It’s an exciting day for watch enthusiasts as the highly anticipated revival of the Daniel Roth brand has been officially announced. The team at La Fabrique du Temps, who were previously focused on creating watches solely for Louis Vuitton, will now be producing watches under the Roth name. And the very first one is the Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription DR0011YG-01.
While we don’t have an actual watch in hand just yet, we’ve been treated to some stunning renderings of the first watch to be produced under the new Daniel Roth brand. The watch promises to showcase the impeccable craftsmanship and attention to detail that Daniel Roth is known for.
It’s always exciting to see an iconic brand come back to life, and we can’t wait to see what the team at La Fabrique du Temps has in store for us with the new Daniel Roth watches.
Louis Vuitton, purveyor of fine leather goods, recently announced the resurrection of the Daniel Roth watch brand. Daniel Roth was a talented watchmaker who worked for renowned brands such as Jaeger-LeCoultre and Audemars Piguet before joining Breguet in 1975. Roth and his team reinvented the Breguet style, creating impressive timepieces such as the first tourbillon wristwatch for Breguet. Unfortunately, Breguet faced financial trouble and declared bankruptcy in 1987, leading to Roth leaving the company in 1988 to start his own watch brand.
Daniel Roth’s brand created beautiful watches with his signature double-ellipse case design, including the Tourbillon C187, an elegant wristwatch with a hand-finished one-minute tourbillon. In 1995, the Singapore retailer The Hour Glass became the majority stakeholder in Daniel Roth, and five years later, Bvlgari acquired the brand and incorporated it into its own line of high-end watches.
Now, Louis Vuitton, also an LVMH-owned brand, will revive the Daniel Roth brand as a standalone brand. The new Daniel Roth Tourbillon will be produced at LVMH’s La Fabrique du Temps, where Louis Vuitton’s high-end watches are also manufactured. The first watch to be released under the new Daniel Roth brand will be a Tourbillon Souscription, showcasing the craftsmanship of Daniel Roth’s watchmaking. This announcement is exciting news for watch enthusiasts who appreciate the history and elegance of Daniel Roth’s designs.
The new Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription watch has been designed with a strong emphasis on maintaining the original design elements of the iconic double-ellipse case. The proportions of the case have been meticulously maintained, with the lugs being soldered in the same way as the original C187. However, the lugs have been angled downward slightly to provide a more comfortable fit on the wrist.
The main plate of the watch, which is visible on either side of the tourbillon, now features Geneva striping, which is a new addition. This feature was not present in the original C187. Another significant change is the clous de Paris finishing on the plate around the dial. While most Daniel Roth Tourbillons featured straight-line guilloche, the clous de Paris pattern is rare, and this watch is only the second to have it.
The dial has been produced in Kari Voutilainen’s workshop, with the same markings as the original. However, the typography has been slightly updated to give the watch a contemporary touch.
The newly designed movement in this watch is the Calibre DR001, which is a manually wound movement with an impressive 80-hour power reserve. While the positioning of the hours and minutes sub-dial and the tourbillon at the upper and lower halves of the face is identical to the original C187, the engine driving the watch is entirely new.
The first 20 pieces of this watch in yellow gold will come with a closed caseback, which is a departure from the original design. The movement inside has been finished to the highest possible standards, and the closed caseback will bear the individual number of each watch, paying tribute to early Daniel Roth timepieces.
The tourbillon regulator is the star of the newly designed movement. The cage makes one revolution per minute, which functions as a second indicator. The three-armed seconds hand, with arms of different lengths, points to different sectors of the second’s scale.
According to Michel Navas, the vision for Daniel Roth is to respect the brand’s history while incorporating new concepts and techniques. The team responsible for resurrecting the brand is committed to honoring the craftsmanship of its foundational pieces and maintaining Daniel Roth’s legacy.
Daniel Roth watches will only be available in select retail stores. The retail price of the Daniel Roth Tourbillon Souscription is CHF 140,000 excluding VAT. For more information, please visit the Daniel Roth website.
Model: Tourbillon Souscription
Reference Number: DR0011YG-01
Diameter: 38.6mm x 35.5mm
Thickness: 9.2mm
Case Material: 18k yellow gold
Dial Color: 18k yellow gold with clous de Paris guilloche
Strap: Leather strap
The Movement
Caliber: DR001
Functions: Hours, minutes, Tourbillon 1-minute
Thickness: 4.6mm
Power Reserve: 80 hours
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 3Hz
Jewels: 19
Pricing & Availability
Availability: Sousription model available at select retailers
Limited Edition: 20
Price: CHF 140,000
