Elite Traveler January-February 2017

DISCOVER

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BRAND PROFILE MANUFACTURE ROYALE Watch companies are proud of their heritage and longevity. While Manufacture Royale’s modern era is quite new, its pedigree is special. The famous philosopher Voltaire founded Manufacture Royale in 1770, to create watches that reflected his values. It closed when he died, and reopened in 2010. Its modern mission is to honor haute horlogerie practices and values, and blend them with creativity and the latest advances in watchmaking. Each beautiful movement is designed and created in Vallorbe, Switzerland, imagining what Voltaire would make 1. Opera This unique timepiece combines both a minute repeater and a tourbillon in an unfolding case, which amplifies the sound of the repeater when expanded. The entire mechanism is visible, so you see all moving parts of the repeater. From $385,000 in 18K yellow gold 2. 1770Micromegas Revolution A sight to behold, it has two tourbillons that rotate at different speeds; one at six seconds and one at 60 seconds. The open-worked dial shows a rotor, hour subdial and a skeletonized minute disc. $178,200 in 18K rose gold 3. Androgyne Royale The latest addition to Androgyne collection keeps its steampunk-inspired case with flexible lugs for comfort. The skeletonized royal blue movement with flying tourbillon shows off the manufacture ’s impeccable finishings. $61,600 in stainless steel and wear if he were alive today. Scott Rosen, +1 917 740 7885, manufacture-royale.com

MATERIAL MATTERS Roger Dubuis’ SIHH reveals are eagerly anticipated in the watch community, with everyone wondering what tradition he is going to turn on its head. The Excalibur Quatuor Cobalt MicroMelt is not entirely new, but the updates are bold and exciting. The big news is the material used in the case, bezel, case back and crown, a cobalt chrome alloy used in aeronautics and this year making its horology debut. Through a patented MicroMelt process, alloys are melted and atomized into a powder using a high-pressure stream of gas, it then undergoes several additional procedures before Roger Dubuis processes the unique material. It is corrosion-resistant and very durable, and the process allows previously impossible combinations of materials. It uses the RD101 caliber with its namesake four balance wheels set in the corners at 45° angles, which counter the effects of gravity on the movement. The chrome, blue and red color scheme is sporty and unique. While the original Excalibur Quatuor was released four years ago, so few have been made that you are unlikely to run into anyone wearing one. Limited to eight pieces, $350,000, Roger Dubuis in New York, Marko Obrenovic, +1 212 651 3773, rogerdubuis.com