Laurent Ferrier Workshop Visit SIHH 2012

Laurent Ferrier doesn't show his watches at the SIHH, but spending a few days in Geneva was a nice opportunity to visit the Laurent Ferrier workshop there and meet again the men behind this recently launched yet very respected brand.

I had met already both Laurent Ferrier the man and the company at BaselWorld nearly two years ago. I had been largely impressed by the Laurent Ferrier Galet Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral at that time.

I can easily say that Laurent Ferrier's taste in watches fits with my own: simple yet refined, discreet yet tasty, modern but traditional, high horology but low profile, innovative but introvert, …..

I was also willing, or had been for a while, to discover and see the second model launched, named Galet Micro-rotor, a Laurent Ferrier marvel without the overtly expensive tourbillon device.

I know that Laurent Ferrier (the company) is not a manufacture in the sense of making all or nearly of its parts. Honestly I don't care. The notion of manufacture, even if I understand and respect it, is not an aspect I'm looking for. I appreciate if a company is a manufacture of course, or if a calibre is a fully manufactured one, but they are so rare, and there are so many examples of non-manufacture watches and companies that have been so appealing. And there are so many examples of companies developing manufacture watches that end up being far less interesting and appealing (to my taste) than the one they were doing before pretending manufacture work!

I know that Laurent Ferrier (the man) has a history of watchmaking inside a watch manufacture I know well and appreciate his great respect for the best watchmaking traditions.

Finally I was happy to see very high level hand finish made on watch parts. I was happy to see that the watches bearing the Laurent Ferrier name were indeed the children of real high end watchmaking work in-house.

The Laurent Ferrier Galet Micro-rotor calibre below is the best demonstration of what high end watchmaking can do today while being traditional, ambitious and understated.

You can see in the three next pictures some hand finish work being done on tourbillon cage parts.

Thinking that the high level of polishing seen in Laurent Ferrier calibres is obtained using wood tools by hand gives an even greater respect towards watch companies that perpetuate the traditional techniques.

Seemingly in the end wood and hand work can be stronger than metallic parts!

Light is the true beauty when you look at a picture of bridges like below. You easily imagine that this tourbillon calibre will make the joy and pride of its owner and wearer, and will possibly remain a very personal and solitary pleasure, hidden below a sober dial.

The tourbillon cage parts below prove that the art of making a tourbillon is also the art of minimalism, expressed through a necessity of lightness, obtained by technical skeleton-like design !

Please keep in mind that the huge piece of metal pictured below is in fact a tiny part of a few millimetres.

Do you really think your eyes will stand the needed focus to let you appreciate fully the work done?

The only problem I've had with these Laurent Ferrier Galet Micro-rotor watches was to choose my favourite dial.

I was soon focussed on white gold watches to extend its discretion to the case colour.

But I stayed undecided between two dial options.

I was seduced by the rounded but shaped case design and the kind of onion-like crown.

The lugs are nicely sculpted too,  but reveal their beauty to the lucky wearer mainly.

The Galet name is rightfully chosen. The watch seems like polished by centuries of tradition and taste, but still alive.

Then the depth of the calibre is amazing. Looking at it you wonder how it can get into this case. In fact the proportions of the wheels on this picture below make me think more of a clock than a watch.

The micro-rotor adds some complexity to a simple calibre, and gives more life to the back side. The landscape is beautiful and alive!

The magic of the calibre side is that the finish is more often found on a tourbillon or highly complicated calibre than on a simple calibre. You can think of Philippe Dufour or Kari Voutilainen for instance, who showed that kind of finish on simple watches.

I will not write anything about the silicon escape wheel, lightly visible on the picture below. I honestly have yet no experience of such material, and if I'm willing to see in time how it improves (or not) things, it is not a feature I'm especially keen of. As you may know I've followed the Patek Philippe Advanced Research program outcomes up to last year, and want time to see the result.

You may want to choose between the three Micro-rotor and two Classic Tourbillon below. In so nicely and subtly crafted watches the notion of colour is essential.

The yellow gold tourbillon is Laurent Ferrier's own watch.

If the image above is dial side, the one below is definitely backside. In fact when life is so serene you don't really need to see the inner machine and all its complexity.

At least you want to be able to forget it.

So you see below on left and right the two watches that made me hesitate. I'm still undecided. I may prefer the grey on the left. But the silver one is slightly warmer with its pink hands and indices. At the same time that colour makes it also look slightly older…..

Yes I like the coldness of the grey! I find it perfectly suited to my wrist. It is what I call a perfect fit!

The watch looks so simple, but you should look at and appreciate the subtle work done on the hands, the indices, the case! You want to take that crown in hand, it's nearly sexual! The hands are like the arrows of love!

This watch is like an evidence to me, on both sides!

I hope you like it !

Best

Dje