Daniel Roth 220.Y Tourbillon 8-day perpetual calendar
Created for the true watch connoisseur, the manual winding Daniel Roth 220.Y Tourbillon 8-day perpetual calendar reinforces the passion and intimacy watch aficionado has with his watch.
On the front face: the Daniel Roth straight-arm bridged tourbillon, 200-hour power-reserve indicator, the Daniel Roth off-set hour and minute hands and three-arm seconds hand (that counts the seconds across a graduated three-tier dial); and on the reverse of the face, hidden in a secret flip-over casing – and building on the sense of intimacy a watch owner has with his watch – is the perpetual calendar (indicating day, month and date including leap year) and a rarely seen, realistic replica of the phases of the moon.
Reaffirming the watch’s tactility to its wearer is the unusual mineralized treatment of the watch’s double-sided antiglare treated front face sapphire crystal. The sensitively tinted sapphire allows the onlooker a tantalizing glimpse of the tourbillon’s “whirlwind” mechanism and watch movement as it beats the rhythm of time beneath the glass.
- Daniel Roth 220.Y Tourbillon 8-day perpetual calendar
Then, and clearly offering a poignant moment of pleasure, by pressing a catch on the outer case, the case flips over at 12 o’clock to reveal the watch’s other functions on the reverse of the dial – and you are immediately initiated into the workings of the perpetual calendar and get your first taste of the complexity of the movement sparklingly away behind a double-sided antiglare treated clear sapphire crystal.
In the Daniel Roth tradition
In 2002, Daniel Roth was the first-ever brand to make an 8-day tourbillon wristwatch with double barrels. In 2006, they created a new version of the dial, reverting to the original Daniel Roth straight-arm tourbillon bridge and enlarging the tourbillon cage. Since the Daniel Roth tourbillon is very regular and extremely accurate they kept the tourbillon itself, but enlarged its visibility and its trademark three-arm Daniel Roth graduated seconds hand.
This year, they have gone further with the 220.Y Tourbillon 8-day perpetual calendar and created a new movement based on the famous original double-faced 8-day tourbillon but with an additional module – a perpetual calendar replacing the simple date display. Other features that have been changed are the power reserve, which is now shown in an aperture at 12 o’clock on the front face whereas previously it was indicated on the reverse face.
There is an intimacy between a Daniel Roth watch and its owner manifest by a total appreciation of Daniel Roth’s attention to detail:
- The Daniel Roth tourbillon – the heart of the watch – offers the wearer the sensation of a real heart beating – as if confirming his love affair with his timepiece as he watches almost mesmerized, the tourbillon sensuously encircling its cage.
- The translucent dial – like a beautiful woman who, while displaying her beauty tantalizingly always keeps something back, the mineralized treatment of the dial allows its owner a view on the wonders of the movement.
- The three graduated seconds hands – as their different lengths hypnotically count out the seconds above the tourbillon cage – each of the three graduated arms indicating the seconds in its own sector 0-20, 20-40, and 40-60. With typical attention to detail the inner case at 6 o’clock is cut away to allow the 0-20 second hand clear passage as it sweeps through to ultimately retake its position at 0.
- The natural representation of the moon – gone are the stylized phases of the moon instead, there is a detailed realistic reproduction of the natural moon in its various phases.
This entirely handmade 8-day tourbillon perpetual calendar watch has been totally developed, produced and assembled by Daniel Roth at their manufactory in the Vallée de Joux in the Swiss Jura.
The movement
Tourbillons are one of Daniel Roth’s finest achievements, embodying the manufactory’s technical expertise and mastery of the measurement of time. This entirely handmade Daniel Roth manual winding calibre 5301 movement is a direct descendant of the famous calibre 5300 (8-day tourbillon).
Watch lovers the world over appreciate Daniel Roth’s mastery of complications. An invention of genius, the tourbillon uses extremely precise mechanical tolerances. The tourbillon (whirlwind) device eliminates rate differences by means of an escapement and balance spring fixed to a cage that is driven by a fixed wheel, this allows the ultra-accurate tourbillon to counteract the effects of gravity on the balance wheel movement, so ensuring rigorously precise timekeeping.
- Daniel Roth 220.Y; moon phase
Typical of the brands symbiotic approach to watchmaking is the way it has harnessed the action of the mechanism’s second’s wheel. The tourbillon cage is fixed to this second’s wheel which allows it to make it’s 1 turn every 60 seconds.
Totally developed in-house, the 5301 incorporates a perpetual calendar and moon phases. Since its foundation in 1989, the Daniel Roth manufactory has been recognized for its mastery of the development, assembly and finishing of perpetual calendar complications and indeed, the brand has many perpetual calendar references in its catalogues. The perpetual calendar is fundamental to the art of true timekeeping – indicating as it does all the cycles of time from seconds to years. An added complication when creating a perpetual calendar function is that leap years must be divisible by four, however, years divisible by 100 must also be divisible by 400 to be regarded as leap years – the next leap year with only 28 days in February will be in 2100.
In adding a moon phase mechanism with realistic representations of the moon (a recognisable feature of the brand) to an already highly complicated watch, Daniel Roth is reaffirming its commitment to high complication watchmaking, its respect for nature’s timekeepers and offering a beautiful vision of the moon on a starry sky.
Sections of the movement can be appreciated from both sides of the double face. As a double-sided movement, some of the functions are set inside the plates, so although at first glance it may look simple, the calibre 5301 is in fact an extremely complicated movement.
The dial
Not content with producing technological masterpieces, the signature characteristics of Daniel Roth’s master watchmakers’ attention to detail is legendary – particularly in the workmanship of their dials.
The front face dial with gold ring carries the famous over-sized Daniel Roth gold radial Roman numerals, seconds’ indexes and Daniel Roth logo. The Daniel Roth tourbillon with straight-arm bridge offers an unobstructed view of the tourbillon’s “whirlwind” mechanism while the 200-hour power-reserve indicator is in an aperture at 12 o’clock. The signature Daniel Roth off-set flame blued-steel arrow hour and minute hands are positioned just below the power reserve aperture and the flame blued-steel three-arm graduated seconds hand is situated on the tourbillon arbor.
On the reverse side of the face we find the perpetual calendar apertures, disks with day, month and date including leap year and phases of the moon set in an elegant cut-away dial below a totally transparent double-sided anti-reflection sapphire, which offers clear views of the movement.
The case
The 8-day tourbillon perpetual calendar 220.Y is set in a 43.35 x 40.43 x 14.60 mm classical style double ellipse Daniel Roth case. Each watchcase is individually sculpted from a block of precious metal and has individually soldiered lugs. The 220.Z tourbillon 8-day perpetual calendar is available in three different metals – yellow gold, red-gold and platinum.
- Daniel Roth 220.Y Tourbillon 8-day perpetual calendar
The flip-over case function is operated by a push press at 6 o’clock and flips over at 12 o’clock revealing the reverse side of the double face. The internal plate of the back cover has the technical details of the movement engraved on it, but can also be personalized either by engraving – or enamelling.
Entirely hand-finished
The hand finishing and decoration of Daniel Roth movements are works of high watchmaking art featuring intricately hand-bevelled components delicately hand-engraved using traditional local craft techniques.
The decoration of the 8-day tourbillon perpetual calendar 220.Y is no exception, incorporating as it does, the traditional Daniel Roth and Côte de Genève finish. The movements is concentric circular grained and vertically aligned Côte de Genève finished, screw fittings are countersunk and polished, flanks hand bevelled and hand drawn and surfaces satin brushed.
The 8-day tourbillon perpetual calendar 220.Y is made in a numbered limited production in three different metals – yellow gold 220.Y.20, red-gold 220.Y.50 and platinum 220.Y.70 – all with alligator strap and new triple-blade folding clasp engraved with the Daniel Roth initials.
Wherever you are in the world, it’s the small details that make the difference between an ordinary watch and a Daniel Roth watch – created specifically for the pleasure of the true watch connoisseur – to set the emotions racing to the beat of time. (Daniel Roth press)