While Daniel Roth is remembered for the early output of his eponymous, and path-breaking, independent brand, he had lived many lives as a watchmaker before that. Steeped from a young age in the craft, the third-generation watchmaker from Nice worked at Audemars Piguet before being recruited to restore the Breguet name to its former glory. He obliged and shaped the aesthetics and architecture, with the modern brand still governed by the vernacular he established. Even today he remains a proponent of the style under the banner of Jean Daniel Nicolas, a mark he runs with his wife and son. They produce no more than three watches a year.
This example, in a round case, is testament to this lifelong dedication. A sauté piqué ring runs along the outer reaches of the dial. In fact, this particular finishing is a motif that is repeated at various stages, serving to delineate different quantities of elapsed time. In terms of decoration, on the outside lies a rim of Clous de Paris, a nod to his time at Breguet as well as the watches of early Daniel Roth.
This is evident in many details big and small throughout the dial and case architecture. The position, scale and layout of the time-telling is a good example of this. Inspired again by Roth’s past work, the subdial features a chapter of minute plots followed by one of Roman hours. The hours are indicated by a pointer-style hand while the minutes have a simple hand, both heated to a vibrant blue.
Elegantly ensconced within the time-telling display is a marine chronometer-style power reserve indicator that registers up to 60 hours since the calibre was last fully wound. This information is displayed on a semi-circular sector with a simple, blued hand. All chapters in the subdial wear even satiné circulaire finishing with varying sizes of sauté piqué separating the various units of time.
Below this subdial sits a bat-shaped bridge, expertly black-polished, and secured by four flat-head screws. Closer examination will only further the appreciation of the time and skill that have gone into shaping the beautiful inward angles, even in parts that would be inaccessible by all but the most miniature of hand tools. The angles and bevelled edges are sharp and precise and the curves, flowing, evidence of manual craft developed over a long career. Sitting seemingly far beneath the dial, and secured by a jewelled axis attached to the bridge, is the two-minute tourbillon. It’s open form, coupled with its two pointers arranged in a fan-style layout, allows each to alternately track 60 seconds on a semi-circular scale. The base of the hand-made tourbillon is also mirror-polished, further amplifying the depth of the calibre. Peeking from the ‘wings’ of the bat-shaped bridge is the German silver base of the calibre, engraved on which is the maker’s mark ‘JDN’ as well as the serial number, both in a surrealist font, obviously hand engraved. Interestingly, the serial number holds a secret that will only reveal itself to its future owner.
The 39.2 mm platinum case is marked by a two-step convex bezel, with this layout repeated on the display caseback. This, together with the rounded, almost tubular nature of the midcase, something that carries onto the profile of the short lugs, makes the case appear much slimmer than its 12mm dimension would indicate. The lugs, as noted, are short and straight, with squared off ends. In fact, their short length means that when placed on a flat surface, the lugs hover.
The view of the manual-wind calibre through the display caseback is marked by the German silver bridge, finished with shallow Côtes de Genève appearing in a series of waves. It is a twin-barrel arrangement with a Breguet overcoil balance spring in a balance that beats at 18,000 beats per hour. On the bridge is visible hand-engraved details such as the maker’s mark, the jewel count (25) as well as other technical details such as the two-minute tourbillon and its adjustment in five positions. Also engraved by hand is the country of origin, done in a stylised cursive font.
The watch comes on a black alligator leather strap from the maker, with 20mm curved ends. The platinum buckle itself is a piece of flowing sculptural work, oversized and robust.
Accompanying the watch is the impressive wooden presentation box, with drawers for the paperwork and accessories. It comes with a certificate of origin hand-signed by Roth that also detail its specifications.
If sold within the United Kingdom, this Jean Daniel Nicolas Two-Minute Tourbillon will be subject to 20% VAT
