Manufacture Royale 1770 Micromegas
The Manufacture Royale 1770 Micromegas is now offered in three new colourways. Designer Steve Huyton, a gentleman with a passion for independent watchmaking, examines these latest contemporary creations from the brand famed for ‘enlightened horology’.
Four years ago I planned a trip to Switzerland so I could attend the spectacle that is Baselworld. I remember frantically trying to fill my diary with appointments to maximise my time at the event. Overall the experience was successful and I got to meet many exciting brands, including Manufacture Royale. For many years I had admired this company’s avant-garde timepieces from afar and was excited to see what they would look like in the metal. I was not disappointed.
For those of you who haven’t visited Baselworld before, it is hard to appreciate the sheer scale of the event. Some of the larger brands like LVMH, Patek Philippe and Rolex spend millions on exhibiting at the fair and are located in Hall 1. By contrast, smaller independent brands are positioned in Les Ateliers and have small booths rather than the enormous stands of the aforementioned brands. From a writer’s perspective, I was more interested in the overall product rather than the marketing gloss, albeit I could not resist sitting atop Manufacture Royale’s prop throne and having my photograph taken.
Manufacture Royale dates back to the eighteenth century and was revived in 2010 by cousins David Gouten, Alexis Gouten and Marc Guten (the spelling of this latter name is correct).
One of the company’s first creations was the Opera, which resembles the iconic Sydney Opera House. However, the company has created several other distinctive watches, including the 1770 Micromegas. This timepiece has a minimalistic appearance, nevertheless, it remains a beautifully crafted watch with much design merit.
In 2016, Angus Davies wrote a detailed and insightful review of the 1770 Micromegas. This model has a decorative Côtes de Genève pattern dial, encapsulated in a stylish 45mm rose gold case. Since then Manufacture Royale has released three new versions with much more simplistic dials. These are the 1770 Micromegas rose gold case with a khaki lacquered dial, the 1770 Micromegas titanium case with duck blue lacquered dial and the 1770 Micromegas Mega Blue with its hard Nanodeco titanium case and midnight blue lacquered dial. My preference is for the latter model, because of its sophisticated façade. However, all three variants possess an allure destined to entice the most discerning of collectors.
Certainly, if you are a fan of minimalism then you’ll love the aesthetic of the Manufacture Royale 1770 Micromegas. Fine details, like the handcrafted lacquered dials, are absolutely exquisite and perfectly showcase the twin flying tourbillons. This 26-jewel highly complicated movement (Caliber MR04) is entirely Swiss made and features a titanium cage, brass flying balance and silicon anchor. The left tourbillon has a 6-second rotation and the right tourbillon has a 60-second rotation. Functionally, the watch only features hours and minutes, but that doesn’t matter because it proves totally mesmerising to look at.
The 1770 Micromegas is presented on a hand-sewn alligator leather strap with matching folding buckle. Prices range from CHF 180,000 (titanium models) to CHF 200,000 (rose gold) – (RRP as at 19.8 2019 excluding taxes).
Further reading
https://manufacture-royale.com