1 of 10 Romain Gauthier Insight Micro-Rotor in Black Titanium

Romain Gauthier make some of the most intimidating watches of any modern independent. This is due to their immense finishing, masculine proportion, precise manufacturing, and, perhaps most of all, industrial aesthetic. There’s also the fact that RG produce just a few dozen watches per year, far fewer than almost everyone else. Seeing one in the metal is hard, wherever you live. That’s what happens when you meticulously hand bevel, snail, mirror polish, and frost-finish and engineering marvel micro-rotor. This simple, vertically aligned dial and escapement is hiding some pretty serious technical chops.

This is a 206 component time-only watch, that’s absurd in the best way possible. Highlights include two mainspring barrels in series for an 80-hour reserve, a massive bi-directional solid gold micro-rotor that required dual bridges on each side to support it, proprietary S-shaped screw heads, and vitreous black enamel dials. There’s nothing else like it out there. How many micro-rotors can you think of which are visible dial-side? This example is executed in 39.5mm black titanium. One thing that is hard to photograph but worth noting: the crystal domes more aggressively toward the 12 of the upper dial, it’s not a uniform domed shape. All details are designed to draw the eye in for a second closer look, and the Insight Micro-Rotor certainly deserves that. Afterall, there are only 9 others in the world.

This example is lovely. Though titanium is famously easy to scratch, the case here shows very little wear at all. It comes with a full set from a well-regarded retailer.

Find this Insight MR here from Watch4moi for 95000 USD.