Last year, Laurent Ferrier introduced its first regulator-style watch. Housed in a classic round case, it was the perfect kind of watch for the brand, which is known for marrying modern watchmaking techniques with traditional aesthetics. Now, the brand has a new version called the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Regulateur Black. As you might have guessed, it comes in the brand’s very elegant cushion case and features a black dial, which from the press photos at least, looks absolutely mesmerizing.
Regulator watches have their unusual dial layout because it is supposedly easier to read. Before mechanical watches were accurate enough to be regulated down to the second, they were adjusted to be accurate to the minute. To help watchmakers with this task, regulator watches and clocks have central hands that show the minute clearly. At 12 and 6 o’clock, you have sub-dials that indicate the hours and running seconds as they were deemed to be less important.
Back to the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Regulateur Black. It comes in a 41mm wide 18k 5N red gold case, which measures about 10.95mm thick. Water resistance is rated at 30m. It is polished and has a soft and warm reddish pink hue that complements the inky black dial. On the periphery of the dial is a railway track that marks the minutes. To provide some definition and contrast, the hour and minute sub-dials are slightly recessed. All markings on the dial are done in powdered silver, which makes it very legible. Only the word ‘Regulateur’ at 9 o’clock is in pink gold. Also in pink gold are the hours, minutes, and seconds hands.
One thing that I really like about the dial is how the hands are shaped differently. It is a subtle little thing that demonstrates the amount of detail that goes into the watch. The hour hand is leaf-shaped, the seconds hand is baton-shaped, and finally, the minutes hand is in Laurent Ferrier’s signature assegai-shape.
The movement within is Laurent Ferrier’s in-house Caliber 228.01 – a very thin self-winding movement with a micro-rotor. It is visible through a sapphire display caseback and it is highly decorated with Côtes de Genève on the bridges, circular graining on the mainplate, bevels on the brides and wheel spokes, and polished and chamfered screw heads. Obviously, much of the decoration is done by hand. And even from press photos, it looks stunning, thanks to its interesting architecture. It also features a silicon escapement, beats at 3Hz, and has a power reserve of 72 hours.
Even though I don’t consider myself to be a big fan of regulator-style watches (I find them too fussy), I can’t help but think that this is a very attractive watch. The combination of a red gold case and black dial is superb and there is something about the proportions of this watch that just seems right. The length of the hands, the way the railway track circles the dial, the size of the sub-dials… every component of the watch just seems to come together so well. The Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Regulateur Black will come with a hand-sewn brown alligator strap and will be priced at 47,000 CHF. laurentferrier.ch
