ADN by Manufacture Royale is a tourbillon watch with a contemporary look and an interesting display. The name is the French version of DNA. The principal display at the top of the dial shows local time, by means of a disc with a window that jumps from one hour to the next – the hour numerals are conventionally positioned, but only one numeral is visible at any one time. Scroll down to see a video. There is a single conventional sword-shaped minute hand. The home time or second time zone is shown on a smaller dial at bottom right. The overall layout is symmetrical, with the home time subdial balanced by the flying tourbillon on the left.
Modern, ergonomic case
The case is distinctive for its mobile lugs, in a construction based on the brand’s Opera and Androgyne models, but more rounded and softened. It’s a complicated construction, with the circular bezel held between two lateral pieces forming both caseband and lugs. The case alone comprises 67 parts. The watch is large at 46 mm across, 11.72 mm thick, but the mobile lugs optimize comfort. It is available in two versions, stainless steel, and a black, modern DLC-coated steel and forged carbon variant. The latter has a red-tinted watchglass that adds extra colour and matches the strap. The watches are available on a rubber or alligator strap with folding buckle. Water resistance is 3 atm/30 metres.
Hand-wound MR09 movement
The hand-wound MR09 movement is Manufacture Royale’s ninth caliber, designed and built in-house. The power source drives two independent gear trains, one for local time, one for the second time zone, and they can be independently adjusted from the crown. So the watch can show the time in any time zone, even the fractional time zones such as Kathmandu, Nepal which is GMT + 5:45 hours.
The one-minute flying tourbillon is mounted on ceramic ball bearings and has a silicon escapement wheel and pallet. The tourbillon cage is fixed on one side only so that the assembly with its hand finish can be viewed unobstructed. The balance runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour, 3 Hertz, and the watch provides an impressive 80 hours minimum of power reserve. The bridges have a silver-coloured rhodium finish in the stainless steel version, and a dark NAC finish in the forged carbon version.
Price
ADN by Manufacture Royale costs 86,000 Swiss francs in the stainless steel version, reference ADN46.01P01.A , and 93,000 francs in the black DLC and forged carbon version, reference ADN46.04CS04.D. Each version is a limited edition of 28 pieces. See the Manufacture Royale website for more information.
