French Manufacture Pequignet Revisits the Royale Paris in a More Contemporary Key

French watchmaking is enjoying a renaissance today marked by the revival of extinct names and new micro-brands braving the arena. However, none of them can boast Pequignet’s claim to fame as “one of the only French Manufactures of Haute Horlogerie.” Following a period of trials and tribulations, Pequignet is back in business with a refreshed strategy and wind in its sails. Here to prove its point is the attractive Royale Paris model unveiled at Watches & Wonders earlier this year.

Founded in 1973 by Emile Pequignet in Morteau, a French commune close to the Swiss border, the brand made a bold decision in the early 2000s to become an integrated manufacture and produced its first in-house movement, the Calibre Royal, in 2011. Its fluctuating fortunes were eventually stabilised when, in 2021, Pequignet was acquired by Enowe Excellence, a family investment fund designed to promote excellent French craftsmanship. Please refer to Xavier’s in-depth coverage of the brand’s revival, its four in-house calibres and strategy for the future.

Free to pursue its dream of in-house manufacturing in France, the brand celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2023 with a new line, the Concorde. Streamlining its collections and replacing the somewhat baroque styling with sleeker, more contemporary designs, the new Royale Paris is the face of things to come.

Pequignet’s Royale family was designed to house the brand’s first in-house automatic Calibre Royal. Compared to other Royale Paris models with day, date, moon phases, power reserve and small seconds, the case of the new Royale Paris has shrunk from 41mm to 39.5mm and features a slimmer bezel. A great deal of care has been invested in redesigning the case, evidenced in the slightly recessed and polished flanks surmounted by the overhang of the satin-brushed bezel and caseback. The brightly polished flanks host the large winding crown with the brand’s fleur-de-lys logo in relief. Like yesteryear watches, the lugs are made separately and attached to the case. The lugs are a distinctive feature of the Royale collection and have satin-brushed surfaces and brightly polished sides. The redesigned bezel, secured with six screws to the caseback, also displays a satin-brushed surface with polished bevels.

Playing with textures and finishes, the asymmetrical layout of the Royale Paris comes to life. One of the most striking features is the trench encircling the silvery dial, separating the peripheral minutes from the central area of the dial hosting the complications. Intriguing design touches like the indices bridging the trench from the external track to the central sandblasted area of the dial add interest. The high degree of finishes can also be appreciated in details like the slim faceted indices with brushed surfaces and polished sides. Off-centred yet elegantly balanced, the two intersecting sub-dials for the small seconds and moon phases form a figure eight.

Distinguished by its snailed interior, the silver-framed, slightly recessed small seconds counter invades a section of the disc bearing the two apertures for the phases of the moon in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Realistically rendered, the two moons are modelled on a photograph of the Moon and sit well below the surface of the dial, adding depth. The moon phase can be adjusted with a corrector in the caseband. The minimalist power reserve indicator, which sits just to the left of the intersecting sub-dials, features a red depletion area and is indicated by a hand placed in the recessed channel. A domed glassbox sapphire crystal allows light to flood the dial from the top and sides, creating fun distortions on the periphery.

The double day and date window is framed and has a white background with raised black printing. Jumping instantaneously at midnight, the large date display employs two discs, one for tens and the second for units. Unlike earlier editions, the new Royale Paris does not feature the applied fleur-de-lys logo on the dial. In our opinion, this is a good move since the logo gives the dial a slightly pretentious, old-school air. The only trace of luminescence is found on the slim hour and minute hands with blue emission Super-LumiNova.

The caseback offers a view of the new-generation Calibre Royal, a descendant of the first French-made movement to place its complications on the same plate, a design that is protected by eight international patents. A large 31mm calibre with a thickness of 5.8mm, the new-generation Royal has an improved power reserve of 96 hours, up from 88 – not bad for a watch that delivers instantaneous jumps for the day and date discs.  Delivered by a large single barrel, you can see the golden soleillage decoration (radial lines emanating from the centre) on the drum cover peeking out from beneath the bridges decorated with Côtes de Genève stripes. The 3Hz balance with gold compensation screws can also be admired along with the refined perlage finishes. The bi-directional openworked winding rotor is brushed and decorated with an engraved gold-coloured fleur-de-lys.

The Royale Paris comes with an interchangeable light brown or Taupe alligator strap and folding clasp. In September, it will be available with a metal bracelet. Available from June 2025, the watch retails for EUR 8,500. More information at pequignet.com.