When news broke last year that Daniel Roth was making a comeback, I was surprised and intrigued. As a fan of Roth watches, I was curious to see if LVMH designers would stylistically honor his famous double oval case design. When the Daniel Roth Tourbillon Subscription was announced in March 2023, I couldn’t help but smile. Seeing that familiar style I love return in all its updated glory confirmed the relevance of the brand and the keen eye of the LVMH designers who designed it. And now, nearly 18 months later, the brand is introducing the Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold. It’s the same watch, but in a rose gold case, with a stunning rose gold dial featuring pinstripe guilloché. What was good just got better.
When I first became interested in watches in the early 2000s, Daniel Roth was one of the brands that quickly stood out to me. The annual German military weapons catalog page, It’s a record of the top releases from the most important brands. Whenever I come to Daniel Roth, I always stop to admire the beauty of the double oval case. It’s an instantly recognizable design that feels different, yet makes perfect sense. Combined with a wonderfully crafted dial and a stunning movement, the brand offered something special, so seeing the brand return in style was one of the highlights of last year for me.
The Story of Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold
With the release of this new Tourbillon Rose Gold, the revived Daniel Roth brand continues on its carefully chosen path. This is the second version of the Tourbillon model, which was launched in March 2023. There are two main differences between that watch and this one: while the first watch had a yellow gold case and dial, this new version uses rose gold for those parts. This creates an overall look and feel that I prefer over last year’s model.
But that’s not all: Daniel Roth fans will notice a dial pattern that is reminiscent of the brand’s legendary double-faced tourbillon Ref. C187 from the late 1980s. An early version of the C187 The dials were primarily silver or grey with a Clous de Paris guilloché finish, so the same pattern made a comeback on the dials of last year’s models, although the later C187 models featured silver or grey dials finished with a linear guilloché pattern. The original version didn’t have a rose gold dial, but the return of the guilloching on the lines is a nice reference to the C187.In my opinion, this looks even better than the original version.
The beginning of the Daniel Roth permanent collection
Last year’s Tourbillon Souscription was a limited edition of 20 pieces, but the new Tourbillon Rose Gold is the first watch in Daniel Roth’s new permanent collection. This is significant as it marks the beginning of a real return to the industry after last year’s attempt with the Tourbillon Souscription. It’s great to see the brand make a glorious return and we’re excited to see what’s to come.
If you don’t know the Daniel Roth story, you should definitely read the introductory article written by Robert Jan in last year’s Tourbillon Souscription. The article covers Daniel Roth’s achievements as a watchmaker and what made his brand so special. The story of Roth is remarkable, having moved from Jaeger-LeCoultre to Audemars Piguet before joining Breguet in 1975. After 13 years at Breguet and reinventing the Breguet style, it was time to take the next step and launch his own brand. Today the revived Daniel Roth brand is part of LVMH and the watches are manufactured at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton, where Louis Vuitton luxury watches are also manufactured. This prompted Thomas’ article, answering whether LVMH gave Daniel Roth due credit in its initial release.
Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold details
The new watch features a 5N rose gold case with the same dimensions as last year’s model. The case measures 35.5mm wide, 38.6mm long and just 9.2mm thick. The case respects the design of the original, but has been optimized to fit the wrist by LVMH designers, who positioned the lugs at a downward angle. In addition, the distinctive “ridge”, which was located two-thirds of the way down the side of the original model, has been redesigned and moved to the center of the side.
Looking next at the dial, courtesy of Kari Voutilainen’s workshop, there are a few differences from last year’s watch beyond the rose gold base material. The applied chapters and scales are still made of sterling silver, but the markings are printed in glossy black instead of blue. Another difference is that the stainless steel hands are also black, whereas last year’s model’s hands were heat-treated to give them a blue finish. The black and silver contrast beautifully with the rose gold, creating a very classy aesthetic overall.
The Amazing Daniel Roth DR001 Caliber
At 6 o’clock, the tourbillon mechanism of the exceptional DR001 caliber is visible, made up of 206 components. The tourbillon movement is the brainchild of LVMH Master Watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini. It is entirely hand-finished and specially crafted to fit the gold double ellipso case. The brand chose to fit the watch with a display case back so that the splendor of the movement can be fully admired. The manual-wound movement runs at 21,600vph, has 19 jewels, and has a power reserve of 80 hours.
The tourbillon rotates once every 60 seconds, making it not only beautiful but also functional. On the dial side, the tourbillon cage is fitted with three black hands of different lengths. These correspond to the three 20-second scales located just above the tourbillon cage. It’s a fun and original way of displaying the seconds. If the dial alone doesn’t draw you in multiple times a day, this smart feature will surely captivate you. As mentioned before, the development, manufacturing, decoration and hand finishing are all done at La Fabrique du Temps. This watch is a striking masterpiece that perfectly combines the brilliance of the past with the renewed Daniel Roth brand.
Final Thoughts on the Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold
To complete the watch’s stunning look, it is fitted with a 20mm light brown calfskin strap with an 18K rose gold buckle. We love the color of the strap as it really adds to the contemporary presence of the watch. Last year’s yellow gold model was a more classic expression of Daniel Roth style, but this new version feels a bit more modern. We’ve already mentioned that straps play an important role in making the Parmigiani Fleurier Toric models feel period, and the same can be said about the strap choice for the Tourbillon Rose Gold.
If you’ve read this far, you’ll know I’m a fan of the new Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold. This watch exudes sentimental vibes without sacrificing modern relevance. The people behind the brand have done a great job of creating a watch that perfectly honors Roth’s heritage. At the same time, they’ve updated the design to make it more relevant for today’s context. Finally, they’ve developed a pink-on-pink aesthetic for the dial and case that has made this model my favorite of all the C187 models. This is truly a glorious permanent return for Daniel Roth.
Limited production
The brand will produce just 50 of this new model per year. Each will be individually numbered on the dial starting with 21, following the initial 20 pieces of last year’s Tourbillon subscription. The Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold will retail for 155,000 CHF before tax, a price point that only a lucky few can afford. But those few will be very pleased when they see how meticulously crafted this watch is. I can’t wait to try it out and review it. It will be one of the highlights of the year for me. That’s how much I love this new Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold.
For more information on the Daniel Roth Tourbillon Rose Gold, visit the brand’s official website, and let us know in the comments whether or not you think this new rose gold version beats last year’s yellow gold Tourbillon edition.
