Romain Gauthier – Three of a Kind!

Judging from the odor and pedestal ashtray nearby, it was likely tobacco stains that were making the bench so sticky. The orange light flickered with the annoying pattern fluorescent bulbs make, buzzing for effect. Every 15 minutes a bus drove down the ramp, belched diesel smoke as it came to a loud air brake assisted stop, exchanging a hand full of riders for new ones before heading back into the Las Vegas heat.

I hadn’t come to this bench for the atmosphere, but for a private phone call. Fewer smokers meant a more secluded location than the conference of twenty thousand upstairs. And despite the less than glorious design and esthetics of my surroundings, I had snuck away to talk about one of the most esthetically beautiful time pieces I had ever considered for my collection – A Romain Gauthier HM.

From my first viewing – the specific date and location I can not recall – I had fallen in love with Romain’s HM.

It’s simple yet confidence, the lack of a visible crown so obvious as to be unnoticed, the Roman numerals (or should it be Romain numerals?) balanced with strong straight markers on the outer ring and fluid cursive of Romain’s name in the middle, the engraving of the dial like a sandy beach as you walk up to the edge of the sub-dial and dive into its flat, still waters.

While traditional, they aren’t old or pretentious as some watches can be. They always felt right being part of Romain’s “Prestige” collection. Now close to 18 years old, they haven’t aged a day, retaining their unique look and attitude. And yet, the difference in color combination can make a version appear more dressy, more casual, more glamorous.

But I regress. Back to the phone call in the smoker’s lounge in Las Vegas.

What was there to talk about? I loved the look of the watch; I should just buy it! But it didn’t match ALL my criteria. The size, scarcity, price, and material were fine. What required an hour call to discuss?

The question was – did the watch have the “soul” of a watchmaker?

The questions of what constitutes an in-house movement, how much modifications, who designed, what was outsourced, and who assembled it all make the concept of “watchmaking” difficult to pin down.

So, I had changed the question to something equally ambiguous – “does the watch have the soul of a watchmaker?”

I was stuck with my then definition of how a watch gets its “soul” – it was from a watchmaker being the one who designed, built, and assembles the watch. But peel back the curtain you’ll find almost no one truly does that anymore. Some do, yes, but very few.

I was throwing talented babies out with the bath water. In short – I came to understand from this call and other conversations – that I was wrong about what defined a watchmaker.

Romain has chosen to bring his talents in engineering to the world of horology. He has identified problems and brought solutions: accuracy with a constant force Fusee and Chain; the S screw head to ensure purchase, prevent slippage, and protect the surface; rear winding to fix the off-balance design of a side crown. He could have just produced a stunning design, marvelous finish, and well-built HM but he did more.  

I can feel Romain’s passion and talents in his watches as strongly as I do many other watches I collect – certainly more than some popular independent brands.

I’ll leave the full debate for you to sort on your own. But I came to understand and greatly appreciate the role Romain had in the envisioning, design, engineering, and creation of his collection and embraced that those pieces both have a soul and belonged in my collection.

I pulled the trigger and ordered an HMS in January 2019.

Yes, you read that right, I ordered the HMS, not the HM. What? Why?

I compromised and told myself that the HMS would be the perfect blend of the HM design and the skeleton of the Logical One. If you can’t by two watches, buy one that combined them, right?!

Wrong logic!

Just two months after placing the order for the HMS, I found a great Platinum version of the HM pre-owned. While I don’t normally share serial numbers, this was lucky #7.

I wore that Platinum HM to collect the HMS upon its arrival a year or so later. Romain arrived wearing a Logical One which again made my heart race and interest spike. Shortly after the HMS arrived Romain helped me find a matching Platinum Logical One for my Platinum HM.

Compromise is an expensive b*tch (see here). So I sold the HMS.

But there’s more. I foreshadowed a few paragraphs back when I said the different materials and colors can make the HM feel very difference.

Having the Platinum HM (my feeder drug so to speak) my dealer made sure to share a Rose Gold, Black Dial HM – with matching serial number – that he had secured from Romain “just in case”. He was sure someone would buy it if I wasn’t interested.

I should have meet him in a dark alley for that fix/purchase.

Sometime later, upon hearing Romain was ending production of the HM, I called and asked if there were any other versions with matching serial number 7. I’m sure my voice was shaky, I sounded strung out and in need of another fix. “Let me look” he said, “there maybe in White Gold.”

This is how I came to enjoy my winning hand “three of a kind” – one Platinum HM, one Rose Gold HM, one White Gold HM and a Platinum Logical One just for fun. And how I came to appreciate the varied ways one can bring a soul to a timepiece.