Romain Gauthier

General information

Romain Gauthier was born in 1975 in Le Sentier, in the picturesque Vallée de Joux, the heart of fine Swiss watchmaking. It was there that Romain developed his passion for traditional haute horlogerie blended with clean, contemporary design and innovative micro-engineering.

After studying precision-mechanics, Romain gained a diploma as a constructor of precision machinery. In 1997, he started his first job as machine programmer/operator at a horological components manufacturer, which he helped turn into one of the best-equipped and most efficient production facilities in Europe.

Determined to create his own watch brand, Romain completed an MBA in 2002. His final thesis, passed with distinction, was the business plan for his own company. After working behind closed doors on his own timepieces for four years, he launched the Romain Gauthier brand in 2005 with ‘Prestige HM’.

With its superlatively hand-finished in-house movement on show through the display back, innovative winding mechanism and off-centre indications, ‘Prestige HM’ set the tone for future Romain Gauthier timepieces. It was followed in 2010 by ‘Prestige HMS’ featuring a partially open dial offering animated views of the bespoke balance wheel and distinctive seconds gear.

In 2013, Romain Gauthier received great acclaim for launching ‘Logical one’ featuring a multi-patented flat chain-and-fusee style constant force system with ruby chain links, ergonomic push button winding system, dial-side visible balance, mainspring barrel with sapphire inserts, and power reserve indicator.

This piece, a consummate demonstration of Romain Gauthier’s ability to respect watchmaking tradition while striving to innovate, was awarded the prize for Best Men’s Complications Watch at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève later that year.

In 2014, Romain Gauthier launched ‘Logical one Secret’ which took the union of art and horology to a new level. It features a fully integrated cover serving as a canvas for arts and crafts such as gem-setting, miniature painting, engraving and marquetry. Pressing a discreet caseband pusher unlocks the cover to reveal the intricate complexity of Logical one's award-winning, constant-force movement.

At Baselworld 2015, Romain Gauthier unveiled two further versions of Logical One – in noble white gold and casual black titanium – as well as two sleek black titanium variations of Prestige HMS, in addition to the elegant Prestige HMS Ten, created to celebrate the brand’s 10th anniversary.

Equipped with advanced machines and employing a highly skilled workforce, Romain Gauthier’s headquarters in Le Sentier, Switzerland is a manufacture in the truest sense of the word. Virtually every high-quality horological component can be produced there. It also allows every Romain Gauthier timepiece to be developed, produced, finished, assembled and regulated entirely in house.