Manufacture Royale ADN Jumping Disc
2017 GPHG Travel Time Category Finalist
Avant-garde Haute Horlogerie with a contemporary twist sees Manufacture Royale return to the Travel Time category with the ADN Jumping Disc, with its striking, stripped back but complex integrated display and elaborately detailed case.
You could never accuse Manufacture Royale of being in any way close to the mainstream, having established its reputation on a range of collections which all feature a unique and eclectic DNA, with uncompromising designs as well as a very serious approach to traditional watchmaking with modern influences apparent throughout the in-house movement's execution.
With its suspended and three dimensional display of discs, a skeletonised hand winding movement and the elegance of the tourbillon whose constant graceful rotation draws in the eye, the ADN Jumping Hour is a horological conversation stopper, and in its 46mm stainless steel case, it is a large, assertive and intricate wristwatch.
Dial side, it features separate displays for the home time and the local time, which can be set entirely individually from each other via the crown. Most prominently is the local time which comprises a central rotating minutes pointer and of course the brushed outer disc with the cutaway which reveals a single digit at a time, leaping forward instantly on the precise passing of the hour.
In terms of its competition in the GPHG 2017 Travel Time category, it is up there with the Czapek's exacting and meticulous standards of horological innovation and finishing. But how can we expect it to fare against its rivals?
The Watch Press prediction
No. Its problem to me is that it is too 'out there' in terms of aesthetics more than anything else. It is unquestionably a masterpiece from an independent watch company, but I've backed my favourite elsewhere, and you can only pick one.
The pertinents
REFERENCE: ADN46.01.P01.A
CASE: Steel
BRACELET/STRAP: Leather
BUCKLE: Folding clasp
MOVEMENT: Manual winding mechanical. Power reserve: 80 h, 21'600 vph
FUNCTIONS: Hours, Minutes, Second Time Zone with Jumping Hours
SIZE: ø 46 mm
THICKNESS: 12.7 mm
WATERPROOFNESS: 30 m
PRICE EXCL.VAT: 86'000 CHF
