Romain Jerome Eyjafjallajökull DNA

Nice try…

But is this really the “DNA” that legends are made of?

While others are fine to simply reprint the Romain Jerome press release on this one, I am not.  This watch borders on the absurd. Why?  It is way too opportunistic if you ask me.   The press release –heck the whole concept — seems all too hastily put together for my liking.  Will the finished product even look nearly as spectacular as the press image (below)?  I am skeptical.  But really that’s beside the point here.

Maybe I am reading too far into this, but is this volcano really such a legendary event in human history to associate your brand with?  Show me something positive about what this Eyjafjallajökull volcano has done for the world.  In fact it is just the opposite — it has caused great chaos, hardship, economic loss and disruption.  It is not a source of pride, at least from my perspective.  Actually the Titanic (another RJ concept watch) is not much different in this regard, except it happened almost a 100 years ago, i.e. the pain, suffering and economic loss is well past, and it did in fact become a defining moment in history.  As for this event — well who knows how history will record it 10, 15, 20, 100 years from now.  Whether Eyjafjallajökull is largely forgotten or not — I think the one (and hopefully only) watch inspired by it will quite quickly lose its meaning and worth.

Romain Jerome Rock the Rock DNA Watch

The September 2011 ONLY WATCH 2011 auction is a great event not only for its charity, but also because of the opportunity that it provides for some watchmakers to come up with a truly meaningful piece.  I really appreciate the effort to come up with something truly unique, as opposed to using a standard production model watch and splashing some funky colors on it, as many of the participating brands do.  Yesterday you we saw the level of dedication and creativity given to the ONLY WATCH event by MB&F with its totally out-of-the-box HM-4 Flying Panda watch.  And today you can see it with Romain Jerome’s piece for ONLY WATCH 2011 – the Romain Jerome “Rock the Rock” DNA watch, with a dial carved from a small piece of limestone rock extracted from the western cliff of the Rock of Monaco.

Romain Jerome Rock the Rock DNA Watch for ONLY WATCH 2011

unique piece

46mm black PVD steel case, ceramic bezel, automatic mechanical movement, fitted on  black rolled-edge alcantara strap with red seam and black PVD-coated steel folding clasp; certificate of authenticity guaranteeing the origin of the materials used

Note also the “small seconds” subdial at 9 o’clock — also crafted of stone, which rotates on the surface of the dial.  Each time the seconds disc moves to 0, 15, 30 and 45 seconds, the red lines are aligned for a fleeting movement to symbolize the latitude and longitude coordinates of Monaco.  Paired with a matte black ceramic bezel and a black satin-finished PVD-coated steel case, the Romain Jerome Rock the Rock watch is a unique and special piece to bid on at for ONLY WATCH 2011.  Unlike RJ’s Eyjafjallajökull watch which I sharply criticized, this Romain Jerome watch definitely has some worthy DNA in it, and I hope it goes for big bucks in September.

Romain-Jerome Moon Dust Red Mood Chronograph

RJ-Romain Jerome’s “DNA of Legends” watches never really caught on with me, but I keep an eye on the brand because it has a unique platform, is very innovative, not afraid to take risks, and now and again they do come up with a piece that really resonates with my preferences (for example, the way cool Space Invaders Watches). The piece you see here is the latest in the “moon-DNA” collection, following the “black mood” and “steel mood” pieces of the same design. I like how this piece turned out — in addition to the distinctive RJ-Romain Jerome design codes, a few things stand out: carbon fiber bezel, hand-sculpted lunar grey dial (of course containing actual Moon dust), and “four-blade satellite solar panel” style seconds counter (9 o’clock), among other design elements. At at hefty price of almost 27,000 CHF, I see a piece like this as somewhat of an expensive novelty item and thus more for those who already have their Patek, Audemars Piguet, etc. i.e. this is not a foundational piece for a watch collection, but something that comes after you get tired of the traditional.

Romain Jerome Moon Dust Red Mood Chrono

46mm case

RJ.M.CH.003.01Limited edition to 1,969 pieces. CHF 26,990-*

RJ-Romain Jerome Space Invaders Blue (colette Edition)

First descending upon us last year, the RJ-Romain Jerome Space Invaders again touch down on planet Earth.  This time the landing can be spotted in Paris, at trend-setting boutique colette (213 rue Saint-Honoré 75001 Paris).  Eight pieces of this Space Invaders watch, with pixelated figures in colette’s emblematic blue color, will be offered.  Those of you new to the Space Invaders watch should know it is the vision of RJ head Manuel Emch (watch industry scion, shaped by the 1980s pop culture as a youth) under license from TAITO Corporation of Japan who is the original holder of the Space Invaders trademark.  The interesting feature of this watch is the lacquered dial:  it is actually 3-layers in order to achieve the pixelated look along with the “Space Invaders” applied on top (each about 3.5mm, lacquered in blue).  Also of note is the watch case with spare parts from Apollo 11 and four functional ball-and-socket joints on the corners of the case which resemble the legs of the lunar landing modules of American lunar missions (a unique feature, though used in several RJ pieces).  Also pictured below are several new colors which have joined the Space Invaders lineup.  These pieces are definite winners for RJ — scope more at http://www.romainjerome.ch, and see the original RJ Space Invaders Watches (2011) here.

RJ-Romain Jerome Space Invaders Watch (colette Edition)

Limited Edition 8 pieces

46mm PVD coated stainless steel case with integrated back (with spare parts from Apollo 11)

Space Invader Colors Now Available

Limited Edition 8 pieces per color; available RJ-Romain Jerome points of sale worlwide

Romain Jerome PAC-MAN Watch

After success of the iconic Space Invaders watches, RJ-Romain Jerome is once again taking you on a crazy round of video games with a limited series of 80 watches designed after the cult PAC-MAN.  In association with NAMCO BANDAI Games, RJ-Romain Jerome is bringing the famous yellow character back to life with four different models of 20 pieces each — paying tribute to the flagship Eighties icon.   Bravo to RJ CEO Manuel Emch for reviving these video game icons!  If you love Pac-Man (who doesn’t love Pac-Man!?!?) — you’ll want to see these watches!

The most colorful model features Pac-Man, the Ghosts (Blinky-red, Pinky-pink, Inky-blue, and Clyde-Orange) and a pair of extra point Cherries!

 Pac-Man, Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde

 Romain Jerome uses a very sophisticated production process to create the characters and fruits on the PAC-MAN watch dial — each of the three dial levels is engraved with a pixelated matrix, resulting in a crisp three-dimensional view.  The lower two levels are beadblasted, while the upper level features straight-grained edges.   Machined piece by piece, applied by hand and gem-set, they are subsequently lacquered with different colours or with black superluminova “green emission”, thus recreating actual game sequences.  An official PAC-MAN logo is also placed near the 6 o’clock position.

The case of this watch is inherited from the RJ Moon Invader collection — an alloy of steel and fragments of Apollo 11 — 46mm black PVD coated, with polished and sandblasted surfaces.  The four ball-and-socket joints at the corners of the case are functional and designed like the legs of the lunar landing module in American lunar expeditions.  On the back of the watch, a disc made of RJ’s proprietary “Moon Silver^“ – a low-oxidation silver fused with moon rocks – reproduces the surface of the Moon.  RJ-Romain Jerome uses automatic mechanical Concepto movements.

The watches will be exclusively launched at the Colette store in Paris on September 3rd, and then at other Romain Jerome retailers starting on September 10, 2012. Price for the Romain Jerome PAC-MAN watches is $17,900.

Did You Know?

Created by Toru Iwatani, a game designer of NAMCO, and released by NAMCO LIMITED, the predecessor of NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc., in 1980 in Japan, PAC-MAN followed the huge success of SPACE INVADERS by touching an even larger audience and which for the first time featured women.

In June 2005, the Guinness Book of Records awarded PAC-MAN as the “most successful coin-operated game machine”.  When the game came out in the United States, its popularity overtook that encountered in Japan, resulting in an unprecedented craze called “PAC-MAN FEVER”. With over 300,000 arcade game units sold all over the world, this is one of the most popular games of all time.

The official PAC-MAN web site is available at http://pacman.com/.

RJ-Romain Jerome Octopus

RJ-Romain Jerome just launched its first diver’s watch, the Octopus.  It’s about time, really – the RJ DNA of legends collection started years ago with the Titanic-DNA model, but contrary to the understandable perception that a watch made with steel from the sunken Titanic would be a dive watch, the Titanic watch was in fact not a diver.    The “Octopus” is named after the ocean giant that became a powerful symbol in Jules Verne’s famous novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.  It comes with a decent set of dive spec’s and a neat inner-rotating sapphire bezel system, though not what I would have expected for the price.  The reality seems to be that most of the attention on this watch seems focused around the symbolism of the Octopus theme and the rich detail incorporated into the case.  Available in three different versions and priced from $13,750, you can see them all below.

RJ-Romain Jerome Octopus

Limited edition 888 pieces in each of steel, black PVD-coated steel and black PVD-coated steel with red gold

46mm steel case with bezel notched in stabilised rusted steel from the Titanic, 270m water resistance, automatic mechanical movement, One crown at 9 o’clock to set the watch and a second crown at 3 o’clock for the internal rotating bezel, Hand-engraved Octopus stamped on the case back, hours, minutes and seconds enhanced with “blue emission” Superluminova

CEO Manuel Emch indicated that he wanted this diver’s watch to be different in terms of both its aesthetic expression and its technical execution.  To this end RJ touts the dual-crown design and an “exclusive unidrectional rotating sapphire bezel system.”  And then there is the “Octo” theme, with several details of the watch echoing the number eight:  eight octagon head screws on the 45mm case as well as on the back of the watch which is stamped by a hand-engraved octopus, two screw-locked crowns are adorned with eight rivets, a water resistance rating of 888 feet (270 meters), and each piece a limited edition of 888 pieces.  As well the black rubber strap has suction cups (on the inside) like the ones found on the arms of an octopus.

On the above features I can acknowledge the unique aesthetic expression — the overall look is commendable.  But as to what is technically different about this piece, well its hard to say.  The depth rating is at the low end of the range for respectable divers, and there is really no detail on the movement or its origins except to note that it is an automatic mechanical.  As well, RJ does not elaborate on what seems to be a neat internal sapphire bezel system.  On this front, I think RJ has a huge opportunity to further develop their brand.  It is known that RJ uses reliable and easily adaptable calibers sourced from La Joux Perret and Concepto.  OK, fine.  But I think that a more special and/or unique movement — this in combination with the powerful “stories” that RJ sells today, could really elevate the brand.

Clearly the emphasis here is more form than function, and that’s OK.  RJ does a great job with its cases and dials — they are made with unique materials and incorporate fine and original details.  This is really what RJ is all about — the symbolism, the emotional connection of its watches.  RJ sells themselves as a creator of stories, not as a manufacture of movements.  I personally think that if they could also bring a bit more focus on the mechanics, the movement, of their watches, that RJ-Romain Jerome would have an even more compelling offering.  Overall, though, nicely done.