Laurent Ferrier produces complicated wristwatches in an array of cases and dials, using precious metals and brushed with high-quality finishes, and has earned accolades from its earliest beginnings. This year, Laurent Ferrier revisits its classic case design with the launch of a new entry-level sports watch to mark its 10th anniversary. The Classic Origin Opaline will be the brand’s showcase piece at the upcoming WatchTime Live virtual collectors’ event on October 22-24.
The watch features the same pebble-inspired case design that debuted on Laurent Ferrier’s original Galet model (galet is French for “pebble”), now in a new case material, Grade 5 titanium, which is typically used in both the medical field and the aviation industry. The watch’s case, measuring 40 mm in diameter and 10.70 mm thick, is equipped with a ball-shaped crown, also made of titanium, and is water-resistant to 30 meters.
The white-silver opaline dial follows Ferrier’s motif of uncluttered and minimalist dial aesthetics. The watch’s spear-shaped hour and minute hands (which the brand calls Assegai) create a shadow above the watch’s dial to appear as if they were floating in mid-air. The Arabic numerals on the dial’s light-gray 24-hour track are etched into the dial’s face and painted in a burgundy-red color. The small seconds are displayed on a subdial with baton-shaped hands above 6 o’clock, and the dial’s indexes and hands, including the small seconds hand, are made of 18k white gold.
Powering the watch is the manually winding LF 116.01 caliber, made in-house. It’s equipped with a Swiss lever escapement which, combined with a free-sprung balance screw and a Breguet overcoil, helps enhance the movement’s precision and mitigate positional errors. The movement’s long-blade ratchet system offers the wearer a pleasant clicking sound when the watch is fully wound.
The movement vibrates at 21,600 vph (3 Hz) and can amass a power reserve of 80 hours when fully wound. It comprises 150 components, including 21 jewels, and measures 31.60 mm in diameter by 4.35 mm in height. The brand’s logo, caliber number, number of positions adjustments, number of jewels, and origin (“SWISS”) are all inscribed on the plates and bridges in orange-gold-colored lettering, and thus visible through the watch’s sapphire exhibition caseback.
The watch’s bridges are micro-blasted and brushed with a black rhodium finish and hand-polished at the edges. Each screw head is mirror-polished while the movement’s escapement bridge, fitted with a hand-made “interior angle,” is consistent with Ferrier’s “fastidious attention to detail.”
The Laurent Ferrier Classic Origin Opaline comes on a light-brown Barbialla calf leather strap, lined with soft, suede-like Alcantara microfiber and paired with a titanium pin buckle.
To learn more about WatchTime Live, its sponsoring watch brands, and details on its schedule of presentations and panels, and to sign up for tickets to the event, click here.
| Manufacturer: | Laurent Ferrier |
| Model: | Classic Origin Opaline |
| Reference number: | LCF036.TI.G1G |
| Functions: | Hours, minutes, small seconds at 6 o’clock |
| Movement: | Calibre LF 116.01, manual-winding, Swiss lever escapement, free-sprung balance-screw, Breguet overcoil, 21,600 vph (3 Hz), power reserve of 80 hours (fully wound), 150 components, 21 jewels |
| Case: | Grade 5 titanium, ball-shaped crown, water-resistant to 30 meters |
| Bracelet and clasp: | Light-brown Barbialla calf leather strap lined with Alcantara, titanium pin-buckle |
| Dimensions: | Case: Diameter = 40 mm Width = 10.70 mm Movement: Diameter = 31.60 mm Width = 4.35 mm |
| Price: | CHF 28,500 (approximately $30,275) |
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Laurent Ferrier makes beautiful understated watches with the correct sizes for me, I would purchase this watch if it sold for $9,000 or $12,000
American dollars but it doesn’t; for my budget they are to expensive.