The Stylish Pequignet Royale Paris 39.5mm Power Reserve-Small Seconds

France’s golden age of horology during the 17^th and 18^th centuries produced notable figures like Julien Le Roy, Ferdinand Berthoud and Abraham-Louis Breguet. And it’s fair to say that had it not been for the expulsion of French Protestants following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 by King Louis XIV, Swiss watchmaking might never have taken root. Although French watchmaking was eventually eclipsed by the Swiss, a small legion of French brands is spearheading a mini renaissance of sorts. While Pequignet is not yet a household name, the small French watch brand with its own manufacture is gaining adherents. The latest proposal from the brand is a refreshed take on the brand’s flagship Royale Paris collection. We photographed the Royale Paris Power Reserve-Small Seconds edition and were pleasantly surprised.

Like many small, indie watch brands, the first few years can be tough. Pequignet, founded in 1973 by Emile Pequignet in Morteau, a French commune close to the Swiss border, had a bumpy ride in the 1980s and 1990s. Notwithstanding, the brand took the bull by the horns and made the bold decision of becoming an integrated manufacture. Inaugurated in 2010, the manufacture produced its first movement, the calibre Royal, in 2011, prompting the brand to proclaim itself as “one of the only French manufactures of haute horlogerie”. 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 in-house calibres and strategy for the future.

Pequignet’s Royale family was designed to house the brand’s first in-house automatic calibre Royal. Following the design upgrade practised on the Royale Paris Day-Date-Moon, the refreshed Royale Paris Power Reserve-Small Seconds features a more compact 39.5mm case size with a height of 11.5mm, including the domed glass-box sapphire crystal over the dial, and a lug-to-lug span of 47mm. In all, a comfortable, nicely proportioned watch for everyday activities with stylish accents on the case and dial.

Nobody does style quite like the French, and the refreshed case and dial reveal thoughtful design details that elevate the watch’s cachet. Viewed from the side, you can appreciate the recessed and polished areas of the steel case flanks sandwiched between the overhang of the brushed bezels. Another curious and distinctive detail concerns the lugs that are not part of the case construction but produced individually and then attached to the case. Additionally, the marked curvature of the lugs is accentuated by a polished bevel, matching the one on the circular-brushed bezel over the dial. Slimmed down, the bezel gives the dial more room to showcase its refined yet contemporary finishes.

Protected by a domed glass box sapphire crystal, the dial receives plenty of light. Available with a silver opaline dial or a navy blue dial, the dial is decorated with different finishes. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the dial is the smooth circular trench placed between the grained peripheral minutes track and the central area. Another attractive design feature is the way the slim, faceted indices bridge the trench.

The power reserve indicator spanning the lower left part of the dial is depicted with elegant minimalism and features a simple arced track and a red marker to indicate the depletion of the generous power reserve. Directly opposite and framed by a silver ring, the small seconds counter has a snailed interior. The only trace of luminescence is found on the slim, polished steel hour and minute hands treated with blue emission Super-LumiNova. Discarding the somewhat fuddy-duddy applied fleur-de-lys logo of earlier editions, the new Royale Paris model also reduces the inscriptions on the dial, sticking to the brand name in relief at noon and “Manufacture Française” printed in the concave trench.

Secured with six screws, the caseback bezel frames the in-house, automatic calibre Royal with its openworked and bidirectional rotor revealing some of the 318 components. Designed, developed and hand-assembled in-house, the calibre is protected by eight international patents and adjusted to chronometric precision with an average daily rate of -4 to +6 seconds. The improved 96-hour power reserve is delivered by a large single barrel; you can see the golden soleillage (radial lines emanating from the centre) decoration on the drum cover peeking out from beneath the bridges with Côtes de Genève stripes. The 3Hz balance, featuring gold compensation screws, can also be seen alongside the refined perlage finishes.

Fitted with a new, easy-to-use strap exchange system, the opaline model can be paired with a light brown or green alligator strap and the blue one with a blue Cordura nylon strap, both with a steel folding clasp (available on the brand’s website). What you won’t see on the brand’s website is the opaline dial model we photographed with a stainless steel bracelet, an option that will be available later this year.

The blue dial version of the Royale Paris 39.5mm Power Reserve-Small Seconds retails for EUR 5,300; the opaline dial with an alligator strap is slightly more expensive, retailing for EUR 5,800. More information at Pequignet.com.