A Haute Look At The Revival Of Daniel Roth

By Adrienne Faurote March 22, 2023

Thirty-five years after the brand was founded, legendary watchmaker and pioneer of independent watchmaking Daniel Roth has officially made its comeback. Giving the nod to the original tourbillon that put the brand on the map in 1988 while also honoring contemporary watchmaking, Daniel Roth just debuted the modern version: the Tourbillon Sosucription.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Daniel Roth

The Tourbillon Souscription embodies the Daniel Roth legacy, adhering to the brand’s mantra since inception: La Montre Objet d’Art. A true masterpiece, the new watch is designed in traditional yellow gold, a metal exclusive to this edition, and the case is a double ellipse. The double-ellipse case retains the original proportions but with subtle updates — the lugs, which are still carefully soldered by hand to the case middle, but they have been slightly reshaped to create an elegant downward arch, improving the ergonomics of the iconic case.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Daniel Roth

The dial is also woven with the brand’s rich history as it is formed from a plate of solid yellow gold and adorned with Clous de Paris guilloche — just as the original was. Catapulting the dial into the modern era, the typography has been streamlined but still is teeming with heritage. “Our vision for Daniel Roth is to respect the brand’s history while also leveraging some of the concepts and savoir-faire that Enrico and myself have accumulated in our careers,” says Michel Navas, Master Watchmaker and Co-Founder of La Fabrique du Temps.

“Respecting the origins of the brand and the craftsmanship of its foundational pieces is especially important for us, since we are both long-time friends of Daniel,” adds Enrico Barbasini, Master Watchmaker and Co-Founder of La Fabrique du Temps. “Many of us look up to Daniel as an important figure in the industry who spearheaded contemporary independent watchmaking.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Daniel Roth

At the heart of the Tourbillon Souscription is a highly complex mechanical movement that showcases the pinnacle of watchmaking technology. The in-house manufacture caliber DR001 was conceived exclusively and manufactured entirely by La Fabrique du Temps, the Geneva workshop founded by Navas and Barbasini. The DR001 is manually wound and boasts a generous 80-hour power reserve, more than enough to keep it running for a weekend.

The focal point of the timepiece is, of course, the tourbillon regulator. In fact, the tourbillon cage carries a three-armed, heat-blued seconds hand that is read in tandem with a tri-sectioned seconds scale on the dial, which was found on all original Daniel Roth timepieces.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Daniel Roth