Birds of America

Known as “America’s Premier Watchmaker,” RGM was established in 1992 by watchmaker Roland G. Murphy. At home in the heart of the United States’ historical watchmaking country, RGM continues to build upon the historical tradition of American watchmaking by combining modern manufacturing techniques with age-old hand operations to craft interesting serial watches and modern bespoke timepieces.

 After mastering the traditional art of guilloche and acquiring several historical hand-operated rose engines, RGM has branched out into further decorative arts for dials in recent years. To accomplish this, RGM works with independent artists versed in crafts such as stone marquetry and miniature painting. Model 25 Birds of America (Glossy Ibis) builds upon this by offering a horological take on a uniquely American theme captured in miniature painting.

 Murphy’s personal hobbies include wildlife photography, and he particularly loves to capture birds on camera. Using his experienced eye, he selected the Glossy Ibis from the famed Audubon plates as the motif for this unusually appealing dial. “I love the Birds of America images and the story of how they came about,” he says. The Birds of America is a set of prints by famed naturalist and painter John James Audubon published between 1827 and 1838; the 435 original prints made from engraved plates depict a wide assortment of North American bird species, many at that time perceived as rare. “Looking through Audubon’s Birds of America original images I narrowed it down to about five. After reviewing them, I thought the ‘Glossy Ibis’ would make a great first watch under the umbrella of the Birds of America theme,” Murphy explains the choice. The Glossy Ibis, today a common bird, was first documented in the New World in 1817.

 The artwork as seen on the watch dial is based on the original Audubon print, but Murphy and his team arranged the image to fit the round format of the dial. The modified artwork was then miniature painted by hand onto a mother-of-pearl background by French artisan Isabelle Villa. Villa comes with reputable credentials as she also works with other eminent watch brands, including Hermès, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bovet, MB&F, and Montblanc to name a few.

 Miniature painting is an art form that requires myriad patience and training. Creating the dial begins with the artist sketching the motif lightly onto the mother-of-pearl with a pencil. Once satisfied with the outlines, she uses a delicate brush containing just one or two natural hairs to carefully apply paint to the motif, repeating this process about 20 times and firing the fragile mother-of-pearl dial in an oven heated to 90°C in between each application so that it thoroughly dries.

 The movement powering this horological work of art is based on the sturdy and reliable ETA 2892-A2, though RGM has replaced the automatic winding system and modified the mainspring barrel to increase the power reserve to a full 53-56 hours. RGM also fits its own in-house gold winding rotor to the movement, which is decorated with perlage, côtes de Genève, and a rhodium-plated finish.

 The 40 x 10.4 mm stainless steel case housing this ornithological masterpiece is made right in Pennsylvania using American steel and features a classically ribbed case band. RGM designed the case to shine a spotlight on the beauty of the dial with its large opening and thin, contoured bezel. The time is shown using blued-steel hands that do not disturb the beauty of the handcrafted bird.

 While the miniature painting done entirely by hand makes the dial unique by default, this watch is not a unique piece and will be replicated on demand. Alternatively, clients may request their own miniature-painted watches using other bird motifs from the Audubon plates or other modifications.