Credits: Article and images by Tim Mosso @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/03/09/laurent-ferrier-classic-micro-rotor-with-salmon-dial-reviewed-by-tim-mosso/
—————————————————————————————————–
In my experience – over 10,000 watches – the Micro-Rotor has the quietest winding system on the market past or present. Traditional jeweled staff rotors are uncommon in our modern landscape dominated by ball bearings, but this one uses massive pivots and huge jewels to diminish this design’s traditional fragility.
When combined with an ultra-fine ratchet wheel and pawl lever, the jeweled staff and 22-karat gold mass produce efficient winding that’s utterly imperceptible to the wrist or ear of its owner…
…and the engine-turned gold rotor is only the start of the feast of finish rendered by Ferrier. The rotor bridge is both black polished across its top and beveled across each flank. There’s a set of Geneva waves on the bridges so vivid that they create an unceasing illusion of motion. Beveling is broad, rounded, and mirrored with four to eight sharp interior creases depending on how one counts these flourishes.
Unarguably, the skeletonized, “black” polished, and interior beveled balance bridge is the decorative chef d’oeuvre of a movement that scores style points like an in-his-prime Kobe Bryant sank shots. Finish is on par with rivals such as De Bethune and Moritz Grossmann while falling just short of the exalted heights of Romain Gauthier and Greubel Forsey’s top-shelf models; Audemars Piguet, F.P. Journe, and even A. Lange & Söhne don’t execute their mainstream models to this standard.
While an établisseur, not a manufacture, Laurent Ferrier is responsible for finishing these movement components in-house, and the artisan’s touch is a core component of this watch’s soul.
It’s not clear how Laurent Ferrier fell from its mid-2010s grace. That was the period when collectors seemed to wax rapturous about every new launch from the brand. Forums, social media, and word-of-mouth were uniformly gushing until around 2017 or 2018. The party ended around 2017 or 2018 for reasons I can only speculate, but the past is less compelling than the present.
With quality at a level matched by few and exceeded by even fewer, Laurent Ferrier dress watches also exhibit attractive preowned pricing, reasonable OEM availability, and compelling design.
How good are these watches? Let’s put it this way; the salesman in me would love to steer you towards something half as special and twice as costly, but the watch enthusiast in me would cease to be on speaking terms with that salesman.
For more information, please visit https://laurentferrier.ch/collections/classic/micro-rotor
Quick Facts: Laurent Ferrier Classic Micro-Rotor
Edition: Regular production
Reference Code: LCF004.AC.RG1.2
Case: stainless steel, 40mm, 11.3mm thick, 47.1mm lug-to-lug; 20mm lug spacing; 30-meters WR, push down crown
Clasp: Steel folding clasp
Dial: Autumn 5N rose gold treated; white gold hands and hour indices
Movement: Caliber FBN 229.01, automatic with 72-hour power reserve, single barrels, 3Hz double direct impulse escapement, free sprung balance, overcoil hairspring, six-position adjustment, 35 jewels
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds
2024 Retail Price: $59,000
2024 Preowned Price: $37,950
* Tim Mosso is the media director and watch specialist at Watchbox. You can check out his very comprehensive YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@WatchBoxStudios/videos.
You might also enjoy:
Glowing Above And Below: The Laurent Ferrier Galet Traveler Boréal
Laurent Ferrier Galet Annual Calendar Montre École: Back To School
Credits: Article and images by Tim Mosso @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/03/09/laurent-ferrier-classic-micro-rotor-with-salmon-dial-reviewed-by-tim-mosso/