Retro-futuristic designBASELWORLD 2013: The Steampunk Chrono by RJ-Romain Jerome
The Titanic-DNA collection welcomes five new colourful and sporty timepieces. Adopting all the signature aesthetic codes of the collection, the Steampunk Chrono Colours brighten up the Titanic-DNA collection with their retro-futuristic design. They have even inspired a new collection of accessories.
Housed within a 50 mm-diameter case, the Steampunk Chrono dispenses with a dial, thus enabling a clear view of its rough and raw finishes as well the rigorous sturdiness of its mechanism. The latter comprises over 330 parts and is held by four screwed pistons. This mechanical self-winding movement has been specifically developed for RJ-Romain Jerome and is endowed with a 42-hour power reserve. The polished steel used for the bezel contains authentic steel from the wreck lying 3,840 metres beneath the ocean, along with steel supplied by the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast where the Titanic was built a century ago. The bezel and case in mirror-polished steel lend a new radiance to this model, while the inner bezel ring has been lacquered in a variety of bright colours : yellow, red, blue, green or orange.
The dial is enlivened at 6 o’clock by a mobile propeller driven by an oscillating weight and echoing the steady churning of the Titanic’s majestic propellers. A unique and innovative mechanism makes the propeller turn four times faster than the oscillating weight and always in the same direction, independently of the latter’s rotation direction. The minutes and seconds counters at 3 and 9 o’clock evoke the design of the ship’s manometers and thus pay tribute to its machinery as well as to the Steampunk style. The minutes counter hand and the overstitching on the black alligator leather strap also pick up the colour of the inner bezel ring.