The new piece by Roman Gauthier is an expression of the watchmaker’s intention to give the watch aficionados an opportunity to buy an elegant dress watch in titanium which is still unlikely material for this kind of timekeepers. In order to change the current state of affairs, the brand decided to make its flagship model in a light and sturdy titanium body. The specific watch in question is named Logical One and it is the famed model with a constant force complication which earned the prestigious Grand Prix de Geneva award three years ago. The latest edition of Logical One comes with its movement exposed from both sides and with three different types of upscale dials. Two of them are enameled, while the remaining one is made of brass and decorated with a guilloche pattern.
As the brand’s founder (after whom the company is named) has revealed, the new Romain Gauthier piece is a result of desire to start a fashion of high-end pieces in titanium. As Gauthier feels, elegant dress watches are still almost exclusively made in gold and steel which needs to be changed. That is why his brand launched the new model in grade 5 titanium which is (as it is already known) renowned for its combined lightness and sturdiness. Additionally, it is also hypoallergenic material which recommends it to watch enthusiasts with more sensitive skins.
Alternating Finishing for Visual Appeal
In order to make the housing more visually appealing, the case features alternating finishes (which is the trait that can be also seen on its exposed movement). While the middle section of the case is highly polished, the lugs, the case-back and the crown are treated with satin-finish to create a nice looking contrast.
By the way, the housing is round and mid-sized. Its diameter is 43 mm, while the thickness is a bit higher and measures to 15 mm. Naturally, this is caused by the addition of its highly intricate movement which we will examine in more detail a bit further on. Moreover, the housing includes a fixed bezel and sapphire crystals on the both sides. Both of them are likewise treated with glare-proof coatings. The construction of the watch’s body also includes a time-setting crown that lays the two o’clock position, as well as a discrete winding push button at the nine o’clock place. Romain Gauthier Logical One natural Titanium is water resistant to 30 meters.
When it comes to the watch’s face, the central stage is reserved for the exposed parts of the movement. However, this is by no means done at the price of neglecting the appearance of the featured indications. In this case, these displays are off-centered hour and minute display at the upper right section, as well as a bit smaller small seconds indication that partially overlaps with it. There is also a power reserve display, but it is placed on the rear side of the watch.
As it has been mentioned, the dial of the watch (or to be more precise its off-centered indications) are available in three different styles. There are two oven-fire enameled ones on a 18K gold base. The former of these is made in white color and paired up with flame-blued hands made of steel, while the latter is black and with hands in the same material as the sub-dials. The third and somewhat different option is a blackened brass face which is further enriched with the addition of the Clous de Paris motif on it. This dial option is also supplemented with hands made of 18 K gold.
In addition to enamel and guilloche sub-dials, the aesthetical appeal of the watch’s face is based on the beauty of the exposed sections of its movement. Similarly like the housing, the caliber possesses a very interesting appearance which is performed with the use of contrasted decorations. While its main-plate and a couple of bridges (the one that holds the main-spring barrel, as well as the lower one of the constant force mechanism) are embellished with a deep anthracite ADLC finish, the escape wheel and the remaining bridges (the ones that hold escape wheel and power reserve display) are in light-colored palladium-coated brass. Similarly to this, the upper bridge of the constant force mechanism is also bright since it is made of light-hued natural titanium.
The Prized Movements with Four Patents
Even though the appearance of the titanium watch was clearly made with a lot of attention to detail which naturally expected in such a high-end piece, the true horological value of the model lays in its technical traits, embodied in its complex movement that brought it the GPHG grand prize in the first place. The movement (as the rest o the watch’s components) was designed and constructed entirely in-house and its creation required development of four different patents.
The trait of the movement that stands out the most is of course its constant force mechanism, one of the so-called holy grails of watchmaking. In its creation, the manufacturer further developed and improved the traditional chain and fusee solution and made it even more reliable and in accordance with its original purpose – a constant transmission of force regardless of the state of the mainspring winding. This is naturally of the upmost importance for the accuracy of the piece.
To make this possible, the brand’s designers introduced a new snail cam which is conjoined with a mainspring barrel that lays on the same plane by the means of a ruby-link chain. This component which is responsible for an extremely efficient manner in which the force is transmitted is visible on the upper left section of the watch’s face, next to the hour and minutes sub-dial.
The mentioned chain is shorter than the ones that are used by the similar mechanisms that can be seen in the solutions of competitor brands. This relative shortness allows it to include links that are made of steel, but improved with rollers made of synthetic rubies which are linked by a snap-clip system. The low friction of rubies is additionally augmented with the addition of sapphire plates that surround the mainspring which completely eliminates the possibility of uneven friction during the movement’s functioning.
Finally, the movement also includes an innovative way of winding which is performed with a push-button system that is set directly into the side of the case. This system is also very efficient since the force is transmitted on the barrel on the same plane. In this manner, the barrel is stored with enough energy to keep it ticking for 46 hours.
The proprietary movement of Romain Gauthier Logical One Natural Titanium is 35 mm wide and 10.5 mm thick. It includes as much as 63 jewels in its construction, of which 26 are used just for its constant-force chain. The total number of parts of the caliber measures to 359. The balance of the movement operates at the high-frequency of 28,800 vph. As for the materials used in its construction, one can notice steel, beryllium copper, titanium and German silver. Of course, the movement is opulently finished with the highest level of high horology decorations as it could have been expected in such a high-end piece.
The Romain Gauthier novelty in titanium is paired with a matte black alligator leather strap with light gray stitching which was performed manually in Switzerland. The leather attachment locks with a pin buckle made in titanium in order to match the body of the watch, as well as to be in accordance with its name.
