A platinum bracelet for the most refined sporty timepiece
Featuring a platinum case and bracelet with an 18k white gold movement and dial, C by Romain Gauthier Platinum Edition Bracelet resonates with the most discerning collectors in the watchmaking world. Romain brings a touch of refinement to this timepiece with a sporty profile and assertive character, a combination of noble materials that reveals a traditional side to this very modern timepiece.
The C by Romain Gauthier Platinum Edition Bracelet stands out for its elegance and ultimate level of refinement, beyond the precious character that platinum brings, the bracelet design highlights the textures and finishing techniques that make this timepiece more luminous and prestigious.
In keeping with Romain’s vision – The Evolution of Tradition – the bracelet requires a high level of craftsmanship and hand finishing. Each link is composed of high polished and satin brushed surfaces by hand, highlighting the interplay of light and reflecting the artistry and technical nature of the bracelet and the piece in general.
Conceived as an integral element of the whole timepiece, the bracelet was designed to be one with the case – “The bracelet is the case, and the case is the bracelet” says Romain. This desire is reflected in the fusion of these two elements that cannot be dissociated.
Inspired by the finger bridges style, the design of the movement follows the watchmaking history of the Swiss Vallée de Joux, with a modern approach, reflecting Romain’s vision of the evolution of tradition.
As a non-limited edition, the Platinum Edition Bracelet can be personalized and customized to reflect each collector’s personality and taste.
C BY ROMAIN GAUTHIER PLATINUM EDITION BRACELET IN DETAIL
An integrated design resulting in a harmonious timepiece
Integrated into the case by slightly curved lugs, following the natural shape of the wrist, the platinum bracelet – like the case, and with an integrated folding clasp – has been designed in harmony with the rest of the timepiece.
Aesthetically, Romain wanted to develop a modern bracelet that would highlight traditional craftmanship. As with the rest of the timepiece, each link has contrasting finishes, with the surface being satin-finished while the connecting element is hand-polished, bringing both character and elegance to the bracelet.
Flow and continuity to the fore on an atypical dial
Aesthetically, C by Romain Gauthier Platinum Edition is very close to the previous titanium editions. The white gold movement, entirely decorated by hand, has exceptional polished bevels, hand-frosted finishes on the surfaces, straight graining on the edges, and the interior of the bridges enhanced by a hand-engraved structure. Thanks to the Manufacture’s in-house decoration workshops, the savoir-faire and meticulousness of its artisans, Romain Gauthier carries out the most sophisticated hand finishing operations.
In order to preserve the general spirit of the calibre, the hour-minute hands are off-centred on the horizontal axis and the hour indices taper ever so slightly and are of varying lengths, while the 5-second intervals of the small seconds at 7 o’clock are also marked by tapering lines of differing lengths.
Romain explains this purposeful play on perspective, saying: “Rather than a series of enclosed circles, as we often see in watchmaking, I wanted an open, airy dial on which full or part orthogonal lines form vanishing points with the axes of the hands, reinforcing the notion of continuity and freedom.”
The tapering, three-dimensional hands, numerals and index are made of 18k white gold. For enhanced legibility, the hands are filled with Super-LumiNova. Each index and Roman numerals bring a more traditional feel to the design of the piece – matte-treated and hand-finished with satin-finish that contrasts the overall aesthetics of the piece and harmonizes with the surface of the case.
On an 18k white gold dial, the Manufacture’s decoration and hand-finishing specialists have reproduced the bouchardé texture, a hand-engraved structure found on the bridges of the movement. The dial then receives a slight blue PVD treatment that enhances the textures and light reflections created by the hand engraving technique that is performed at different angles on random sections of the dial.
Eye-catching case and bracelet rich in details
Framing the dial is a platinum bezel whose eye-catching, geometric profile – characteristic to C by Romain Gauthier – is unlike anything previously seen before on a timepiece from the brand. The bezel is first machined into a round shape featuring a circular bevel, then six straight sides are cut into it to create six facets. While these facets, which have been polished, reflect the light and bring the bezel to life, the rest of the bezel absorbs light thanks to its satin-finishing. The same facetted design is replicated around the sapphire crystal on the back of the watch.
In between the bezel and caseback, the one-piece caseband and lugs are geometrically sculpted, with satin and polished finishes as well as aesthetic grooves cleverly deployed to draw out the resulting shapes. Meanwhile, the platinum bracelet with the folding clasp follows the form of the curved lugs, which have been adjusted to fit any wrist, and rounded caseband so it appears as a continuous, organic extension of the case.
The finishing on the case facets is repeated on each of the bracelet links, a play of light accentuated by satin-finished surfaces and contrasted by hand-polished ones.
C by Romain Gauthier Platinum Edition Bracelet is a timepiece that should be appreciated as a whole. Each detail is linked to another, each type of finishing is featured on the case, on the movement and on the bracelet.
As with the other editions of C by Romain Gauthier, the winding and time setting crown has been placed at 2 o’clock, freeing up space for the wrist movement. The fluted crown also allows an easy handling and provides an additional eye-catching aesthetic element to the case.
Clever stop-seconds mechanism that uses a snail cam
Romain has endowed C by Romain Gauthier with a stop-seconds – or hacking seconds – mechanism, allowing the wearer to set the time exactly according to a reference time.
Like many stop-seconds mechanisms, a brake is placed on the balance wheel when the crown is pulled out. But instead of using a straight or L-shaped balance stop lever to halt the balance, Romain has opted to employ a snail cam that performs a double function: It touches and stops the balance wheel when the crown is pulled out and, when the crown is pushed back in, the snail cam makes a turn, with its increasingly wide form giving the balance an impulse to help it start beating again.
Those familiar with the brand will know Romain has used the snail cam’s unique shape in his past creations: It appears on the watchmaker’s acclaimed Logical One.
In-house movement where design and decoration meet modernity
The themes of modernity and continuity carry over to the manual-winding, in-house movement, which is gloriously on show through the display back.
Taking centre stage are a number of finger bridges – historically typical of the Vallée de Joux, Romain’s birthplace – but reinterpreted here in a contemporary way. For starters, these bridges are horizontally configured and feature a ‘stepped’ shape – previously seen on some of Logical One’s bridges – that not only provides volume and depth, but also gives the sense that the bridges are literally flowing over the gears and balance wheel, with no clear end to them.
The bridges are made from 18k white gold and boast contrasting tones and textures thanks to a variety of finishes. The outer edges of each bridge all feature a double bevel, while the flat bridge surfaces and rubies are each framed by a raised border that has been hand-frosted. Within these borders, the hand-finishing specialists at Manufacture Romain Gauthier have used a special hand-engraving technique to create a highly original dimpled texture. The movement mainplate beneath has been hand-frosted.
The impressive decoration doesn’t stop with the bridges and mainplate: Romain’s trademark gears and ratchet wheel featuring circular, bevelled spokes have been circular-grained, while the click, snail cam and screws with S-slot heads – another signature of Romain – have been highly polished. Finally, the lid of the mainspring barrel has been embellished with a superb snailing decoration.
C by Romain Gauthier’s regulator features the Romain Gauthier balance wheel with curved arms and calibrated eccentric weights, plus hand-assembled pallet lever that is triangular for maximum rigidity.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Edition
Unlimited edition in platinum, engraved with the number of the piece on the back of the movement.
Features and indications
Off-centred hours and minutes
Small seconds at 7 o’clock
Platinum case, and 18k white gold dial, movement bridges and mainplate
In-house movement featuring stop-seconds mechanism
Platinum bracelet with folding clasp
Dial and hands
Hand-engraved ice blue color dial in 18k white gold
Off-centred hours and minutes
Small seconds at 7 o’clock with 5-second intervals marked by tapering black lines
Super-LumiNova-filled 18k white gold hands
18k white gold numerals and hour markers
Movement and finishing
In-house, hand-wound movement
Dimensions: 32.10 mm x 5.50 mm
Power reserve: 60 hours
Number of jewels: 24
Number of components: 154
Balance frequency: 28,800 vph / 4Hz
Components made from: White gold, stainless steel, steel, brass, and German silver
Finishing: Superlative decoration by hand
Case
Material: Platinum
Dimensions: 41mm x 9.55mm, lugs to lugs: 47.7 mm
Water resistance: 50m/5atm/160ft
Crown for winding and time-setting at 2 o’clock
Sapphire crystal with interior anti-reflection coating, front and display back.
Bracelet and folding clasp
Bracelet entirely in platinum, with an integrated folding clasp, also in platinum, supplied with an additional half-link to perfectly fit all wrists.
Number of components: 111 components (on a standard size)
Total weight of the watch: 340g, including platinum bracelet and folding clasp
Retail price: CHF 118,000 without taxes
