The New Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Edition

The announcement two years ago of the comeback of Daniel Roth under Louis Vuitton’s direction gave us great hopes. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long to see the first result of this anticipated return, which started with a yellow gold Tourbillon Souscription, a faithful tribute to the late-1980s reference C187 Tourbillon watch by Mr Roth, followed by another tourbillon in rose gold. Earlier this year, we covered the introduction of a highly important model, a classic time-only, ultra-thin dress watch, the Daniel Roth Extra Plat, this time a modern vision of the reference C107. Following the same strategy as the tourbillon, the inaugural yellow gold Souscription model is now coming in non-limited rose gold, with an open back and a guilloché dial with a pinstripe pattern. Let’s take a closer look at the new Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold. 

While Daniel Roth, who was behind the great revival of Breguet during the 1980s, started his own brand with the all-time classic Tourbillon C187 in 1989, his second model was a far simpler yet extremely elegant watch, the Extra Plat Automatic reference C107. Released in 1990, the Extra Plat was the perfect expression of an elegant dress watch with character. It was a discreet, thin, time-only watch with a very elegant case shape, the classic ellipsocurvex. It was a fairly compact model, available in yellow, white or pink gold, with a size of 38mm x 35mm and a height of 6.7mm. Inside ticked a nicely finished Frederic Piguet 71 automatic calibre (with off-centred rotor), a thin 2.4mm movement that Roth knew perfectly from his days at Breguet. In addition to the reference C107, there was another thin dress watch, the reference C167, with a hand-wound movement and a thickness of 6.8mm, often referred to as the midiplat.

Launched in January in a yellow gold Souscription edition of only 20 pieces, the modern Daniel Roth Extra Plat is the direct descendant of these fantastically elegant time-only watches by Daniel Roth. The inaugural model featured a closed back, like the Souscription Tourbillon, and a yellow gold dial with a clous de Paris guilloché pattern and contrasting blue numerals and hands. Now, in the same vein as the non-limited Tourbillon model, the Daniel Roth Extra Plat is presented in rose gold with a pinstriped dial, which features a combination of colours that we have seen in the past, when Roth was still in charge of his company.

Without surprises, the rose gold Extra Plat doesn’t deviate much from what we’ve discovered earlier this year with the yellow gold Souscription watch. At least regarding the case. The signature shape designed by Roth, the ellipsocurvex case, has been retained and is now crafted in 5N rose gold, still with an entirely polished surface and a perfectly centred gadroon offering a nicely balanced profile. The case sticks to the same dimensions, with a compact 38.6mm length (excl. lugs), a 35.5mm width and an overall thickness of 7.70mm. Yes, that’s 1mm more than the old automatic version, but it is still elegant and slender. The top of the case, and now the back as well, features a sapphire crystal.

No need to mention that the watch is both impactful on the wrist, due to its original shape, but also extremely refined. A classic high-end time-only watch like we love them, with handsome design and great proportions. The lugs, which are made separately and then hand-soldered, are also more angled than they used to be on original Daniel Roth watches, ensuring a more comfortable fit. It is worn on a beige, grained calfskin leather strap closed by a pin buckle.

Besides the use of a new gold alloy and the presence of an open back, the main difference with the yellow gold Souscription model is the dial. La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton chose a classic style once used by Daniel Roth himself, a “guilloché en ligne” or pinstriped pattern in a grey and gold colour combination. The base of the dial is made of white gold, while the chapter ring is made of rose gold with three lines of so-called “filet sauté” guilloché to separate the indications. On this rose gold edition, all printings – logo, individual number of the watch and Roman numerals – are rendered in black, a colour also used to coat the polished steel hands.

Now with a movement that’s finally visible (it deserves to be seen), the Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold is powered by the calibre DR002. This hand-wound movement was developed by Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, the men at the head of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, and retains the distinctive visual style of the calibre DR001 Tourbillon, even though the calibre DR002 has been developed from the ground up for the Extra Plat Collection and will serve as a base movement for future complications (wouldn’t it be it nice with a papillon display or a perpetual calendar?). What we’re looking at here is a hand-wound shaped movement, designed to fit perfectly within the double-ellipse or ellipsocurvex case.

Measuring 31mm x 28mm, with a thickness of 3.1mm, it is made of 143 components with a free-sprung balance wheel beating at a modern 4Hz frequency, with 4 arms and each featuring a variable inertia weight for fine regulation. The large mainspring barrel, with long click spring, ensures a comfortable 65h power reserve. The movement is finely decorated with a circular grained mainplate, Geneva stripes and hand-applied polished chamfers, including sharp interior angles.

Availability & Price

Released as a non-limited edition, yet with limited production, the new Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold will be priced at CHF 49,000 (excl. taxes). For more details, please visit www.danielroth.com.