After re-launching last year to the fanfare of independent watch fans everywhere, Daniel Roth has taken the opportunity of Geneva Watch Days to continue to launch the next stage in the brand’s revival. But before we get onto the Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold itself, a bit of background.
Daniel Roth’s an interesting name in watchmaking. The man himself was instrumental in the revival of Breguet, building the watchmaker’s first modern tourbillon, before turning independent. At the time – the mid-80s – that was less common than it is today, and Roth’s first release landed in 1989, housed in the first ever double ellipse case. It was a 25-piece, double-faced, hand-wound tourbillon sold at Asprey. Needless to say, it was very much playing in the upper echelons of watchmaking.
Eventually Roth himself sold his brand to a Singaporean retailer. They then sold it to Bulgari and Bulgari itself was subsequently sold to LVMH. In that time nobody really knew what to do with the name; at the same time prices for preowned watches were very much on the up. So, it perhaps wasn’t too much of a surprise when Jean Arnaut, director of watches at Louis Vuitton, decided to relaunch the brand under its own steam.
Well, I say under its own steam; Daniel Roth watches are made at La Fabrique du Temps, the de facto Louis Vuitton manufacture. That might come as a surprise, ostensibly a fashion brand having their own manufacture to that degree, but this is Louis Vuitton; they don’t do things in halves. And so last year we saw the first re-release of a true Daniel Roth timepiece, the Souscription, a modern twist on Roth’s initial double ellipse tourbillon. It sold out in weeks (impressive for a watch punching well over £100,000) and was delivered earlier this year. So, what’s next?
The answer is pretty simple: rose gold. For Geneva Watch Days 2024, Daniel Roth is releasing the Tourbillon Rose Gold, essentially a re-colouring of last year’s Souscription. It has all the same Daniel Roth distinctiveness, with that triple seconds scale above the tourbillon (in case you were wondering, there are three different length second hands attached to the tourbillon cage itself) and the signature case. But the change in metal across both case and dial gives the entire thing a warmer feel, perhaps slightly less vintage, too.
The more exciting change for collectors however is that this is not a limited edition. Souscription models by their very nature (they’re normally used by independent watchmakers to raise money from collectors putting their faith in them) are limited and the 2023 model was restricted to just 20. The Tourbillon Rose Gold will be numbered, but with numbers starting from 21 onwards. Theoretically that could cause problems if you were going to try and fit ever more numerals on the back but given only about 50 of these can be produced a year, that’s a long, long way off.
Inside is the DR001 calibre, a movement built from the ground-up for the revival of Daniel Roth, developed in-house at La Fabrique du Temps. It of course has a 1-minute tourbillon – the whole layout of the watch depends on that – but the manual-wind movement also has an 80-hour power reserve.
While I am looking forward to seeing where the Daniel Roth brand takes the watchmaker’s classic design in the future, the Tourbillon Rose Gold will have serious collectors breathing a sigh of relief. Now it’s a piece you can aim towards without the pressure of it selling out. Given that it’ll set you back a fair penny, you might be saving up for a while. Just don’t expect vintage pieces to be any cheaper these days, either.
Price and Specs:
More details at Daniel Roth.
