The RGM 501 Teddy Baldassarre Edition

RGM Watch Company is part of a small and exclusive club of American watchmakers that are truly vertically integrated. Based in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, Roland G. Murphy’s atelier produces multiple in-house calibres and complex, hand-made Guilloché dials via antique rose engine lathes. Teddy Baldassarre is a huge figure in the watch community with over 1.3 million YouTube subscribers and a successful online storefront, not to mention a flagship Boutique in Westlake, Ohio with brands like Grand Seiko, Omega, Breitling and Glashütte Original. A YouTube interview with Roland several years ago (one of many) led to a friendship and ultimately a watch collaboration: the RGM 501 Teddy Baldassarre Edition.

Baldassarre was intrigued by RGM’s unreleased 501 concept with a 39mm case, so that’s where the collaboration began. The case was previously used as a custom one-off for a client, but it’s otherwise a new, unreleased model for the brand. The dimensions are 39mm in diameter x 11.3mm in height (48mm lug-to-lug) in 316L stainless steel, and there’s a stepped bezel that’s unique to the case design. A box-style sapphire crystal protects the dial (a style RGM enjoys), and the slightly oversized crown is also a new design. Water resistance is 50 metres. The sapphire exhibition case back has RGM and Teddy logos engraved, along with 25 to signify the initial production run (it’s ultimately not a limited edition). It comes with a 20mm brown leather strap by Jean Rousseau with a deployant clasp.

The dial features two distinctive Guilloché patterns – the main section in the centre and a smaller sub-dial at 6 o’clock. Both patterns are blue galvanic-plated and surrounded by silver chapter rings with the minutes represented by black Breguet numerals that are flipped at 3 and 9 o’clock. The silver hour and minute hands have a hybrid leaf/sword design, and dial text is limited to RGM WATCH CO. Simple yet complex, and very striking.

The RGM-Schwarz Etienne ASE 200 calibre is a Swiss-made micro-rotor automatic and fills the entirety of the case back for real presence. The time-only movement has 33 jewels, beats at 21,600vph (3Hz) and comes with a sizeable 86-hour power reserve. Finishing is shared between RGM and Schwarz Etienne and includes Côtes de Genève and perlage, and the micro-rotor features a small, curved plaque highlighting the city of Lancaster in Pennsylvania (a former hub of American watchmaking in the 19^th and 20^th centuries).

The new RGM 501 Teddy Baldassarre Edition retails for USD 13,900, which isn’t bad considering its multi-piece, hand-cut Guilloché dial, well-finished micro-rotor calibre from Swiss independent watch and movement maker Schwarz Etienne and Baldassarre’s hand in the design. This is the first 25-piece batch, but again, a special edition and not a limited model. For more information, please visit teddybaldassarre.com and rgmwatches.com.