By Jovan Krstevski
If you remember back in January on the occasion of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie held in Geneva, Laurent Ferrier presented the Galet Micro Rotor Montre Ecole. This model got inspirations from a watch the master watchmaker built in his school years. It sported a design akin to a pocket watch with design elements used in the 19th century and as such it employed a minimalist approach. And now Laurent Ferrier presents yet another model using the same case, the Galet Micro-Rotor Montre Ecole Regulateur. This is a typical regulator watch which I will provide more details later on so read on.
The case design is classic and very much pocket watch-like. The watch comes on either stainless steel case or in white gold. Personally, I would always opt for the steel version but we all have different opinions on the matter. Moreover, the 40 mm three-piece case is svelte by design and it is also water resistant to 30 meters or 100 feet. The polished finish of the case is remarkable plus the crown feels like it is not even there but note that this is a 3 piece case.
The dial sports a silver tone which is very tantalizing to look at. It has a vertical satin-brushed finish with the minute and seconds counters recessed and contracted with a nickel snailed finish making the sub-dials blend so well. The branding is very minimalist too with a blue REGULATEUR label at 9 o’clock while LAURENT FERRIER GENEVE is placed at 3 o’clock.
I like the leaf-shaped hand for the hours. The minutes has an assegai-shaped hand (from the spear used by the Zulu) while a baton shaped hand is used for the seconds. The hands are all made of white gold 18K/210Pd with a black ruthenium treatment. They are amazing and provides very sharp contrast against the silvery backdrop of the dial. The readability is superb but of course, minimalism also contributes a great factor for this extreme legibility.
Moreover, the small hours dial bears Roman numerals in black, while the minutes are shown on a railway track styled ring in slate gray with blue painted Arabic numerals at 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes.
Powering the watch is the FBN Calibre 228.01, an automatic manufacture movement equipped with micro-rotor winding system fixed between the main plate and the micro-rotor bridge. It sports a silicon escapement with double direct impulse on the balance and a silent block shock protection system for the micro-rotor.
If you flip the watch over, you will be greeted by a sapphire crystal caseback showcasing the beautifully finished movement. It beats at 21,600 vph or 3 Hz and provides a whopping 72 hours of power reserve.
Of course, you get to wear this watch on a comfortable leather strap. As for price points, the Laurent Ferrier Galet Micro-Rotor Montre Ecole Regulateur retails for Euro 34,900 in stainless steel or Euro 44,300 in white gold.
For more info, please visit laurentferrier.ch
