The New and Incredibly Elegant Laurent Ferrier Classic Origin Beige

As one of the most admired independent watchmakers with a hallmark style defined by elegant understatement, it is hard to believe that Laurent Ferrier’s brand was established just 15 years ago. A third-generation watchmaker and car racing enthusiast, Laurent Ferrier (Geneva, 1946) was about to retire after a 37-year stint at Patek Philippe when his longtime rally partner François Servarin encouraged him to create his own brand. Starting a brand at 63 requires some pluck, but we have Servarin to thank for nudging Laurent Ferrier to go solo. To celebrate the brand’s 10^th anniversary, Laurent Ferrier released the Classic Origin in titanium in 2020. The brand’s most straightforward watch with a time-only display, the Classic Origin pays homage to the pater familias, the Galet Tourbillon Double Spiral of 2010. Marking the fifteenth anniversary of the brand, the Classic Origin exchanges its titanium case for warm red gold paired with a serene beige dial.

Once you’ve seen and handled a Laurent Ferrier watch, there’s no going back. From the smooth, river-worn pebble feel of the Galet cases to the refined minimalism of the dial elements, LF’s watches have a powerful, tangible appeal. This same elegant, understated spirit of the habillage is translated into the mechanical arena. You won’t come across too many watchmakers, for instance, who hide their tourbillon regulator with a double spiral around the back of the watch. Monochrome interviewed Laurent Ferrier to understand the genesis of the Classic Origin, shortly after its release; our video is available to watch here.

One of the surprising features of the Classic Origin was its titanium case, a novel material for the brand at the time. Returning to more classical territory, the new Classic Origin Beige comes in a luxurious 5N red gold case. Sharing the same 40mm diameter and 10.7mm thickness, as well as its signature ball-shaped crown, the case is polished to highlight its smooth, pebble-like contours. The combination of red gold and the soft beige opaline hue of the dial brings a sensation of warmth and luxury to the watch.

Marked by a pleasing symmetry reinforced by the brown crosshair traversing the centre of the dial, the applied red gold markers at noon, 3 and 9 o’clock taper from a rounded top to finish in a sharp point, similar in style to the hallmark Assegai (javelin-shaped) red gold hour and minute hands with their needle-thin ends. The brown railway minute track on the periphery hosts red Arabic numerals (13-24), matching the markings on the small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock, which has a snailed interior and a gold hand.

The Classic Origin is powered by the LF 116.01, a simplified version of the movement inside the Galet Annual Calendar – without the calendar module and power reserve indication. The manual-winding calibre has a free-sprung balance and Breguet overcoil to enhance isochronism. To the delight of LF fans, the calibre features the long-blade ratchet pawl that produces the distinctive sound and feel when winding the watch. The movement beats at 3Hz and delivers a robust 80-hour power reserve. The finishing is impeccable, as you would expect from Laurent Ferrier, with hand-bevelled and polished edges, and a contemporary sandblasted finish on the bridges.

The watch is paired with a mocha Nubuck strap and a red gold pin buckle. It retails for CHF 43,000 (excl. tax). More information at laurentferrier.ch.