Daniel Roth Tourbillon 2187, 1990s

Dealer description — S.Song Watches

When we think of the big independents today, names such as Voutilainen, Dufour, Journe, and Smith come to mind. In fact, there is such a huge appreciation for independents today that it has become somewhat mainstream within collecting circles to own at least one watch from an independent brand. Before all of this hype though, there was Daniel Roth. To be honest, in my opinion, the story of the Daniel Roth brand is a tragic one that could’ve worked out very differently. Daniel Roth the man came from a family of watchmakers and as such, was always destined to be one. Beginning his career at Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus, he worked there for 7 years before moving on to Breguet during the Chaumet era, where he really honed his skills. Without a doubt, Daniel Roth is one of the most talented watchmakers of his generation and was responsible for many things you see today but do not realize. At Breguet, he was a leading figure that established the design language of the Breguet dress watches that you see today. In the ’60s and ’70s, Breguet had become a below-average watch brand with no future, mainly supplying utilitarian Type 20 watches to the military. When they were acquired by the Chaumet brothers, they brought in Daniel Roth to lead the helm as technical director. The reference 3130 for example, with its guilloche dial and its straight lugged case, set the tone for Breguet and was created by Daniel Roth after studying the brand’s history and archives for over a year. Moreover, he played a significant role in producing complicated movements for Lemania who may I remind you up until recently still provided the likes of Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin with chronograph calibers. It wasn’t until the Chaumet brothers fell into scandal and had to sell Breguet, that Roth decided to pave his own path forward. Towards the end of the ’80s, Daniel Roth did the unthinkable by starting his own eponymous ‘independent’ brand. Back then, it was a crazy thing to do, especially as the industry was still reeling from the quartz crisis that decimated most brands. Without the constraints of big corporate hovering over him, he was free to create whatever he wanted and the results were some of the most original and beautiful watch designs of all time. You see, while no one can question the technical genius of Roth’s watchmaking, what many do not realize is that he is also a master in design, with an innate eye for proportion, texture, and depth. The most unique trait of the Daniel Roth brand is without a doubt the double ellipse case that underpinned the entire collection. It featured a three-piece case that was an amalgamation of a rectangular shape cut off by semi-circles at the top and bottom, resulting in a look that was truly unique. Of all the early models released by Roth, the most iconic is what you see here today, the C187 Tourbillon. While there are uniquely Daniel Roth design cues, you can certainly see how working at Breguet influenced him. This watch features a fantastically elegant 35 X 38mm 18k yellow gold case and houses a beautifully finished one-minute Tourbillon. Attached to the cage are three hands of differing lengths that act as a second counter corresponding to the three-tiered display above the cage. Not only was showing a Tourbillon at the front not done back in the day, but the display of seconds was another original Roth idea. The dial itself is another marvel, made from 18k grey gold with a hand engine-turned vertical ligne guilloché pattern. Atop of this is a satin silver sub-dial with Roman numerals that are knurled around the edges, adding a really nice depth and contrast to the dial. Flipping the watch over, there is a second dial that features all of the aforementioned details, displaying the date and the power reserve. Tourbillon watches are more often than not slightly on the crude side and lacking in elegance, but the Daniel Roth C187 is anything but. From the beautifully long black polished Tourbillon bridges to the overall layout and proportion of the watch, it is, in my opinion, a true benchmark of great watch design. Furthermore, everything from the choice of font to the contrasting guilloche patterns really contributes to give the C187 a real ‘hand-made’ feel. It is sad that such a beautiful brand ended up this way, but perhaps as the first real independent brand, mistakes were bound to be made. What he did do was pave the way and to show budding watchmakers like Journe and Dubuis what was possible and what to avoid.