Ellipsocurvex Papillon
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In 2005, the Daniel Roth watch Manufacture launched a timepiece which consolidated all the values of the brand such as quality and expertise of traditional prestige watchmaking allied to an innovative design and immediately recognisable styling: the Papillon!
The name Papillon is derived from the profile of the butterfly wing supports which maintain the central arbor on which are mounted the seconds hand and the disc bearing the two double pivoting head minute hands.
The Papillon mechanism is fitted on the powerful DR115 calibre, which is capable of accommodating the additional modules for the complications developed and manufactured by the engineers, technicians and watchmakers at Daniel Roth. This extra-flat self-winding manufactured movement is just 2.98 mm high. It has been developed from the GP3100 movement specially modified to accommodate the Daniel Roth modules fitted with 27 jewels (+4 for the modules) and its escapement beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour or 4Hz. This movement has a power-reserve of 45 hours.
A first glance at the dial might suggest that this timepiece is in fact a watch with jumping-hours in a window and retrograde minutes on a 180° sector! In fact, the minute mechanism of the Papillon is quite different.
The retrograde indication is characterised by the instant flyback of the hand to its point of departure. However, in the case of the Papillon mechanism, the two lozenge- shaped minute hands positioned at 180° degrees in relation to each other, always turn in the same direction on a single axis. They are dependent on a disc rotating on the central axis. On reaching the 60 position, one of them pivots through 90° on its own axis and disappears behind the hidden part of the dial while the other appears at the same time on the dial at 0 minutes, actuated by the same pivoting mechanism. The rotating disc on which these hands are fixed completes a full 360° rotation in two hours – to see the same face of the hand appear again at zero, one will therefore have to wait for two revolutions to be completed, i.e. four hours.
Technically, this system has a twofold advantage. This new approach uses less energy and requires a restricted number of components. Innovation in the design of this mechanism not only makes the whole system more reliable and stronger but also enables the power-reserve of the movement to be preserved as far as possible.
The jumping hours on the disc positioned at 12 o'clock and the patented Daniel Roth mechanism for minutes with retractable hands were both developed and produced by the Daniel Roth Manufacture in Le Sentier.
As for all Daniel Roth timepieces, the movement is enhanced by a Côtes de Genève decoration. Each of the movement components is hand polished and chamfered. Some parts of the bottom plate and bars are engraved. The beauty and the minute detail of this decorative work can be admired through the open back on which the sapphire crystal has been treated to prevent reflection on its inner surface.
The hands are made either of steel, blued at high temperature (~1300°) or of 5N red gold: stamped and then polished, they are perfectly balanced. The difficult technique used as well as the high quality standard required are such, that only some thirty hands out of 100 produced meet the stringent quality criteria imposed by the brand and so reach the end of the manufacturing process.
The specially designed case of this model also satisfies complex technical criteria. Fashioned from solid metal, soldered and then polished, it is available in palladium white gold or in 5N red gold with a weight of 100g or in platinum with a net weight of 134g. It is made of two parts: the middle and the back, the latter secured with pentagonal screws. The middle part overlaps the upper face to its centre, revealing, in two apertures, the jumping hour and a small central seconds hand with the seconds index engraved on the case itself.
Through the small seconds aperture, the hidden face of the retractable minute hands can also be seen, enabling the ballet of their movement to be admired and the very essence of the Papillon mechanism captured.
The curved case, in the spirit of the Daniel Roth double elliptical watch cases (known as Ellipsocurvex), is fitted with three sapphire crystals, each treated on both surfaces to prevent reflection:
- a first trapezoidal crystal at 12 o'clock for the hour aperture;
- a second round central crystal for the seconds hand which reveals the hidden face of the minute hands;
- and a third in the shape of a butterfly wing on the minutes dial which – because of the domed-shaped case – is fashioned directly in the sapphire crystal by a complex process.
Finally, a new Daniel Roth crown, with seven flutings either slightly convex or recessed, imparts a distinctive finishing touch to this timepiece.
One particular type of dial corresponds to each material. A silvered dial for the white gold version, a rhodium black dial for the 5N red gold version and a blue steel dial for the platinum version. The Ellipsocurvex Papillon dial has three parts: the base plate with a minute indicator, a Clous de Paris engine-turned plate on the upper part and a partial flange appearing only on the lower part of the dial.
The Ellipsocurvex Papillon is water-resistant to 3 atm and fitted on a hand-stitched alligator strap with a folding clasp.
Masters Complications Ellipsocurvex Papillon in a nutshell:
From the Masters Complications collection, the Ellipsocurvex Papillon features a DR115 calibre, Daniel Roth exclusive patented automatic movement with 31 jewels, oscillating at 28'800 vph. The entirely hand-bevelled movement, decorated with a “Côtes de Genève” pattern, offers a 45-hour power reserve and is housed in a double ellipse 44 x 41 mm platinum case overlapping the guilloché dial. The jumping hours appear in an aperture at 12 o'clock, whilst the minutes are indicated by two retractable hands fitted on either side of a central disc, each protected by an individual sapphire glass. A small second is placed on the central axis. This exceptional timepiece is presented on a black hand-stitched alligator strap with folding clasp. It is water-resistant to 3 atm.
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