Founded in 2005, Roman Gauthier is now known as one of the world's leading microbrands. What makes this luxury watch brand so successful? Masamasa Hirota interviews founder Gauthier, who visited Japan for the exhibition "Romain Gauthier Tokyo Exhibition 2025," held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the company's founding. We embark on a journey to explore the company's past, present, and future prospects.
A journey into the luxury watch workshop "Roman Gauthier"
Founded in 2005, Roman Gauthier is a microbrand that has attracted a great deal of attention from many watch enthusiasts thanks to its products, which feature original mechanisms and designs, as well as the finest hand-finished products.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its founding, Roman Gauthier held a special exhibition in Tokyo from August to September this year: "Romain Gauthier Tokyo Exhibition 2025." The brand's founder, Roman Gauthier, also visited Japan to participate in the exhibition. Masamasa Hirota, editor-in-chief of Chronos Japan and webChronos, took a sneak peek at the exhibition. Together with Gauthier, we embark on a journey to explore the brand's history, outstanding technical capabilities, past collections filled with ingenuity, and future prospects.
Direction and editing: Saito Nobutaka
Filming cooperation: Swiss Prime Brands Tel. 03-6226-4650
table of contents
00:00 Opening / From "Romain Gauthier Tokyo Exhibition 2025"
01:02 About the brand's history and the new workshop
03:25 Brand's first work "Prestige HM / HMS"
07:38 His masterpiece "Logical One" and the necessity of the constant force mechanism
11:40 Gautier's new approach to high precision: the Insight Micro Rotor
16:08 A more modern and sporty challenge: "C by Romain Gautier"
19:36 "C by Romain Gautier 2025" commemorating the brand's 20th anniversary
22:42 What is Romain Gautier's finishing technique? In-house tool manufacturing and precision philosophy "Art of Tooling"
28:21 Interview with Romain Gauthier. Discussing his views on watches and his outlook for the future
Who is Romain Gauthier?
As mentioned above, Romain Gauthier was founded in 2005. In 2007, they released their first product, the Prestige HM. Over their 20-year history, they have produced four movements and developed collections such as the Prestige HMS, Logical One, Insight Micro-Rotor, Insight Micro-Rotor Skeleton, and C by Romain Gauthier.
Manual winding. 24 jewels. 28,800 vph. Power reserve approximately 60 hours. Ti case (41mm diameter, 9.55mm thick). Water resistant to 50m. 9.9 million yen (tax included).
Romain Gauthier's creations not only feature unique mechanisms and shapes, but also exteriors and movements with outstanding finishes that pursue aesthetic excellence. In addition to being a watch brand, the company also serves as a supplier of parts to other companies. Construction of its own workshop was completed in 2014, and is expected to commence in 2025. In the video, Gauthier expresses his enthusiasm for creating unique watches, including new movements.
Born in Le Sentier, Switzerland in 1975. After graduating from a technical school specializing in precision mechanics, he joined François Gaulay. While studying watchmaking, including apprenticing under Philippe Dufour, he decided to launch his own brand. To that end, he earned an MBA (Master of Business Administration) in 2002 and founded Romain Gauthier three years later.
Editor-in-chief of Chronos Japan and webChronos. Art soldier. After working as a salaryman, he began working as a watch writer in 2004. He has been the editor-in-chief of Chronos Japan since its second issue. In 2016, he became the magazine's editor-in-chief. He is the popular host of the popular program "BEST ISHIDA presents Chronos Japan Tick Tock Talk♪" (TOKYO FM, every Sunday from 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM).
Contact info: Swiss Prime Brands Tel. 03-6226-4650
