Independents

38mm x 41mm. Manual wind. 18K yellow gold. Power reserve, date disk, moonphase, and small (very small) seconds. This watch arrived yesterday from a merchant in Germany. Before and during the purchase process I connected with a number of seasoned Daniel Ro...  

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One of the pleasures of collecting is to reach into the back stories of individual watchmakers, brands and watches. I'm fairly eclectic so my web extends in a number of directions. I have to say though that I'm smitten by Daniel Roth past and present, and... 

The other two will be from the early 1990s. I also have an eye on Roth-era Breguet, such as the landmark (by some accounts) 3130.

A friend just added this stunning one ...  

Daniel Roth did as much as anyone to bring Abraham-Louis Breguet's codes to the present day. As one Italian collector has put it: "English design; French conception; Swiss production. He ranks alongside Daniels, Genta and a handful of others as one of the... 

From what I gather, the Papillon appeared ten years into Roth's independent venture and was in some respects a crowning achievement.

I've remarked elsewhere how issues of Eurostar from 1989 through to 2001 provide an excellent sweep of how Daniel Roth's work evolved. It's a trade publication, so much of the content is brand-driven. Nevertheless it's a thorough, educational reference an... 

It’s not everyday an independent watchmaker creates a case for a watch that is both unique and instantly recognizable. And when the dial matched to said case is just as charming it’s imho a classic. Enjoy yours in good health!

This watch is of course from after Daniel Roth left the project, when he had to leave the use of his own name behind him. I find that quite - how to put it - unsettling? A case of artistry and commerce pulling something beautiful apart. So I actually have... 

A collected man, regarding DR references. www.acollectedman.com If you haven’t read it already. H.

There's a copious four-part series in Orologi di Classi by Denny Grigolo from 2018. It covers much of the same ground as the ACM piece. When I pointed this out - purely out of a wish to share information on a watchmaker who doesn't receive an awful lot of... 

Like you i am a big fan of DR watches for many years but just recently added a few . Don’t ask me why it took me so long to do so 🤷🏻‍♂️. But happy to have them in my collection now . ...  

Chance encounters stimulate curiosity. Curiosity develops into study. Study gives rise to admiration. Head, heart and gut all play their part in transforming observation into action. So, in my case, it took the better part of a year to get to this point, ... 

I just got my Papillon back from full service too. I feel it’s kinda best of two worlds, many of my friends are concerned about indie future serviceability. But for DR or RD, it’s probably something I am not too worried. I was surprised when I first took ...  

When Bvlgari took over from THG, they didn't just buy the use of Daniel Roth's name (he couldn't use it himself after the buyout), they bought the designs and capacity to sustain production. Of course they did that for several years, during which they rel... 

Eurostar has digitised all of its periodicals dating back to the 1950s, and is about to complete the project back to the 1930s. That is about 80,000 pages of watch history. I highly recommend a subscription for anyone interested in diving deep into brand ...