When Romain Gauthier announced its atelier as the newest house in the Vallée de joux, it was with the Prestige line. The HM was thoroughly traditional both on the dial and movement sides, featuring many of the details that remain in the brand’s offering to this day. This HMS is a special and unique execution of this aesthetic.
The 41mm platinum case wears many details, all orientated at the motif of balance. The rounded bezel is gently stepped from a midcase that is bulbous on the dial side, and concave as it meets the caseback. The lugs, soldered to the midcase, also have a similar concave profile.
The display caseback is framed by a rim secured by the brand’s proprietary wave-patterned screws. The rim extends in a peninsula over the display caseback – this is where the back wind crown is housed. The caseback rim features recessed details to allow the wearer to both wind the crown while the watch is on the wrist and also to grip the serrated edges to pull it out when setting the time. The lack of a visible crown is yet another example of this play of symmetry and balance.
On the dial side the view is framed by the dark anthracite dial that encompasses roughly three-quarters of the watch face. The outer chapter is brushed and features subtle engraved details corresponding with where hour markers would appear. The middle is adorned with a broad sunray guilloché pattern in a matte grey shade. Framing the offset time display is a detail unique to this example. The brushed, dark grey chapter is detailed with Breguet-style silver Arabic hours, a customisation requested by the original owner. The overlapping, offset subsidiary seconds register also has a similarly engraved chapter. It is also the only example with a full chapter of seconds engraved in this style – most examples with a similar dial layout only feature a half chapter ring.
The grey dial terminates in a ‘double bubble’ form above the exposed balance wheel and the seconds register, with hints of the rose gold shaded baseplate adding a hint of colour to the otherwise uniformly monochrome dial. The full seconds chapter perfectly frames the wheel underpinning the seconds hand, adorned with the brand’s signature wheel-within-wheels motif. The leaf-style seconds hand and wheel turn in unison, their pace seemingly glacial in comparison to the frenetic balance wheel, appearing as visual counterweights to each other, especially since both lie on the same plane of view.
Visible through the display caseback is the manual-wind calibre 2206, wearing a pleasing rose gold appearance, with bridges wearing remarkably even circular satination. The finishing is exactly what Romain Gauthier has come to be known for, with skeletonised bridges with lavishly detailed inner angles, and the same heavy anglage adorning all bridges. The multi-layered appearance is accentuated by the range of finishes employed – the baseplate, that peeks from under some of the wheels, wears circular graining, while a level up from that is adorned with a brushed finish. On this level is a plaque with a piece of miniature art by Yasmina Anti, representing the Dent de Vaulion in the Vallée de Joux. This is a detail unique to this piece, as are the engravings by the same artists detailing the jewel count and place of origin. In regular production pieces, such engravings are done in-house. The tip of the escape bridge is black polished, as is the click on the ratchet wheel and all the visible screws. The calibre manages 60 hours of autonomy.
It comes on a black, alligator leather strap with a platinum pin buckle clasp. The set contains an exhibition box and instruction manual. This Prestige HMS is not just a seminal piece of work by one of the premier ateliers in the Vallée de Joux, but it represents a unique execution of the brand’s most classically refined aesthetic.
If sold within the United Kingdom, this Romain Gauthier HMS will be subject to 20% VAT
