-minute subdial and small seconds are crafted from the same piece of mother of pearl (0.3mm thin), while the mainplate cover is cut from another piece of the same type of mother of pearl (0.6mm thin), creating a dynamic contrast of textures.

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The fragility of the nacre means great care has to be taken during the cutting process, especially for the one-piece mainplate cover that bears a complex shape with a figure of eight cut in the centre to accommodate the small seconds and balance wheel. In a neat design touch, the edges of this cut-out are bevelled.

Both types of mother of pearl originate from their natural habitat in the South Seas and are ecologically sourced. Each mother-of-pearl dial and mainplate cover is different, and each arrangement of the diamonds decorating the micro-rotor is different, meaning no two Insight Micro-Rotor Lady timepieces are the same.

In-house automatic movement

Insight Micro-Rotor Lady’s movement was designed, developed, produced, decorated, assembled and regulated at Manufacture Romain Gauthier in the Vallée de Joux, Switzerland. Romain Gauthier has designed it to be highly visible so the viewer can gain an instant appreciation of the spectacular mechanics and fine finishing, giving rise to the name “Insight”.

The bidirectionality of the micro-rotor is achieved through a reversing gear. The axis of this gear glides side to side, guided by a curved aperture cut within two arc-shaped steel plates which are black-polished to facilitate the gear’s lateral movement and rotation. When the micro-rotor changes direction, it drives the toothing of the reversing gear in the opposite direction, making the reversing gear slide this way too.

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Gauthier has designed the micro-rotor so that it turns between two bridges, each fitted with a ruby bearing, thus harnessing the watchmaking principle of avoiding metal against metal by putting metal against ruby. Rubies have a low coefficient of friction and high wear resistance, here helping to produce a smooth, inaudible rotation of the micro-rotor compared to, say, metal ball-bearings which can entail noise and wear.

Given the relative weight of the micro-rotor, Gauthier has decided to eschew a ‘flying’ rotor supported by just one bridge from beneath and instead design the micro-rotor so it is sandwiched between two bridges, from above and from below, for superior stability.

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The two mainspring barrels combine to offer 80 hours of energy at full wind. The barrels are in series for more constant power to the regulator that features the Romain Gauthier balance wheel with curved arms and calibrated eccentric weights plus hand-assembled pallet lever that is triangular for maximum rigidity.

The movement’s spectacular decoration includes hand-made and hand-polished bevels, snailing, straight-graining, circular-graining and hand-frosting as well as hand-made and hand-polished jewel countersinks.

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Technical Specifications

Name:  INSIGHT MICRO-ROTOR LADY

Editions

• 18k red gold featuring Tahitian black mother-of-pearl dial – 10-piece limited edition
• 18k red gold featuring Australian extra white mother-of-pearl dial – 10-piece limited edition

Features and indications
Off-centre hours and minutes, central small seconds
Mother-of-pearl dial and mainplate cover
18k red gold hands
In-house, bidirectional, automatic movement featuring 22k gold micro rotor
Micro-Rotor snow set with approx. 45 brilliant, round VVS to VS diamonds of varying sizes (0.1 carat)
Double mainspring barrel in series for generous 80-hour power reserve
Movement and finishing
Dimensions: 32.1mm x 6.8mm
Power reserve: 80 hours
Number of jewels: 33
Number of components: 206
Balance frequency: 28,800 vph / 4Hz
Components in: 22k gold micro rotor, steel, stainless steel, beryllium copper, brass and German silver
Finishing: Highest-level haute horlogerie hand-finishing
Treatment: 5N red-gold treated bridges
Case
Dimensions: 39.5mm x 12.9mm at highest point
Water resistance: 50m/5atm/170ft
Sapphire crystal with interior anti-reflection coating, front and display back
Crown for winding and time-setting at 2 o’clock
Strap and buckle
For black mother-of-pearl limited edition: 

• Anthracite strap in natural rubber or satin with red gold pin buckle

For white mother-of-pearl limited edition: 

• White strap in natural rubber or satin with red gold pin buckle

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ROMAIN GAUTHIER – Logical One Secret Kakau Hofke

ROMAIN GAUTHIER – Logical One Secret Kakau Höfke Limited Edition NEW

With Logical one Secret Kakau Höfke, Romain Gauthier has created the ultimate synthesis of art, craftsmanship and haute horlogerie to produce a stunning objet d’art that pays tribute to that most vibrant of cities, Rio de Janeiro.

On one hand, Logical one Secret Kakau Höfke is a resplendent expression of contemporary art. Adorning its integrated 18k white gold cover, hour-minute subdial and small seconds is a mesmerising, modernist depiction of Rio de Janeiro, designed by Kakau Höfke. This Brazilian artist is a long-time friend of the Gauthier family and responsible for designing the Romain Gauthier logo when the brand was founded in 2005.

Originally featuring in her series of acrylic-on-canvas artworks, Höfke’s signature portrayal of her native city Rio not only evokes Corcovado – the iconic mountain on which proudly stands the ‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue – but also the pattern that features on the promenade (calçada) bordering Ipanema beach.

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At the same time, this piece is a consummate celebration of time-honoured craftsmanship. For Höfke’s design has been beautifully adapted and recreated using an intricate micro-marquetry technique based on traditional stone marquetry, carried out by artisans at the Geneva atelier of Olivier Vaucher.
No fewer than 352 unique, mirror-polished, miniature tiles of jade and agate – each one 0.5mm thin and painstakingly hand-finished and hand-applied – make up this exceptional micro-marquetry, which required three months of solid work to create. The sheer complexity of the marquetry is evidenced by its bombé profile and double layer of tiles.
Light and dark tiles cut from the same lavender jade stone form the Ipanema promenade pattern; tiles cut from blue agate compose the Corcovado scenery. Where the two motifs overlap, the cover has been delicately recessed to accommodate a second layer of tiles, with the ethereal transparency of the blue agate allowing the lavender jade marquetry below to remain visible.

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The effect is remarkable, for the beholder can appreciate not just the varying hues of the different stone types, but also the contrasting, fragmented patterns of the two tile layers. That the marquetry seamlessly flows onto the subdials is another outstanding feature.
The artisan has displayed an extraordinary level of skill to pull off this feat, using their dexterous hand and experienced eye to fine-tune and place the tiles so that their joins are barely perceptible while at the same time ensuring that the overall artwork boasts a subtle three-dimensional relief.
Indeed, the tile facets act like tiny angled mirrors, with light shimmering off of each one, endowing Logical one Secret Kakau Höfke with an effervescent vitality in keeping with the spirit of Rio de Janeiro and its people.

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The visual splendour doesn’t stop there. A gentle squeeze on the pusher integrated into the white gold case unlocks the cover engraved on the inside with the Romain Gauthier logo and Kakau Höfke’s signature. Lifting up the cover reveals Logical one Secret’s multi-patented, in-house movement featuring flat chain-and-fusee style constant force system with ruby chain links, highly visible balance wheel boasting a gracefully curved bridge, and ergonomic push button winding system.

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The sapphire crystal display back affords further views of this mechanical art, with the superlatively hand-finished movement on full show, in addition to the 46-hour power reserve indicator.
Logical one Secret Kakau Höfke is a unique piece, created as part of Manufacture Romain Gauthier’s 10th anniversary celebrations. It is accompanied by a unique acrylic-on-canvas Rio de Janeiro artwork that Kakau Höfke painted especially to complement the timepiece.

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So accomplished is it that Logical one Secret Kakau Höfke has been preselected by the jury of the 2015 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève – the Oscars of watchmaking – in the Artistic Crafts category.

LOGICAL ONE SECRET KAKAU HÖFKE IN DETAIL

Romain Gauthier and Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is a place that Romain Gauthier holds dear. The Swiss watchmaker has visited this iconic Brazilian city annually with his family since meeting his Rio-born wife Ana at the turn of the millennium.
“Undeniably, Rio de Janeiro has a special place in my heart,” he says. “The diversity and exuberance of its people – the Cariocas – coupled with the beautiful, dramatic cityscape never ceases to fascinate me. There is no other place like it in the world.”
As a tribute to the city that has given him so much – not least his beloved – Gauthier decided to create a timepiece that pays homage to Rio de Janeiro. And he has done so by harnessing the talents of acclaimed artist Kakau Höfke.

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“Kakau Höfke has been a friend of my wife and our family for a long time, and I asked her to design the Romain Gauthier logo when I founded the brand in 2005,” says Gauthier. “While I admire her as a person, I also have great admiration for her as an artist, and I have collected several of her paintings over the years. Her idiosyncratic style and colourful depiction of Rio is a joy to behold. I always feel transported to this magical city when I view her artwork.”

Kakau Höfke’s Rio 

Artist Kakau Höfke has become known for her modern, pop art style featuring colorful palettes and overlapping transparencies, with Rio de Janeiro her habitual, glorious subject.
“My artistic inspiration is the love I have for my hometown,” she says. “My work is based on the mountains and the promenades of Ipanema and Copacabana, which are icons of Rio. The best-known mountain is Corcovado that you can see from virtually anywhere in the city. It transcends religion – it is the symbol of the city. The promenades too have become known worldwide as a symbol of Rio.
“Rio is a very beautiful city. Not only because of the splendid nature, mountains, forest and beaches, but also the atmosphere, the joy of the people who live there, despite all the challenges they face every day. Rio does have its problems and social injustices, but I prefer to paint it happy and colorful, as I wish it were in reality.”

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She adds: “I was thrilled when Romain proposed to feature my artwork on one of his timepieces. It was almost surreal. I know how hard he has worked to create haute horlogerie of the very highest level, and so to now play a part in his adventure was a real honour.”

Adaptation of Kakau Höfke’s Rio artwork

With Kakau Höfke on board, Romain Gauthier asked her to adapt her Rio artwork so that all its main elements – the depiction of Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer statue, and the Ipanema promenade motif – would comprise a design that could decorate the gold cover of Logical one Secret.
After that, it was a question of choosing a suitable medium of expression. Micro-painting? Hand-engraving? Gauthier decided on an intricate micro-marquetry technique based on traditional stone marquetry, comprising hundreds of uniquely shaped fine-stone tiles, including a double layer of tiles where the Corcovado motif overlays the Ipanema pattern. Not only would it look spectacular, but also it would evoke the calçadas – promenades of Rio – including that of Ipanema beach as well as the strand along Copacabana beach.

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Kakau Höfke explains: “What Romain did was simply amazing. He managed to add one more characteristic of Rio to this timepiece through choosing stone micro-marquetry to express my artwork. The marquetry features irregularly shaped tiles of fine stones, in a similar way to the promenades of Rio, which are composed of irregularly shaped ‘Portuguese stones’. Fantastic!”

The stone micro-marquetry in detail

Romain Gauthier enlisted the renowned skills of the artisans at the Geneva atelier of Olivier Vaucher to create the stone micro-marquetry adorning Logical one Secret Kakau Höfke’s cover. It was a challenge that Vaucher and his team relished.
“When Romain approached us to carry out the stone marquetry for this timepiece, we were really impressed by the idea and were eager to do it. But we knew it would not be without its challenges,” says Olivier Vaucher. “It was going to be highly complicated. A single layer of marquetry on its own is a challenge, but a double marquetry – one layer on top of the other – is virtually unheard of, especially on this micro scale.”
Vaucher continues: “The bombé profile of Logical one Secret’s cover added to the complexity of the task because the tiles themselves have a flat profile. That meant the angle of the sides of each tile needed to be carefully hand-adjusted, tile by tile, as the artisan applied each tile to the marquetry.”
First, Olivier Vaucher’s team theoretically tested different combinations of tile shapes and sizes before settling on a harmonious fragmented pattern of 352 irregularly-shaped tiles, a pattern that was both aesthetically pleasing and workable. These three- and four-sided tiles are all 0.5mm thin and their sides 1mm to 2mm long.

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From their repository of fine stones, Vaucher and his team carefully selected stone types that corresponded to the hues and shades of Höfke’s design. They chose light and dark slices cut from the same piece of lavender jade for the Ipanema pattern and a specific slice of blue agate to portray the Corcovado scenery.
One of the factors in determining the stone was its workability at a thinness of 0.5mm. If the stone were too fragile at this thinness, cutting and hand-adjusting such fine tiles would be impossible. What’s more, the Corcovado scenery needed to be represented by a genre of see-through stone, to allow the layer of marquetry below to remain visible. This was the first time Olivier Vaucher’s atelier had superimposed a layer of transparent stone marquetry over an underlying layer of marquetry.

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The selected slices of stone were mirror-polished and then precision-cut by laser into the 352 tiles. Each tile was purposefully created ever so slightly larger than needed so the artisan could later adjust it manually to fit the curved profile of the gold cover.
It was important that each tile side touched an adjacent tile side, with no gaps between them. This was no easy feat to achieve, and here the artisan’s skill and savoir-faire really came into play. Working tile by tile, the artisan adjusted the angle of each side of the tile with a small hand-held grinding wheel, before applying a little watchmaking glue to the tile and fixing it in place on the gold cover. All in all, the magnificent stone micro-marquetry took three months’ solid work to create..

Logical one Secret’s mechanical art

With the stone micro-marquetry of Kakau Höfke’s Rio de Janeiro taking centre stage, it is easy to forget that Logical one Secret Kakau Höfke also features a mechanical work of art – the innovative, Grand Prix de Genève-winning movement of Logical one which was conceived, developed, produced, decorated, assembled and regulated in-house at Manufacture Romain Gauthier.

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This pioneering movement features Romain Gauthier’s 21st-century reinterpretation of a traditional chain-and-fusee style constant force mechanism. Gauthier’s invention contains a revolutionary ruby-link chain, snail cam and sapphire-lined mainspring barrel to offer nearly two days of constant force – the holy grail of precision watchmaking. Pressing the caseband pusher at 4 o’clock unlatches the cover, allowing the wearer to lift it up and admire Logical one Secret Kakau Höfke’s palladium-treated movement though the sapphire crystal. The snail cam and ruby-link chain are on full show, as are bespoke gear wheels with graceful circular arms; polished screw heads with distinctive s-slot; balance wheel with curved arms and calibrated eccentric weights; hand-frosted bridges; and Romain Gauthier-invented triangular pallet lever.

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More of the outstanding movement can be viewed through the display back; bridges and plates bearing a number of angles – including several sharp internal angles – feature rounded bevels that have been meticulously created by hand. This type of eye-catching anglage brings out the inherent beauty of the components.

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Technical Specifications

Name: Logical one Secret Kakau Höfke

Reference number: MON000168
Limited edition: Unique piece

Features and indications
Intricate stone micro-marquetry adaptation of Kakau Höfke’s Rio de Janeiro artwork on white gold cover and subdials
Movement features chain-and-fusee style constant force system, push-button winding and superlative hand finishing
Hours, minutes, small seconds and 46-hour power reserve indicator
Stone micro-marquetry on white gold cover and hour and minute subdials
No. of lavender jade tiles: 270
No. of blue agate tiles: 82
Tiles cut by laser then adjusted, finished and applied by hand at Olivier Vaucher’s atelier
Dial and hands
Lavender jade marquetry on hour and minute subdials
Skeletonised hour and minute hands in 18k white gold
Solid small seconds hand in 18k white gold
Subdials fixed via Romain Gauthier polished screw with distinctive s-slot
Movement
In-house manufacture movement
Dimensions: 35.5mm x 10.5mm
Power reserve: 46 hours
Number of jewels: 37 in movement, 34 for chain
Number of components: 357
Balance frequency: 28,800 vph / 4Hz
Movement plates and bridges: titanium, stainless steel and brass
Movement finish: palladium-treated
Finishing:
Highest level haute horlogerie finishing, including hand-polished screws and jewel countersinks; Hand-bevelled and hand-polished bridges and plates
Case and strap
Case material: 18k white gold
Dimensions: 43mm x 15mm
Water resistance: 30m /3atm / 100ft
Sapphire crystal with anti-reflection coating front and display back
Crown for time-setting at 2 o’clock
Push button for winding at 9 o’clock
Pusher for unlocking cover at 4 o’clock
Strap and buckle: 
Alligator leather strap hand-stitched in Switzerland with 18k white gold pin buckle

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