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. Last year, Laurent Ferrier revisited its classic case design with the launch of an entry-level sports watch to mark its 10th anniversary: the Classic Origin Opaline. Since its debut, the watch has gone on to become one of the flagships of the brand, pairing a restrained design with excellent execution and finishing.
This year, in a reflection of what the brand does best in beautifying simple forms, the time-only Classic Origin Opaline will serve as Laurent Ferrier’s showcase watch at the upcoming WatchTime New York 2021 event, taking place just a couple weeks from now at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall on October 22-24, with tickets still available here.
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 Laurent 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 31.6 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 each additionally 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 impressive attention to detail.
The Laurent Ferrier Classic Origin Opaline is available now on a non-limited basis through select points of sale, priced at 28,500 CHF, or about $30,700.
To see Laurent Ferrier’s showcase piece, along with countless other rare and wonderful watches live and in person, be sure to join us at WatchTime New York 2021 from October 22-24. To learn more and purchase tickets, click here!
