Introducing C by Romain Gauthier, Platinum Edition

Now featuring a platinum case and 18k white gold movement, C by Romain Gauthier Platinum Edition 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 reveal a traditional side to this very modern timepiece.

Casual in its design but refined in its properties, this new edition is a harmony of elegance and modernity, traditional and contemporary, an evolution of tradition summarized in a single timepiece. Always with the objective of preserving the ancestral watchmaking savoir-faire, so precious to Romain, and while evolving it with the capacities developed until now, Romain Gauthier is releasing a technical timepiece that is rich in artisanal craftsmanship.

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. This new Platinum edition opens the doors of this Caliber to the personalization and customization of C by Romain Gauthier timepieces

Aesthetically, C by Romain Gauthier Platinum Edition is very close to the previous titanium editions. The movement, entirely decorated by hand, has exceptionally 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 and 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.

The dial is available in grey and highlighted with blue details, or in blue highlighted with white details. 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 a satin finish that contrasts the overall aesthetics of the piece and harmonizes with the surface of the case. The grey dial has been sand-blasted and treated with a special coating that protects it against UV rays and the blue dial has a blue PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) treatment.

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 rubber strap and the platinum pin buckle follow the form of the angular lugs and rounded caseband so it appears as a continuous, organic extension of the case.

And not for the first time in his work, Romain has placed the crown for winding and time-setting at 2 o’clock, freeing up space for wrist movement. To facilitate handling, the platinum crown can be fluted or surrounded by a rubber ring. 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.

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 impressive decoration doesn’t stop with the bridges and main plate: 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 a hand-assembled pallet lever that is triangular for maximum rigidity.