C by Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition Four

Reading Time: 5 minutes

An assertive character enhance by a black ADLC titanium case and a structured black titanium dial, faded by the lightness of the ice blue details, a striking contrast between strength and softness. The fourth edition of the C by Romain Gauthier in titanium is in the continuity of the modernity and refinement of these timepieces.

Reflecting Romain’s creative freedom with a modern and youthful design, C by Romain Gauthier is the result of more than 17 years of know-how acquired through the development of the brand and its manufacture.

Technical in nature, casual in style and free in spirit, the Freedom collection has enabled the creation of this contemporary caliber. The significance of C by Romain Gauthier lies in its creative approach to reinforce the notions of continuity with its concept and design, in reference to the Continuum. Reflecting a vision of the future for a timepiece which is part of Romain Gauthier’s philosophy, and which opens the door to new horizons.

During its creation, it was clear to Romain that the case had to harmonize with the movement. It had to be contemporary and uncluttered. But not only that – comfort, ergonomics and the choice of materials also contributed to the design of this timepiece with the decision to use black Grade 5 titanium. The dial, also in black Grade 5 titanium, adds to the consistency of the piece and evokes a sense of continuity, as no circle completes the time indication.

Inspired by the finger bridges style, the design of the movement follows the watchmaking history of the Vallée de Joux but with a modern approach, reflecting Romain’s vision of the evolution of tradition.
Romain Gauthier presents the fourth edition of the caliber in black titanium in a limited edition of 38-pieces and engraved “1 of 38” on the back of each movement.

C by Romain Gauthier in detail

Flow and continuity to the fore on an atypical dial

C by Romain Gauthier is all about modernity and continuity, both in terms of its movement architecture and dial design. If the observer looks closely, he will see that the hour-minute hands are actually off-centred on the horizontal axis and the hour indices taper ever so slightly and are of varying lengths, while the 5-second intervals of the small seconds at 7 o’clock are also marked by tapering bright ice blue lines of differing lengths.

Romain explains this purposeful play on perspective, saying: “Rather than a series of enclosed circles, as we often see in watchmaking, I wanted an open, airy dial on which full or part orthogonal lines form vanishing points with the axes of the hands, reinforcing the notion of continuity.”

The tapering, three-dimensional hands and index are made from 18k white gold and filled with Super-LumiNova for enhanced legibility, as are the numerals and applied hour markers, each of which has been produced from a single piece of white gold and features bevelled edges to give a punchy presence. The dial is made from black titanium that has been structured to provide a three-dimensional straight-graining texture.

Eye-catching case and strap high on details

Framing the dial is a titanium bezel whose eye-catching, geometric profile is unlike anything previously seen on a Romain Gauthier timepiece. The bezel is first machined into a round shape featuring a circular bevel before six straight sides are cut into it to create 6 facets. While these facets, which have been polished, reflect the light and bring the bezel to life, the rest of the bezel absorbs light thanks to its satin-finishing. The same facetted design is replicated around the sapphire crystal on the back of the watch.

On this fourth edition, the case, as well as the lugs and buckle, made of Grade 5 black titanium, have been coated with a technical ADLC treatment allowing an aesthetical black finish. This carbon-based coating reinforces the scratch and shock resistance, hypoallergenic, it is also resistant to chemicals products and solvents.

In between the bezel and caseback, the one-piece caseband and lugs are geometrically sculpted, with satin and polished finishes as well as aesthetic grooves cleverly deployed to draw out the resulting shapes. Meanwhile, the rubber strap with titanium pin buckle follows the form of the angular lugs and rounded caseband so it appears as a continuous, organic extension of the case.

And not for the first time in his work, Romain has placed the crown for winding and time-setting at 2 o’clock, freeing up space for wrist movement. A rubber ring around the crown makes it easier to manipulate, as well as adding a dash of colour to the timepiece.

Clever stop-seconds mechanism that uses a snail cam

Romain has endowed C by Romain Gauthier with a stop-seconds – or hacking seconds – mechanism, allowing the wearer to set the time exactly according to a reference time.

Like many stop-seconds mechanisms, a brake is placed on C by Romain Gauthier’s balance wheel when the crown is pulled out. But instead of using a straight or L-shaped balance stop lever to halt the balance, Romain has opted to employ a snail cam that performs a double function: It touches and stops the balance wheel when the crown is pulled out and, when the crown is pushed back in, the snail cam makes a turn, with its increasingly wide form giving the balance an impulse to help it start beating again.

Those familiar with the brand will know Romain has used the snail cam’s unique shape in his past creations: It appears on the watchmaker’s acclaimed Logical One.

In-house movement where design and decoration meet modernity

The themes of modernity and continuity carry over to the manual-winding, in-house movement, which is gloriously on show through the display back.

Taking centre stage are a number of finger bridges – historically typical of the Vallée de Joux, Romain’s birthplace – but reinterpreted here in a contemporary way. For starters, these bridges are horizontally configured and feature a ‘stepped’ shape – previously seen on some of Logical One’s bridges – that not only provides volume and depth, but also gives the sense that the bridges are literally flowing over the gears and balance wheel, with no clear end to them.

The bridges are made from lightweight, natural Grade 5 titanium and they boast contrasting tones and textures thanks to a variety of finishes. The outer edges of each bridge all feature a double bevel, while the flat bridge surfaces and rubies are each framed by a raised border that has been straight-grained. Within these borders, the hand-finishing specialists at Manufacture Romain Gauthier have used a special hand-engraving technique to create a highly original dimpled texture. The movement mainplate beneath has been hand-frosted.

The impressive decoration doesn’t stop with the bridges and mainplate: Romain’s trademark gears and ratchet wheel featuring circular, bevelled spokes have been circular-grained, while the click, snail cam and screws with S-slot heads – another signature of Romain – have been highly polished. Finally, the lid of the mainspring barrel has been embellished with a superb snailing decoration.

C by Romain Gauthier’s regulator features the Romain Gauthier balance wheel with curved arms and calibrated eccentric weights, plus hand-assembled pallet lever that is triangular for maximum rigidity.

C by Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition Four Technical Specifications

38-piece limited edition in black Grade 5 titanium, engraved “1 of 38” on the back of the movement

Features and indications

Off-centred hours and minutes
Small seconds at 7 o’clock
Grade 5 titanium case, dial, movement bridges and mainplate
In-house movement featuring stop-seconds mechanism
Sporty rubber strap

Movement and finishing

In-house, hand-wound movement
Dimensions: 32.10 mm x 5.50 mm
Power reserve: 60 hours
Number of jewels: 24
Number of components: 154
Balance frequency: 28,800 vph / 4Hz
Components made from: Titanium, steel, stainless steel and German silver
Finishing: Superlative decoration by hand
Treatment: Natural titanium bridges and rhodium-treated gears.

Case

Material: Grade 5 titanium coated with black ALDC
Dimensions: 41mm x 9.55mm, lugs to lugs: 49.5 mm
Water resistance: 50m/5atm/160ft
Crown for winding and time-setting featuring coloured rubber ring, at 2 o’clock
Watch supplied with a rubber crown ring in blue
Sapphire crystal with interior anti-reflection coating, front and display back

Dial and hands

Three-dimensional straight-graining structure dial in black PVD and protective layer against UV rays
Off-centred hours and minutes
Small seconds at 7 o’clock with 5-second intervals marked by tapering bright blue lines
Super-LumiNova-filled 18k white gold hands and applied numerals and hour markers

Strap and buckle