Borna Boschunjak
If you were in the late 18th century and someone liked great watches, the name Leroy would have been familiar to you. Throughout its celebratory history, the French brand has made everything from the early automatic, developed the early halt escape, and created extremely complex pocket watches. However, recently, despite presenting many impressive pieces after the name was acquired by the Festina Group in 2004, the once watchmaker to king has not enjoyed the same noble heights mentioned among watchmaking elites.
With this one-handed, the Minute Repeater, equipped by Tour Billon, takes on a more traditional look, but is based on participants in Leroy’s 2023/4 only watches that announced a revival of the brand but were subsequently withdrawn from sales. It also marks Leroy’s return to high-end watchmaking by reviving the Osmiall collection.
Dial
You can’t overlook the fact that Bal Du Temps means business. The name is actually very fitting as the tour Billon, the center of the dial, dances as repeat customers scream. In fact, you can see all the behavior of the repeater mechanism using the rack and ratchet, where the minute rack and ratchet occupies the upper left part of the open dial. Still, even minute repeat customers can be useful to tell the time at a glance. So, Leroy chose a sunburnhole track around the case that is available in anthracite, silver or blue.
That being said, Leroy clearly wants you to use repeaters. The Bal Du Temps is a one-handed clock, with no clear registration for a minute, only quarterly. Well, I think you need to make an effort to listen to the chimes of high-end watches at your request…
case
Available in three metals: titanium, red gold and platinum. It’s all refined and has little definition functionality to save for the cutouts of the top left lag. Due to the structure of the movement, there are 43mm diameter and 13.6mm height, both of which are quite a measurement, but you can see from the height of the tour beyonce cage.
I don’t think this new member of the Osmiore collection will be near the water, but I expect it to have at least 30 meters of water resistance, which is enough for this type of watch.
strap
Regardless of your case metal selection, the Osmior Bal Du Temps are attached to a black crocodile leather strap with a case matching folding grip clasp. It’s a safe choice to make the dial shine and add a refined touch to the L.Leroy logo clasp.
Movement
The intricate L610SQ behind the Bal Du Temps, with no hand-carved details, returns from the only watch piece mentioned above. The case back view is dominated by frosted three quarter plates featuring plenty of angles (but not sharp inner angles), but the remaining repeater mechanism from the front is visible on the back, including the gong, the governor, and the black painted bevelled hammer. Immediately back to the front, I also wanted the cage to form the Leroy logo and scream the flying tourbillon. Specifications suggest that you can expect a 3Hz beat rate and a power reserve of at least 90 hours of manual winding.
A final sip of the origins of the movement. The Festina Group owns the Soprod Movement Manufacture, but Leroy does not specify who it partnered with for the L610SQ. (Editor’s note: I quized L. leroy’s representatives about the origins of the Geneva Watch daily movement, but they don’t give up. But it has a huge chime that is very satisfying.)
verdict
Although previous attempts to stage Leroy’s comeback have not been planned, it’s no surprise that Festina is doing it again as Festina misses the crown jewel that could potentially boost Arsenal as a whole. The most promising thing is that the founder of Festina said L. Leroy would run independently, except that Bal Du Temps is a rather Schmick watch.
Bal Du Temps is a powerful show of intention not only as a design object but also as evidence that Leroy was able to find the right partner to make it happen, and thanks to its impressive complications, it’s the right watch to bring Leroy’s name back to the spotlight. In my personal note, the Osmior collection is back, so I pray that Leroy will bring home the L200 caliber that he presented at Baselworld 10 years ago.
L.LEROY OSMIOR BAL DU enhances pricing and availability
L.Leroy Osmior Bal Du Temps is now available. Its production is limited, but the brand is not explicit to what extent. Prices are accepted on request
Brand L.LEROY Model Osmior Bal Du Temps Reference Number LL305/1 (Red Gold)
LL306/1 (Platinum)
LL307/1 Titanium Case Dimensions 43mm(d) x 13.8mm
