By Mustafa Cint
When we visited Geneva Watch Days at the end of August, everything was as expected: lots of meetings, great connections, and of course, amazing watches. Towards the end of our visit, there was one remaining thing on our to-do list: a trip to Daniel Roth. At that point, I didn’t know that Daniel Roth would easily steal the show from the other brands at the event. In the aftermath of the event, we’re taking a closer look at Daniel Roth – from the brand’s beginnings and most important models to the very core of the brand and its unique form of watchmaking.
Daniel Roth: Namesake and Founder
The brand was founded by watchmaker Daniel Roth, who initially demonstrated his craftsmanship and expertise at big names such as Audemars Piguet and Breguet. He is considered a pioneer of independent watchmaking and was known above all for his know-how in the fields of complications and traditional craftsmanship. He has paved the way for future generations of watchmakers.
Daniel Roth had a preference for one complication in particular: the tourbillon. He housed the mechanism in a double elliptical case, which would later become Daniel Roth’s signature design feature. The design initially shocked the market – until the renowned luxury retailer Aspery of London ordered 25 of his watches, which quickly earned him a place in the landscape of independent watchmaking. At the turn of the millennium, the Daniel Roth brand was sold to Bvlgari, which discontinued production of the watches shortly thereafter. When Bvlgari became part of the LVMH family, the brand moved to La Fabrique du Temps, which was historically exclusively responsible for the production of Louis Vuitton watches. In recent years, however, the site has played an increasingly important role in the comeback of forgotten watch brands. And thus, Daniel Roth also had the chance to celebrate a comeback in 2023 with a faithful Daniel Roth Tourbillon (what else could it be?).
Important Milestones in the History of Daniel Roth
Daniel Roth’s beginnings were largely shaped by that key order from London. The 25 timepieces ordered by Aspery of London put Daniel Roth on the map of professional watchmaking. The ref. 2187/C187 had a 38-mm yellow gold case and housed a tourbillon. It’s not only the front of the watch that is interesting here, but also the back, which displays both the date and power reserve.
Four new models appeared in 1990: three chronographs – more precisely, a dual-pusher chronograph, a mono-pusher chronograph, and a split seconds chronograph – and a very thin, elegant automatic watch. The latter, the Ultra Thin Automatic, was designed to be worn perfectly under the sleeve of a shirt. All the models have a display case back that provides a view of the movement at work. A year later, the Ultra Thin range was extended to include a hand-wound version and a ladies’ version set with diamonds. This also meant that the case dimensions began to shrink. While the automatic version retained a case diameter of 38 mm, the new models were much smaller – a full 4 mm for the Ultra Thin Manual and 9 mm for the diamond-set version. Inspired by a pocket watch from the famous George Daniels, the collection was given a new addition with the Retrograde. With this complication, the hour hand extends from 6 to 6 and automatically returns to the left each time it has completed its journey without crossing the seconds dial.
Over the years, Daniel Roth experimented more and more with various complications. In 1993, the collection was supplemented by a perpetual calendar in three different versions. The day and month displays were integrated into the Guichets, on which he collaborated with the famous Swiss watchmaker Philippe Dufour. One year prior to Daniel Roth being sold to Bvlgari, the Papillon, the final watch, was launched. The watch marked the 10th anniversary of the brand, and was dedicated to Roth’s father, who collected butterflies. With a jumping hour at 12 o’clock, a running seconds display in the center of the dial, and a retrograde minute scale, the Papillon was released in 1999 as Roth’s last masterpiece in a limited run of 250 pieces.
Daniel Roth Today
In 2023, the time had finally come: Daniel Roth found its way back onto the watch scene – in large part thanks to the efforts of LVMH, led by Jean Arnault. This is how Daniel Roth ended up in La Fabrique du Temps, a site that revolutionized the Louis Vuitton watch business and is now dedicated to the success of brands such as Daniel Roth and Gérald Genta. The first debut is a new edition of the first-ever Daniel Roth Tourbillon. Extra efforts were made to stay close to the original, while also incorporating new and improved technology. We had the opportunity to personally view the watch at Geneva Watch Days, and what can I say? No watch was more lauded than the Daniel Roth Tourbillon – quite rightly, in my opinion.
