WHL
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Daniel Roth's CV in one snapshot
Luck and circumstance provided me with the opportunity to be in a room that contained four watches that span Daniel Roth’s life’s work:
After short stint at Audemars Piguet, Daniel came on board as the Technical Director at Breguet, then under control of the Chaumet brother, in the 1970’s. One of his iconic designs from this period was the reference 3130, which was a recreation of Abraham Louis Breguet’s No 5 Pocket Watch.
Where Breguet had employed sub-seconds in his No 5 watch, Daniel decided that a pointer date at 6 o'clock would be more useful. Daniel spent a considerable amount of time on the design of the power reserve differential, which had to be extremely small to fit in the slim case.
The Breguet 7137 shown in the photograph on the top is a successor to the 3130, slightly enlarged and with the moon phase and power reserve sectors reoriented. It is a testament to the Daniel’s keen eye for design that it is still a relevant watch after being in production for more than 20 years. Daniel openly acknowledges a debt of gratitude to Abraham Louis Breguet.
After a change in ownership at Breguet Daniel established the eponymous Daniel Roth brand in the late 1980’s. Daniel Roth watches are famous for their iconic double ellipse case. Most Daniel Roth brand watches used movements sourced from different manufacturers. The Reference 247 Chronograph shown above has the Zenith El Primero movement ticking away inside.
One again, after a change in ownership, Daniel struck off in a new direction, creating watches by himself under the Jean Daniel Nicolas name. A watch doesn’t get any more in-house than this, as Daniel designed and builds his movements in his top floor atelier in his home in Le Sentier. Having developed the tourbillon models that sustain Breguet and the Daniel Roth (now Bulgari) brands, this tourbillon is a culmination of his lifelong pursuit of technical mastery and aesthetic perfection. This is this one of the finest watches I'll ever see.
Photos taken by Curtis Thomson
While working on his Jean Daniel Nicolas watches, Daniel was approached by Steven Holtzman of Maitres du Temps to join with Peter Speake-Marin in developing the Chapter Two watch. This watch is marketed as the most legible day-date-month watch in existence and I will not quibble with that statement. While the date on the main dial is in typical big-date form, rollers above 12 o’clock and below 6 o’clock indicate the day and month, respectively. No three letter abbreviations here: the day and month are written out completely.
In addition to the innovative calendar display, the day and date change instantaneously at midnight. The month will too on those occasions when there are 31 days in the month. Otherwise once will need to correct the month with the quick-set paddle pusher on the back of the watch
Daniel also has a hand in the development of the Maitres du Temps Chapter Three watch, and I look forward to learning more about it in 2011.
I think we can see a thread of continuity throughout Daniel’s work, and it is hard to imagine a watchmaker who has had an impact on so many different brands.
Bill
