The New Daniel Roth Tourbillon Platinum Edition

It’s revival season in the watchmaking world, as revered names like Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth find a new lease in the capable hands of La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton (LFTLV) manufacture. A pivotal figure in the rebirth of Breguet and the return of high-end mechanical watchmaking, Daniel Roth’s story makes for a fascinating read. Keen to maintain Daniel Roth’s prestige as an independent creator, LFTLV oversees the development, manufacture and assembly of his watches, but they are branded Daniel Roth. Released two years ago, the first revival piece was the Daniel Roth Souscription. Limited to 20 pieces, this watch is equipped with a tourbillon regulator and features a signature double-ellipse case, directly inspired by Roth’s original Tourbillon C187 watch. Debuting in yellow gold, followed by a regular production rose gold version, a heavyweight platinum and monochromatic version is added to the collection.

Following his time at Breguet, Daniel Roth decided to go solo. His inaugural watch was the Tourbillon C187 of 1988. Housed in an original double-ellipse case, the one-minute tourbillon of the C187 featured three seconds hands of different lengths to indicate the triple 20-second scale above the tourbillon. Produced for Asprey in yellow gold, the C187 appeared in various case materials, featuring skeletonised dials and guilloché decorative flourishes. The original 35 x 38mm watch used a base manual-winding Lemania 387 movement with a one-minute tourbillon regulator, and the reverse side featured a date sub-dial and a power reserve indicator.

The gleaming platinum version shares the double-ellipse case of the former gold models, with the same measurements: 38.6mm x 35.5mm x 9.2mm. However, since platinum is harder to work with than gold, machining the case can take up to three times longer than machining gold. More than just a carbon copy of the C187, the cse has been refined; the hand-soldered lugs arch downward to improve ergonomics, and the profile is slightly slimmer thanks to the in-house calibre DR001.

The white gold dial has a more contemporary anthracite hue and is decorated with pinstripe hand-guilloché. The sterling silver hours and minutes disc has black Roman numerals and fluted guilloché borders that embrace the triple seconds scale. The scale is flanked by the characteristic “moustache” on either side, formed by the DANIEL ROTH brand name and the individual watch number. All the dial components are produced in-house at the LFTLV guillochage workshop. Matching the Roman numerals, the steel hour and minute hands, as well as the triple seconds hand, are coated in black. Occupying the large aperture in the lower half of the dial, the one-minute tourbillon performs its hypnotic rotations, secured by a long, curved mirror-polished steel bridge with a pivot jewel nestled in a gold chaton.

Powering the watch is the DR001, a shaped movement developed by watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini, heads of La Fabrique du Temps LV, specifically for the double-ellipse case. Unlike the first yellow gold Souscription model with a solid caseback, the caseback of the platinum model is open, revealing some of the hand-finished components of the manual-winding calibre with a power reserve of 80 hours. The movement is decorated with black-polished steel bevels, thin Côtes de Genève on the bridges and perlage on the mainplate.

The Daniel Roth Tourbillon Platinum is paired with a beige calfskin strap and pin buckle. It joins the regular collection and retails for CHF 185,000 (excl. taxes).

More information at danielroth.com.