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Pierre DeRoche TNT Watches Hands-On

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:03:48 +0000

Pierre DeRoche is a decidedly small brand with a big sense ambition. The brand owner is Pierre Dubios, one of the three Dubois brothers. The other two run Dubois-Depraz, the important watch movement module maker that I discussed here. For Pierre, Pierre DeRoche is sort of the unofficial Dubois-Depraz watch brand. They use all Dubois-Depraz movements, and the three brothers each wear one.

While I am not going to go into extended detail into specific models, I did get a chance to see the entire collection with Pierre high in the Swiss mountains in the Jura where Pierre DeRoche is located. A simple small town guy Pierre doesn't necessarily look like the guy who would design a sporty and aggressive watch called the "TNT."

He did however tell me that he was a sort of fitness instructor earlier in life, which might explain a bit of it. The TNT watches came out a few years ago and come in a few forms and sizes. I recall when the TNT range was first released a few years ago. It instantly drew my attention thanks to its distinctive case design and of course the complication in the TNT Royal Retro watch. It has six retrograde hands for the seconds. Each measures ten seconds and then it moves around the dial to the next one. The constant movement of retrograde hands on the dial was just so cool to me. Of course as a watch nerd the mechanically open dial was quite appealing as well.

I believe all of these watches are limited editions. The TNT Royal Retro is currently offered in a 47.5mm wide case that is either in steel and titanium or 18k rose gold and titanium. The case design is intricate with lots of details at any angle. If you are a "screw lover" then you'll love this watch. I just realized that between the case and dial there are a ton of screws visible on this timepiece. Attached to the case is flush alligator strap with contrast finishing.

The TNT collection pieces all have DD automatic movements that are well decorated. Over time Pierre DeRoche offered a new automatic rotor and changed the design of the caseback. So it is possible to find Pierre ReRoche TNT watches with different caseback designs. Further, the original size of the case was 47.5mm wide, and some of the pieces still are at that size.

It would not be fair to Dubois-Depraz for Pierre DeRoche not to have a chronograph in the TNT collection. That is where the TNT Penta pieces come in. With a big date and tri-compax array chronograph, these movements just scream "Dubois-Depraz." Furthering the skeletonized dial concept, the Penta watches have very open dials. How do you feel about the very visible big date indicator discs?

Aside from the central seconds hand for the chronograph, this model uses moving discs in relation to red arrows to indicate the information on the subdials. It takes a bit of getting used to but makes for fun timepieces. These TNT Penta watches are also 45.5mm wide and available in mixtures of steel, titanium, and gold. They are mostly limited to 201 watches each.

A very interesting Pierre DeRoche TNT model is called the TNT Rendezvous. This watch combines an alarm and minute repeater combination. The result is an alarm that plays a chiming noise (using a bell and gongs) when "it is time." The watch dial has a lot going on, plus it is skeletonized. I think that they did however do a good job making it as legible and functional as possible.

On the dial of the TNT Rendezvous you have large hands for the time (with seconds), and alarm indicator hand (to set the alarm), and alarm on/off indicator, a power reserve indicator, the date, and a day/night indicator for the time. To explain the watch better I did a little video for you that should be part of this post. Pierre DeRoche doesn't actually state the watch as having an alarm. They use the Rendezvous name instead. Part of that has to do wit the fact that the alarm sound isn't very loud - as is the case with most chiming watches that have any type of water resistance. They rather consider the watch as offering a "friendly reminder" versus an alarm.

With a 45.5mm wide case (in steel or rose gold) and a special automatic movement, the TNT Rendezvous is a very unique and interesting watch. It is also limited to 201 pieces per model. I have a feeling that all Pierre DeRoche limited edition models are limited to 201 pieces.

Pierre DeRoche watches are a fascinating display of boutique Swiss watch brands operated by people who are in the heart of "watch land." There is no big city marketing guy or company who decided to build this brand. This watch is by a guy from a watch making family who has probably lived and breathed watches way more than most of us. While modern and aggressive in its design, the TNT collection is a piece from a small boutique Swiss brand with very traditional values.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Pierre DeRoche SplitRock Watch Review

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 07:04:40 +0000

Pierre DeRoche is one of those interesting indy luxury watch brands you could go your whole life without noticing, but you'd be missing out on some interesting stuff. You might have heard of them if you are like me, so you'll be happy to check out my review of their fascinating SplitRock watch. A unique name for sure, there is nothing "rocky" about it. Though I will say that all of the brand's collections do have geologic style names. Aside from the SplitRock, there is the GrandCliff, and the Shiny Pebbles. The SplitRock comes in many flavors, I actually discussed one of its "artier" forms here when talking about the SplitRock Dare watch. In the 'standard' collection there are at least five different styles - including one with orange numerals and a diamond decorated version.

Right here you have the Pierre DeRoche SplitRock Big Numbers. Why? Cause it has big numbers. Around the dial are four large applied numerals in large, 1mm tall metal. To say that they pop is an understatement. There is another version of the same watch where instead of these numbers being applied, they are lume covered. On this watch, the only lume covered parts are the hands - both for the time and the chronograph. The dial itself is round and easy to read. While the watch face is a large rectangle, the places where you need to read information are more traditional looking and not confusing - though small given the dimensions of the watch. This is an art watch that isn't hard to read, rather than an experiment in clarity. And as an art watch, it looks pretty cool.

Everything starts with the unique looking rectangular case. Here in steel with a polished finish all over expect for the brushed metal bezel. Size is 46mm tall, and 31.6mm wide. It is also 13.7mm thick. For a rectangular watch, that isn't too shabby. The large size is nice for me, especially as I find many of these watches too narrow. Plus, the flared lug structures help with the watch feeling larger. If steel isn't for you, there is rose gold version available.

The dial is backed with a textured black surface and areas of blushed silver for the dials with black index markers. There is an applied plate on the top and bottom of the dial with the name of the brand and "Chronograph Concentrique." This latter phrase refers to the interesting style of chronograph that the watch has. Basically you have three concentric dials inside of one another. The dial has three ring and three hands. The larger, thin red hand is for the seconds, and then there is a smaller minute hand for the chronograph minutes, and under that is an even smaller hand for the chronograph hours (you can't see that hand until the minute hand moves). This clever system allows Pierre DeRoche to insert a fully functional 12 hour chronograph into one dial. There is also a subsidiary seconds dial for the time above, overlaying the time dial. I also like how the date window was elegantly placed in as part of the watch dial, with a little bulge. Overall, the SplitRock dial is quite unique in design and quite three dimensional, but takes into consideration rules of symmetry and traditional design ensuring it looks attractive. Not for everyone, but it isn't unattractive by all accords.

The entire case is curved a bit, which includes the front and rear sapphire crystals. Despite the curve, the front sapphire crystal has a nice amount of AR coating to reduce glare and make it easy to read. It is also water resistant to 30 meters. To match the brushed bezel on the face of the watch, the rear of the watch also has a brushed bezel on the rear exhibition window. The lugs on the case are pretty great. They are movable so that one end connects to the case, and the other to the black crocodile strap. This allows the larger sized case to fit better on most wrists.

I quite like the strap actually. the crocodile leather is tapered a bit and it is on a nice fold over butterfly clasp. The deployment is well polished and closes comfortably around the wrist. The clasp is signed with an engraved Pierre DeRoche name and logo.

Pierre DeRoche uses an exclusive for Pierre DeRoche movement in the SplitRock watch, which is the Swiss made Dubois Depraz PDP 4001-1 automatic. It uses a micro-rotor so that you can appreciate more of the decorated movement. Lots of large blued steel screws and cotes de Geneve polish, as well as some perlage on the movement. You'll also get a friendly "Vallee de Joux" regional reminder of where the watch is made. The micro-rotor seems to work well in practice, though I think it would have looked good in gold (which might have added some weight to it that also would have helped). The appearance of the movement is rather grand, and it is a good selling point of the watch to see it when you turn over the SplitRock.

Who wears a watch like this? Well the avant garde type with a penchant for the classic things in life. This is retro weird. An uncommon testament to things softly different with a traditional look to them. There are a lot of art deco elements to the design, as well as an architectural slant to the design. As you can see, the watch makes a bold statement on the wrist, even more so than looking at it alone. Anyone from a seasoned banker to a classic car buff can sport a watch like this with ease. The design to me is mature, suitable for people wanting to look their age nicely. In my opinion, the Pierre DeRoche GrandCliff is a better "youthful" watch. So for the many, many sport watches out there, I am glad to see a contrasting watch with a less serious nod to the stately lifestyle as is the case with the SplitRock. Price is about 12,500 Swiss Francs. If you want one, you'll have to contact Pierre DeRoche directly as there are no official US distributors for the brand at this time.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Pierre DeRoche Split Rock Dare Watch Collection

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:16:01 +0000

This watch is a self-admitted combination of luxury watch making and the "art" of graffiti from watch maker Pierre DeRoche. What is charming is that the Swiss watch maker sought out a Swiss based graffiti artist - who'd a thought right? The artist they worked with is Sigi “Dare” von Koeding, who takes graffiti art and makes it into fine art. I like his work, but think that it might be hard for lots of people to take it too seriously depending on the role that graffiti has played in their life. I for one being born and raised in Los Angeles have a perception that while graffiti is a cool art form, it has a strong association with vandalism - which is true when you think about how it all started. You should check out the link to his site (click his name above) for views of his work.

If you look below, you'll notice one of his paintings called "Dare." It takes the word "Dare" and writes it many times in graffiti text. The same term is applied to these three limited edition Pierre DeRoche Split Rock Dare Collection watches - each in a slightly different style. The three watches will come in a limited edition of just 11 pieces. Each dial is hand painted (not using a spray paint can). The term "Dare" also brings up another memory of growing up in LA in the 1990s - the Dare program. Who could forget that? "DARE To Keep Kids Off Drugs." In California this was some mandatory program in elementary schools. It was really silly - but actually was done well. It would never fly to day. The message was "yea drugs are out there, lets learn about them and tell you why you should say no." Better than all that "just say no shit without telling kids what it is all about. Curiosity will defeat dogma any day. Lots of t-shirts and bumper stickers were handed out (like the one pictured below). For a while it was actually quite trendy to wear the t-shirts, especially with the high-schoolers smoking weed in the corner at gym class. Oh irony. While the Dare collection of watches from Pierre DeRoche has no formal connection with the DARE program, it does in my mind given that both adopted an "urban font" for the message.

The Split Rock collection watches are pretty cool and feature as 12 hour chronograph complication all put into one three hand subsidiary dial. Pretty cool right? The pushers are located on the right and left side of the case in a unique fashion. I like how it looks, and it appears pretty easy to use, just don't mistake it for another watch face. The watch itself uses skeletonized orange-red hands and a subsidiary seconds hand at the top. The watch isn't exactly the epitome of easy to read, but this is for style, and you can make out the time. Plus, the orange stitching on the black crocodile strap is always a chic sporty touch.

Although the collection is pretty cool, it will appeal to mostly a niche audience of mostly existing Pierre DeRoche watch lovers. I do feel that while there are three different pieces in the collection, they are too similar to each other. Mr. von Koeding could have easily mixed it up a bit giving each version of the Dare watch collection its own style and personality. The movement inside the watch is a Dupois Depraz mechanical automatic, and the case is done in stainless steel. An interesting timepiece with a mixture of luxury and contemporary urban art.

See Pierre DeRoche watches on eBay here.

see Pierre DeRoche watches on Amazon here.

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Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.

Well Done Double Retrograde From Pierre DeRoche: New Brand On The Scene

admin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:50:50 +0000

I have to applaud a new grand that releases relatively sober and legible timepieces. The Double Retrograde from the new Swiss watch brand Pierre DeRoche is an obvious "homage" to Gerald Genta, but well done nonetheless;making for a legible watch that strays from the norm.

A retrograde watch is one that has a hand that moves along a liner arc. Once it reaches the end of that arc, it simply jumps back to the beginning position. This is as opposed to traditional cyclical nature of watch hands. Retrograde hands are often used to emulate gauge meters, but can serve a very good purpose when it comes to legibility. Being a new twist on analog time telling, a double retrograde would have two such retrograde hands. According the Pierre DeRoche double retrograde have one hand for the hours and another for the minutes. It maintains a traditional cyclical subsidiary dial for the seconds.

The Double Retrograde is powered by a Dubois Depraz automatic mechanical movement (one of the fancier names in watch making). Pierre DeRoche boasts that they use materials and finished often saved for movements on the dials of their watches. This give them more of an industrial look, but nothing can remove the designer quality of this timepiece.

Available in handful of color choices (and with diamonds) the Double Retrograde is likely to be one of Pierre DeRoche's more memorable timepieces, although I seriously doubt it will be priced to be a bargain Gerald Genta (quite likely the opposite). Look for them soon at your continental Pierre DeRoche boutique or similarly rare store.

See Pierre DeRoche watches on eBay here.

See retrograde watches on eBay here.

see Pierre DeRoche watches on Amazon here.

see retrograde watches on Amazon here.

Written by Mr. Ariel Adams - aBlogtoRead.com, trusted independent watch media.