Titanium frenzy

Image
Titanium frenzy - Romain Gauthier
It’s all about titanium in the latest Logical One watches from Romain Gauthier.

It may be ultra-lightweight and hypo-allergenic but titanium is not necessarily the first choice for the case of an haute horlogerie piece such as the Romain Gauthier Logical One. But Romain Gauthier wanted to stay true to his brand’s new tagline – “Choose your time” – this year by extending the appeal of his signature piece. The meaning behind the new slogan refers as much to the decisions that Romain Gauthier has taken throughout his career as it does to the brand’s desire to offer a design that can appeal to every taste. Thus the latest versions of the Logical One presented this year all have a case in titanium, and yet they could not be more different aesthetically.

First came the Logical One Natural Titanium, just before Baselworld, whose name is as “logical” as one would expect. In this version, the titanium has its natural sheen and is complemented by an anthracite ADLC treatment on the main plate, mainspring barrel and lower bridge for the constant force mechanism, with palladium-coated brass on the balance bridge, escape wheel bridge and power reserve indicator bridges. The tiny dials for the hours and minute are in oven-fired enamel, with traditional flame-blued steel hands.

Romain Gauthier Logical One Natural Titanium

The more mysteriously named Logical One BTG stands quite simply for black titanium and gold, since the case itself on this version of the award-winning constant force watch is in black ADLC treated titanium, again with a contrasting anthracite ADLC finish on the main plate and the added contrast of a polished white-gold crown and pusher on the caseband. This is a limited edition of just five watches available with an oven-fired blue enamel dial.

Romain Gauthier Logical One BTG

Pushing this distinctive model beyond what would seem logical in this segment is the Logical One Enraged, which brings much more than a touch of the sporty to this horological complication. The case is still in titanium but with a wonderful sand-blasted matte-black ADLC coating whose texture immediately catches the eye. To match the roughened appearance of the case, the glossy finish of the oven-fired black enamel dial has been given a frosting finish that turns it matte. Even the logo has been modified to give it a spikier, edgier look to match the overall aesthetic of this very distinctive watch. Three different versions are available, from a black on black to two with splashes of red and orange accents, each limited to just five pieces.

Romain_Gauthier_Logical_One_Enraged_red

The Holy Grail of constant force

Perhaps the best analogy for the importance of constant force is provided by Romain Gauthier himself, who reminds us that cars and planes don’t slow down as we use up fuel (thankfully) and yet watches have this peculiar characteristic that the torque generated by the movement gradually wanes as the power reserve is used up. Romain Gauthier’s innovative ruby-link chain connects a snail cam to the mainspring barrel along the same plane so that the constant torque is transmitted efficiently in a straight line, ensuring a constant force throughout the entire power reserve of the watch.

 

Featured brand
Romain Gauthier