Laurent FerrierGalet Micro Rotor

Laurent Ferrier is a true independent watchmaker, designing and making around 150 very high-quality watches each year.  The company is headed by Laurent Ferrier himself, a watchmaker whose father and grandfather were both watchmakers. He worked for Patek Philippe for 37 years, finishing as their creative director. One of his tasks was producing the Nautilus case. It is well known that Gerald Genta designed the Nautilus, but less well known that Genta supplied just 2-D drawings of the front and back of the case. It was Ferrier who made the first Nautilus case: in 3-D, from metal.

During his time at Patek Philippe he indulged his passion for driving fast cars; it was more than just a hobby. In 1975 he started competing at Le Mans and in 1979 finished 3rd in a Kremer prepared Porsche 935. Paul Newman and co-driver Rolf Stommelen finished 2nd. Laurent Ferrier's co-driver was Franҫois Servanin. It was Servanin who first suggested that Ferrier might start his own watchmaking company and, in 2009, backed with investment from Servanin, the company was founded. Laurent Ferrier was in his early sixties.The company's future looks secure; Laurent's son Christian, another watchmaker, is an integral part of the firm. Ferrier watches have won GPHG awards in 2010, 2015 and 2018. No mean achievement for a company which employs less than 20 people.

The Galet Micro-Rotor has a distinctive bevel-free case shape, which Ferrier describes as being like "a pebble you find in a river, whose surfaces have been worn smooth by time and water". The case has a rounded bezel, thin lugs, and the typical Laurent Ferrier onion-shaped crown. The entire watch is polished, and mirror finished; the crown is engraved. The case is 18ct Red Gold

The watch has slate-grey dial that creates different shades of grey depending on light conditions. The dart-style indices are applied red gold, as are Laurent Ferrier’s signature ‘assegai’ shaped hands. The dial has a small-seconds sub-dial at 6 o-clock.

The key dimensions are:-

40mm case diameter, excluding crown; 11mm thick; 47.2mm lug-to-lug; 20mm lug spacing.

The movement is the in-house, self-winding, calibre LF 229.01 that combines traditional watchmaking with modern innovation. 3-day power reserve; 21,600 vph; 35 jewels, adjusted to 6 positions.The use of a micro rotor allows the architecture of the movement to be completely visible. The fan-shaped micro rotor is made of solid gold and is suspended by a large bridge, creating the illusion that the rotor is floating in space.

The Laurent Ferrier Galet Micro-Rotor utilises a double direct-impulse escapement, designed to maintain amplitude whilst requiring less power. The "escape lever" is positioned between two "escape wheels". The finishing of this movement features a perlaged baseplate and wide circular-grained Geneva Waves on the bridges. When viewed under a loupe, the anglage with mirror finished interior angles becomes visible, achieved through the handwork of the manufacture’s skilled craftsmen.

The Galet Micro-Rotor is chronometer-certified by the Besançon Observatory, outperforming its more commonly COSC approved peers. It has a power reserve of 72 hours.This watch comes on its original brown alligator strap, and a matching signed 18k rose gold tang buckle. The watch comes as a full set, with box, outer box, papers, loupe and polishing cloth. Manufactured in 2012, the watch has been lightly worn, as part of a large collection, and is in excellent condition.

The dial and hands are in pristine condition. There are light marks to the bezel. The strap is in good, used condition with some creasing and wear from the buckle. The watch falls within the condition category 'A'

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