The Pequignet Royale Paris Manual 39.5mm

French watchmaker Pequignet has added a hand-wound piece to the 39.5mm Royale Paris collection that eschews the usual complications for a classy, time-only dial. It complements the time-only Royale Paris 36mm automatics that come with three dial colours, along with the hand-wound Royale Paris Aventurine 41mm Limited Edition. It shares many design elements with the 39.5mm automatics, but also separates itself with a stripped-down, no-nonsense style that provides a more interactive experience with the ritual of winding. It’s also the most accessibly priced of the seven 39.5mm references.

The stainless steel case is 39.5mm in diameter (hence the name) and 11.5mm in height with polished and satin finishes. Lug-to-lug is 47mm. A domed, box-style AR sapphire crystal protects the dial and the sapphire exhibition case back is secured with six screws. The push/pull crown is embossed with the “fleur de lys” logo, and water resistance is rated at 50 metres. It comes fitted with a 20mm brown calf leather strap with a steel pin buckle and quick-release levers.

The dial is only available in opaline white (silver) and features a grained centre section and snailed small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock. A sizable groove surrounds the center and the applied bevelled indices form bridges over this gap, from the centre to the outermost minute track. The polished hour and minute hands have Super-LumiNova TC1, and the small seconds hand is blue, providing the only spark of colour on the dial. This design language is again shared with the automatic Royale Paris 39.5mm dials, minus the complications. 

Powering the Royale Paris Manual 39.5mm is the in-house, hand-wound Calibre Royal Manuel with 21 jewels, a beat rate of 21,600vph (3Hz) and an impressive 100-hour power reserve. Functions are limited to central hours, minutes and small seconds. Seen from the exhibition case back, the movement is well finished with Côtes de Genève and perlage.

The Pequignet Royale Paris Manual 39.5mm retails for EUR 3,900, which isn’t exactly accessible, but still significantly less than the automatics in the collection that start at EUR 5,300. For more information, please visit Pequignet’s website.