With Each New Release, Romain Gauthier is Rewriting the Lexicon of Watchmaking

There are so many reasons that collectors champion independent watchmaking. For example, Swiss Maison Romain Gauthier’s focus on innovative engineering and exquisite finishes makes the brand a fan favorite.

But to really find a dedicated community, a watchmaker must be more than just mechanics. With the recent release of the C by Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition, we thought we’d look back at the Gauthier story and talk to collector Sumei Shum about what connects her to the brand.

Romain Gauthier was born in 1975 in Vallée de Joux, Switzerland, where the Maison still operates today.

This region is often called the “cradle of horology,” and, in fact, both of his parents worked for watch manufactures in the region. Yet the young Gauthier’s passion was for music and audio equipment. He originally studied electronics with the aim of designing audio equipment but soon discovered that he much preferred machining components for his coursework, so he switched to mechanics.
 

And what is a watch but a finely tuned instrument, anyway?

This change of academic course led Gauthier back to the world of watchmaking. After graduation, he went to work for François Golay, a watch parts supplier. There, his natural curiosity about making things was given free rein.

He worked there for seven years, studying and mastering the manufacture of every component until one day he had an epiphany. As he told The Naked Watchmaker, “So I couldn’t help but ask myself: ‘Romain, why not try to make your own watch?’”

Singapore-based collector Sumei Shum likewise has taken the road less traveled in her horological journey.

“I’ve been collecting for a long, long time. Since university days when all I could afford were Swatch watches,” says the Singapore-based Shum. “I then progressed to Baby G-SHOCKs. And I am attracted to unusual watches as well. I still have my Tissot wood watch from a long, long time ago.”

Shum studied to be a lawyer and got her first “real” watch – a Cartier Tank Française ladies quartz – when she received her first paycheck. “After that, I went on to buy a JLC Reverso dual face (ladies as well) quite soon after. For a while I was just wearing those 2 watches.”
 

And like Gauthier, Shum would go on to take a hard left, career-wise, leaving law to study yoga. But her passion for watches not only deepened but became more sophisticated.

“My first really very expensive watch was a Patek Philippe Calatrava 4858G-001 moon face (29mm) watch, which I bought at the PP salon in Geneva,” says Shum. “I was in Geneva for work, and a friend asked me to look for that watch for her. I did, but she changed her mind about buying it. I liked it a lot, so I bought it for myself.”

By 2005, she was acquiring horological heavy hitters such as the F.P.Journe Octa Reserve de Marche (“I was attracted by the asymmetrical look of the dial. Little did I know it would become such a wanted watch. It was his original brass movement watch.”)
 

“Some 20 years later, I am still collecting, and my collection has expanded to comprise mainly watches from independents.”

Montres Romain Gauthier was launched in 2005, with the brand’s first watch – the Prestige HM, featuring Romain Gauthier’s own in-house manufacture movement – debuting in 2007.

The HM was followed, in 2010, by the Prestige HMS and by the Logical One, a reinvention of the fusée-and-chain constant force mechanism, in 2013. Taking ages old technology and applying it to modern, avant-garde watchmaking has become a Gauthier signature.
 

Over the last two decades, Gauthier has also been justifiably celebrated for its fine finishing.

There is a tendency amongst indies to go too hard on the bells and whistles of crazy complications and extreme engravings. Nice to admire in a vitrine but kind of impractical for everyday use. But another, unheralded factor behind the Maison’s appeal to enthusiasts is its ability to adapt with each generation to make Gauthier’s watches more wearable.
 

“I was invited to a dinner when Romain Gauthier was in Singapore,” says Shum of her first impressions with the house. “I had heard of him but never met him. I only knew about the Logical One then but found it too big for my wrist. During that dinner, I was shown the Insight Micro Rotor and, surprisingly, found that it could fit my wrist. I was also told about the C6, which was not yet launched but in the works. I signed up for it on the spot.”

The new C Titanium 39.5 is the brand’s best example of how it strikes a balance between mechanical complexity, impeccable finishing, and everyday practicality. And in the process, it’s creating a new language for how independent watchmaking and sport chic design can communicate a collector’s taste and personality.
 

The C collection, introduced in 2021 as Continuum, has until now largely been defined by a 41mm case. The new C features a far more versatile 39.5mm Grade 5 titanium case that measures just 46mm from lug to lug and is only 9.45mm thick. Plus, the new C’s introduction of an interchangeable rubber strap system allows its owners to personalize the timepiece and wear it daily rather than reserve it for special occasions.

Even connoisseurs like Shum want a watch that’s not too niche for everyday wear.
 

When asked what her take on the new C by Romain Gauthier Titanium Edition 39.5, Shum replied, “I love it. I had the C6, which was a tad too big for my wrist. I did wear it for a while as I really liked the look of the dial, which was partially skeletonized (and I loved the orange accents).

“I was then invited to buy the C anniversary, which is a smaller size at 39.5 with a tantalum case and a white gold movement,” Shum adds. “That watch wears so much better (especially on my customized leather strap).

“I love the look of the new titanium as well. If I didn’t have the C anniversary, I would totally go for the new C Titanium edition 39.5. It would wear much lighter and fit just as well.”
 

For collectors like Shum, Romain Gaulthier’s ability to innovate not just with complications and design, but also customer experience is what keeps bringing them back. “I just recently received my Insight Micro Rotor Squelette with an MOP dial,” she says. “Took two years to get that watch. Truly fabulous finishing and Romain personally picked the MOP for the dial because he wanted a truly unique one for me. I guess some others may say the same for their own unique pieces, but that only goes to show how special he makes you feel.
 

“And that’s what makes a brand stand out. The way they make you feel. Yes, secondary pricing and good auction results are important, but when you first buy a watch, it’s anybody’s guess how it will do secondarily.” Shum then adds, “Anyway, it doesn’t matter as much if one does not intend to sell the watch.”

For more information about the brand, check out the Romain Gauthier website.