For many years, Lionel Ladoire, not so much enfant terrible as enfant cerebral of Swiss watchmaking, has been passionate about Japanese culture, admiring its aestheticism, attention to detail and excellence. Particularly fascinated by the design of the Japanese Imperial Flag, Lionel wanted to pay homage to the Japanese people who, over the centuries, have always shown courage and positive strength.
That’s fair enough, however his choice of the Japanese Imperial Flag as his motif is controversial. The flag was heavily used by the Japanese in the conquest and the occupation of South East Asia, it’s a flag that still strikes fear among the older generations of certain South East Asian countries, of which the Philippines is one. It is seen as a symbol of Japanese colonialism, largely because of the war crimes perpetrated by the Japanese military.
Nonetheless, Lionel Ladoire set himself the great technical and aesthetic challenge of creating this exclusive timepiece which required over 300 hours of work.
“Origin of the Sun” pays tribute to Japan, known locally as Nippon or Nihon meaning “the sun’s origin”. Indeed, Nippon/Nihon is written in kanji using the two ideograms 日本 , the first denoting “sun” or “day” and the second denoting “origin” or “root”.
The latter is engraved on the crown side of the titanium case. Meanwhile, the platinum hand-cut display shows the Japanese Imperial Flag.
The watch will be officially presented in Japan during May 2012, under the high patronage of the Japanese Consul to Geneva.
This one off haute horlogerie creation will be sent to auction where 30 per cent of the sale price will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross for victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Specifications
Movement manufactured by Ladoire : Calvet/01
Calibre with automatic winding-mechanism, manufactured «Calvet/01/RGT» 26 jewels, on plate : 9h 3h > 39.50mm / 12h 6h > 29.50mm, thickness 9.30mm.
Bridges of circular geometry with special red satin-finish painting, angle hand-polished
Shaped main plate with cut-out and special red satin-finish painting
Shaped main plate with special white matt paint
Micro rotor up-lifted with two parts 15/2, Position 6 o’clock
Balance at 8.40
Escapement 15.1
Optimised gear train profile
Frequency 18,000 a/h (2.5Hz)
Power-reserve 48 hours
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds. Time setting with the crown, position 8 o’clock
Indication H, M, S by discs set on ceramic ball-bearing (Lubrication/OFF)
GMT with fast correction position 2 and 4 o’clock
GMT indication by profiled hand
Case
Bezel and back-case in White Gold with black PVD coating, case in Titanium
Dimensions 9h 3h > 56mm / 12h 6h > 45mm, thickness 16.3mm
Bezel sapphire crystal incurved with anti-reflection treatment
Back-case sapphire crystal convex with anti-reflection treatment
Water resistance 50 meters / 165 feet
Watchstrap
Black full-grain hand-stiched calf leather, brass and silicone insert
Articulated RGT buckle white gold and titanium black PVD
