Hi,

After a brilliant visit with Ph. Dufour we jumped into our van and drove five minutes to our apartments to have lunch, relax and talk about what we had just seen and where we were going next.

Our afternoon visit was with Daniel Roth "the man not the brand" - I must have said that a hundred times before, during and since our tour. Daniel Roth, the man, is French and a master watchmaker who launched his own brand, using his name, in 1990. A decade later he would no longer be associated with the brand that bears his name.

A 10-minute drive from our apartments brought us to the driveway of Mr. Roth's Le Sentier home where he works from an attic atelier (a VdJ tradition). Mrs. Roth received us graciously at the door and led us to the living room where we waited for Daniel. Within minutes he came downstairs from his atelier with a smile on his face and quickly engaged us in conversation, which could have been tricky, as Daniel doesn’t speak English! Fortunately, between his wife and three people on the tour, whose combined knowledge of the French language provided sufficient translation, we were off and running.

After 10 to 15 minutes of chitchat we were following him upstairs to the atelier. The shop was not big, a decent sized room I’d say, but it was well organized – quite tidy in fact, with the necessary tools for making watches to order. You see, now that he is independent, Daniel Roth is making watches again under the name "Jean Daniel Nicolas" - the given names of his family (his wife, himself and his son).

Having just sent his latest completed watch off to the purchaser, we were unable to see any finished work in the “flesh,” however he was able to show us photos of the watch which I took pictures of for the forum. What we did see in the flesh was his current work in progress, which was, no surprise here, a tourbillon.

Daniel is making most of the movement in-house, with the exception being the escapement and the usual suspects (jewels, hairspring and balance spring) and he finishes the components himself. He has the dial, case and hands done by specialists.

When asked how he felt now that he was independent again he said, “I like it. I can make what I want, how I want and when I want.” Not a bad position to be in.

Enjoy the pictures!

Demonstrating the use of the turns (he finishes all staffs and arbors this way), with the help of one of our “in house” translators

His Bench

Photos of photographs Daniel made of his last watch

Current Watch In Progress

Please stay tuned for VdJ 2003 – Day Two (a.m.) – Beat Haldimann.

Cheers,

Curtis

Hi Curtis,

thank you a lot!
That´s really fascinating to see and i hope you don´t mind a question:
Does the pictured round watch have a retrograde power reserve and a retrograde second hand?
While the little hand on the dial under 12 is at 60, the little hand beneath the tourbillon carriage is at zero (and the watch appears to stand still), which makes me believe it´s both a retrograde indication?

Great stuff; the tourbillon does have a wonderful depth. Very unusual and very beautiful.

Thank you a lot!

Greetings from germany,

Peter

aren't retrograde. The back reveals that it's a 2 minute tourbillon, hence a 180 degrees track around the tourbillon is sufficient to indicate a minute.

Thanks for the story and pictures!

Regards,

Joram

Hi Peter,

How could I forget to include such info in the post? (shoulder shrug) As mentioned below the tourbillon is a two minute tourbillon with two seconds hands, 180 degrees apart. The little hand on the dial is for the power reserve.

Cheers,

Curtis

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Hi Curtis,
Many thanks for the report. Do you know if Daniel has a website or email he can be contacted on?
Regards,
Max

nt

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nt

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Do you know if Mr. Daniel Roth making timepeices to order only, or is he making pieces and then selling them - or both ?

. . .and Mr. Roth!

The photographs of the finished tourbillon are really something- the play of textures and light are just wonderful and the cutout in the dial gives a wonderful sculpturality- it's a much more "thought out" exposed tourbillon than one generally sees. This is a piece that really repays careful attention to the nuances of the design.

Thank you again!

Jack Forster

Great, to see a great man making great watches again under his own direction.

Thanks Curtis.
David

Most of my pictures don't add much to Curtis's, although perhaps this one does.

This is a group shot, on the left are Daniel's wife and son. I think the smiles give a clue to what a wonderful host Danial and his wife were, plus I thought it was good to give you a glimpse of the three people behind the names on the dial - Jean, Nicolas and Daniel all together.

nt

nt

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