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…
A graffiti artist goes to the metro station, chooses an expanse of wall in a stairwell, and creates an enormous colourful composition. Then a few days or weeks later, along come the municipal painters who repaint the wall. All that is left of the graffiti artist’s work is the stair handrail, still decorated with gaudy…
With the 1770 Flying Tourbillon Openwork, Manufacture Royale gives the existing Androgyne Royale a different, even more elemental case. While in the Androgyne Royale there were an indication of the hours by means of 12 screws on the bezel, in the new 1770 Flying Tourbillon watch for 2017, the case is smooth and circular, and…
The three new versions of Manufacture Royale’s 1770 Micromegas Révolution were first presented at Salon QP, London, in 2016, and then in Geneva in January 2017. It is a lovely double tourbillon, made in three limited editions, each of just three watches. They are also innovative in their colours, bright and sophisticated. Meet Micro and…
What sort of watch would Voltaire design if he were around today? This is the sort of question that seems to be a constant obsession for Manufacture Royale, the brand that traces its origins back to the philosopher. It’s a bit like wondering what Bach would have done with an electric guitar, Shakespeare with a…
Company profile: There are lots of watch brands of relatively recent foundation who have purchased the right to use the name of a historic watchmaker or a long defunct company. It gives them some instant history, and some even go so far as to put “Since 1860” or whenever on the dials of their new…
Double tourbillons is something that reminds you of Roger Dubuis, Greubel Forsey and Speake-Marin, but the 1770 Micromegas is a bit different. The two tourbillons have different speeds of rotation, 1 rpm and 10 rpm (take a look at the video futher down on this page) and different balance speeds, 28,800 vibrations per hour (4…
The Voltige Plume Noir (or Black Feather) by Manufacture Royale is a delight to watch. The balance, large at 14 mm diameter, oscillates at 21,600 vibrations per hour, and it is accompanied by the escapement just below. The assembly’s hypnotic movement is the epitomy of mechanical watchmaking. At the bottom of the dial, a subdial…
Theatrical balance With the 1770 Haute Voltige, Manufacture Royale transforms time into performance art. It selects the most significant parts of the movement – the 14mm-diameter balance wheel and the escapement – and puts them above the dial, in isolation from the rest of the movement which is hidden below. The geometry is beautiful, with…