Romain Jerome

Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch Hands-On

One of the more "interesting" options when it comes to acquring a high-end timepiece is to get something from Romain Jerome. The collection that put them on the map was the Titanic DNA range of watches -and this Steampunk Tourbillon is the newest flagship for that collection. Available in gold (as seen above), the watch is mixed with oxidized steel that is meant to look like metal harvested from the actual Titanic. According to Romain Jerome, a small percentage of the metal is actually from the sunken Titanic ship. This is why they use the "Titanic DNA" term.

The Steampunk collection takes the concept further to make the dial look inspired by the ship's engine room. There are piston-like elements on the highly detailed dial that look like a diorama. It is quite fun to inspect all the little details. The hands of the watch are meant to look like anchors. At 46mm wide, the case is still quite comfy although it is large. The polished 18k rose gold mixed with the oxidized steel makes for a very interesting look. Inside the watch is a Swiss Concepto made automatic tourbillon movement. Look to the back of the watch for another anchor - here done in gold as the rotor of the movement. Really an amazing talking piece and cool addition to a high-end collection. Price for this model is 169,000 Swiss Francs.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Romain Jerome Steampunk Tourbillon Watch

Tags: dna, hands-on, review, Romain Jerome, steampunk, titanic, tourbillon, watch

Romain Jerome Eyjafjallajokull Volcano DNA Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

I was more or less expecting something like this from Romain Jerome. The brand that brought you the Titanic DNA and Moon Dust DNA watches has been struggling to "find what is next' after they lost Yvan Arpa, their charismatic former CEO. He invented the "DNA" watch concept and this Volcano DNA watches doesn't really fit into that concept. I will get to that below.

In a nutshell, Romain Jerome was able to collect some of the volcanic ash from the now popular recent eruption from the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano. This ash was used in making this one-of-a-kind watch. The case and dial are mostly adapted from the Moon Dust DNA collection, but instead of a moon surface, the dial is meant to look like molten lava - red hot on the inside and black carbon colored on the surface. The look is carried over in segments on the bezel. Hands on the watch are meant to look like little airplanes, a reminder of what effect the volcanic eruption had on our society for that limited amount of time. As a "right now" novelty, the watch is fun. The piece unique will have just one piece made. I am sure someone will buy it. But they better get it soon, because in the coming weeks, and of course years, the memory of airport nightmares will fade. Unlike previous RJ DNA watches, this material and name has no real lasting quality or commemorative value. Pretty much everyone around the world knows about the Titanic (thanks in big part to James Cameron), and the moon? Well that is pretty self evident in its popularity.

Which allows me to return to the topic of what the original DNA watch concept was all about. Yvan Arpa imagined using a material that was 1) almost unattainably rare, 2) luxurious, 3) and known by most people for a long time. There is nothing rare or hard to attain about volcanic ash, not even from Eyjafjallajokull. In time people will have no idea what this watch is about, or why we should care. RJ claims that the watch is meant as one of an ongoing collection of pieces that "illustrate the legends of our time and the mythologies that will forge the memory of the 21st century." Perhaps. In the end they made just one piece so their investment in it is low, and with a primary of goal of getting media for the brand, the watch wholeheartedly succeeds.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: dna, Eyjafjallajokull, romain jerome, volcano, watch

Romain Jerome Moon Invader Watch Collection

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The first new collection from Romain Jerome since taking new leadership under Manuel Emch is the Moon Invader line. Clearly a spawn of the Moon Dust DNA collection, the Moon Invader takes form (and some substance) from moon landers. Specifically, some pieces of the watch are from spare parts for the Apollo 11 craft. Take for instances the metal mesh dial on this"RJ Moon Invader Collection" Eminence Grise Automatic" watch, it is from the tire tread of lunar roving vehicles. You can see the now characteristic RJ "X" shape on the dial that extends to the ends of the watch where the "feet" are. These feet actually are connected vial ball and socket joints. Meant to "conform to your wrist." A bit gimmicky sure, but it should be fun enough. The dials are very clean, and I like how the elements are applied. The watches use blue SuperLumiNova for a cool night-time effect.

Two versions of the watch are going to be initially available - each in steel or rose gold. There is the Automatic and the Chronograph (see images below). The case is 46mm wide, with a caseback that is said to have little pieces of moon rock in it. Thus, when you are wearing the watch, you and pieces of the moon are "always as one." RICH words, but fun in a super cheesy way. Both of the watches have Swiss automatic movements (not sure the supplier), and will be limited to 1969 pieces each - easy to tell where that number came from. Look for the pieces relatively soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Romain Jerome Moon Invader Watch Collection

Tags: 2010, Eminence Grise, Moon Invader, Romain Jerome, timepiece, watch

Romain Jerome Watches New CEO Manuel Emch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

I feel like this is watch industry musical chairs. First Yvan Arpa gets ousted by Romain Jerome as their CEO. He then sues them for wrongful termination and wins. In another room, Manuel Emch spends several years putting his heart and soul into building up and refining Swatch Group owned Jaquet Droz, only to later leave. Now Yvan Arapa is busy fighting in karate and not watch makers, and Romain Jerome appoints Manuel Emch as their new CEO. Is history doomed to repeat itself? Will the wild Mr. Arpa be the next unlikely CEO of an ultra conservative Swatch Group brand? Who knows.

Yvan Arpa made Romain Jerome what it is today - hands down. After unwisely letting him go, avant garde watch maker Romain Jerome was without good talent. They perhaps wisely attracted the younger and energetic Manuel Emch to their ranks who has just been announced to lead the company in hopefully more or less the same direction as Yvan Arpa was taking them (which is more or less good a thing). Emch will take his seat at the helm of the unique watch maker on January 1, 2010. It will be a good holiday season for him now that he is no long unemployed. I am curious to see what changes and new products he will bring.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: CEO, Manuel Emch, ManuelEmch, Romain Jerome, RomainJerome, watch

Avant-Garde Watch Maker Romain Jerome Loses Avant-Garde CEO Yvan Arpa

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

He has been everything from controversial to overly confident, but he made watch company Romain Jerome what it is today - successful. Abruptly, the board of directors at Romain Jerome ousted the now former CEO Yvan Arpa a few days ago. Officially it might have been that Yvan Arpa "resigned" but local voices agree on the fact that he was forced out. He, as well as four members of his management team are out - a total purging of previous control. A new CEO and management team has already been assigned. It is unclear why this occurred, expect for the fact that Mr. Arpa has a reputation for being "difficult to control" and highly "characterful" in his management style. Who else could come up with some of the ideas that Yvan had, such as the Romain Jerome Titanic DNA and Moon Dust DNA watch lines.

Prior to Arpa's time at Romain Jerome, the brand was extremely "niche" with a couple of golf themed watches with highly limited marketability. In my opinion. Yvan Arpa came in, shook things up, and eventually caused Romain Jerome to be backed-up with millions of dollars in orders from interested buyers willing to wait long periods of time for their watches to be made. As unwise as the Romain Jerome board's action seem, it is easy to get overly confident once things are good. It is possible for them to survive another decade at least on the ideas and image that Arpa created. They might feel as though he is no longer needed, but without him their ability to innovate may be limited. In the meantime they can imagine new ways to spin the brand. This has happened before with other brands, but once the creative juice is gone, so is the passion, and the character of the watches quickly begins to fade. Although I was not a fan of every Romain Jerome watch, I liked enough of their novel timepiece creations to now lament Mr. Arpa's passing - to hopefully greener pastures. If we are lucky he will be snatched up by another watch brand or start something fresh (the economic "crisis" permitting).

Via WorldTempus (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: ceo, romain jerome, RomainJerome, yvan arpa, YvanArpa

$300,000 "Day&Night" Watch Doesn't Tell the Time

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

One of the first releases in the DNA of Famous Legends collection by Romain Jerome was the Titanic DNA watch, featuring oxidized steel salvaged from the real Titanic. The collection is rapidly expanding with several different models now available featuring everything from rust to jewels, but perhaps one of the most noteworthy is the "Day&Night" watch. It doesn't tell the time, it just tells you whether it's day or night.

It may seem like a silly idea but it's really just a reflection of the times -- watches are less and less about actually telling the time (we all have cell phones and PDAs for that now) and more about style and luxury. The Day&Night watch sells for $300,000 and the first lot sold out in just 48 hours. Apparently there are a lot of people looking to know whether it's day or whether it's night -- from their watch.

Gallery: DNA of Famous Legends Collection

Source

Tags: day and night, day and night watch, day night watch, DayAndNight, DayAndNightWatch, daynight, daynight watch, DaynightWatch, romain jerome, RomainJerome, timepeice, timepeices, titanic, watch, watches

Romain Jerome Watches Will Feature Titanic "DNA"

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Watch company Romain Jerome has taken a page from the book of Krone Pens with their new DNA of Famous Legends collection. As Krone did previously, Romain Jerome is creating products that have a connection to iconic figures in history. Their first model in this series is the Titanic DNA watch. It is partially made of oxidized steel from the Titanic and titanium from the future Titanic II at the Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast. The watch uses an automatic La Joux-Perret 8235 movement with a 42-hour power reserve. The hands were inspired by the anchor of the Titanic and the dial's deep black is meant to reference the coal collected from the wreck. The watch is being done is an edition of 2012 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic in 2012 which is when Titanic II will be launched in Belfast. It is available in a case of platinum or white or pink gold with elements of steel and titanium.

Source

Tags: romain jerome, RomainJerome, timepiece, titanic, watch, wristwatch