When we think of modern independent watchmaking, names like Kari Voutilainen, Philippe Dufour, F.P. Journe, and Roger Smith often come to mind. Independent horology has grown so much in stature that owning at least one piece is now considered a hallmark of serious collecting. That being said, before this wave of recognition, there was Daniel Roth—a watchmaker who, in many ways, helped lay the foundation for today’s independent movement.
To add some context, Daniel Roth was one of the most talented watchmakers of his generation and is responsible for many things we see in watchmaking today. For one, he was a leading figure who firmly established the design language of the Breguet watches you see today. In the '60s and ’70s, Breguet had become a shadow of its former self with seemingly no future until it was acquired by Chaumet, who in turn brought in Daniel Roth to take the helm. The reference 3130, with its guilloché dial and straight-lugged case, set the tone for Breguet’s rebirth. Beyond design, Roth also contributed to the development of complex movements at Lemania, which, may I remind you, still supplied chronograph calibres to Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin until fairly recently.
Daniel Roth, the brand, unfolds in three distinct eras: the early independent years, its time under The Hour Glass, and the final chapter under Bulgari after Roth’s departure.
Offered here today is a stunning example of a Perpetual Calendar 2117 from the brand’s revered first generation, widely considered the most collectable period of his work. Rare and mechanically ambitious, pieces from this era are distinguished not only by technical substance but by a clear and disciplined design language. While Roth’s technical brilliance is widely recognized, his instinctive command of proportion, texture, and depth is often overlooked.
Historically, this complication was central to Roth’s early vision: to create the world’s first instantaneous perpetual calendar module. In most traditional perpetual calendars, the date, and often the day and month, begins advancing gradually around midnight rather than switching in a single, decisive ‘jump’, but achieving a true ‘jump’ at 12:00 midnight required extraordinary skill and mastery. To realise this, Roth worked closely with the venerable Philippe Dufour, combining their expertise to develop an ambitious perpetual calendar module built on a Lemania 8810 ébauche. When introduced in 1991, two years before the 2117’s eventual launch, the model featured two individual aperture displays for the day and month, as seen here, which was initially engineered to deliver that instantaneous ‘jump’.
In practice, however, driving the calendar discs required significant torque. To address this, the design was later updated and replaced by a dual sub-dial configuration with hands—a version we have previously offered—which reduced inertia and allowed the indications to switch more rapidly. That said, whether the system should be described as truly instantaneous remains a subject of extensive debate and discussion among scholars, with many referring to it as “semi-instantaneous”. While the latter dual sub-dial execution reflects the technical evolution of the module, the dual-aperture variant offered here remains the earliest and purest expression of Roth’s original concept from this period.
Another enduring challenge of perpetual calendars is fitting extensive information onto a compact dial—something the 2117 manages with notable clarity. With legibility and proportion carefully considered, it features a silver-brushed chapter ring which houses Roman numeral hour markers and dotted minute indices on the outer section. Apertures at 3:00 and 9:00 display the day and month, while a large sub-dial at 6:00 integrates the date and leap-year indication; this is made possible by an additional gear train incorporated beneath it by Dufour. All of this sits atop Roth’s signature vertical pinstripe guilloché dial, perfectly maintaining balance and visual depth without compromising readability.
As I briefly mentioned earlier, this early period remains the most collectible, not only for its historical importance but also for the purity and quality of the watches produced. Every piece was made from precious metals, and no corners were cut. After several successful years, 1995 marked the brand’s second chapter. For reasons still unclear to this day, The Hour Glass, one of Asia’s largest watch retailers, acquired a majority stake in the company, and that was when things began to take a turn. While some undeniably beautiful creations followed, the overall quality began to decline, and a few design choices proved divisive. The story eventually culminated in The Hour Glass selling Daniel Roth to Bulgari during the Asian Financial Crisis, marking the end of any direct involvement by its founder. Bulgari then absorbed his trademark ‘ellipso-curvex’ case blueprint into their own lineup and scaled it up beyond recognition. Needless to say, those reinterpretations were oversized, gaudy, and clearly lacked the elegance of the originals.
Thankfully, that era has given way to renewal. With Daniel Roth’s recent resurgence under La Fabrique du Temps and LVMH, and the introduction of the Tourbillon Souscription, Extra Plat and Extra Plat Rose Gold Skeleton models, I’m elated to see that Daniel Roth is finally returning to form and being celebrated for what it always was: one of the most important and original voices in the realm of high-end independent watchmaking.
