Pedants might note that an “L” should be dropped from the name of this watch, first introduced last year, for a version targeted specifically at the American market, where subtle differences in the use of English mean that many words, “traveller” included, drop their double “l”. But Laurent Ferrier has preferred instead to focus on the market in a more literal sense, with a new enamel dial that gives the entire North American continent pride of place.
For aesthetic reasons, the dial has been aligned with the north pole slightly off centre and the usual reference point of the Greenwich Meridian rotated roughly 90 degrees anti-clockwise to allow a full view of the United States as far down as northern Latin America, with hints of Europe and Asia visible around the right-hand edge of the dial. It is an unusual perspective that has rarely, if ever, been seen on a watch dial.
The outline of the continents is produced in cloisonné champlevé enamel, meaning that the base of the dial is hollowed out and individual compartments are added for the different colours of enamel, which range from a deep blue for the oceans to a green for the plains, verging towards yellow and orange for areas of higher altitude, as is familiar from most maps. The big challenge with this dial is cutting out the date and second-time zone windows and applying the hour markers on the fragile grand feu enamel base.
The back of the watch is equally as delightful to look at, with a transparent sapphire crystal revealing the complexity of the Calibre LF230.1 self-winding movement, which has been chronometer certified by the Besançon Observatory in France. A solid-gold micro-rotor with a “silent bloc” shock-absorbing system provides the timekeeping functions and offers an 80-hour power reserve, while the ultimate in precision is provided by the natural escapement with double direct impulse directly on the balance from a self-lubricating silicon pallet lever.
Added to this is the supremely easy to use dual time function, which can be adjusted forwards or backwards with the date automatically adjusting if the international date line is crossed during the process. Front, back and inside, therefore, there is sufficient technical content to justify the 84,000 dollar price tag, especially since only 10 models of this particular watch will be produced and sold only in the United States.
