In an interesting combination between two of their most iconic watches comes the Manufacture Royal ADN —French for DNA. Offering a dual time zone complication, the case of the ADN is a delicate blend of the intricate case construction of the Opera and Androgyne collections. With a curvier outline the case presents mobile lugs that pivot for a perfect ergonomic fit on the owner’s wrist. In case you’ve forgotten about Manufacture Royale’s story, we’ll give you a quick refresher. This independent watch brand was revived in 2010 and is directly linked to the Manufacture Royale des Montres de Ferney, which was a watchmaking atelier in which thinker and philosopher Voltaire was involved back in 1770. The Manufacture Royale des Montres de Ferney produced watches from 1770 until 1778 when Voltaire died at the age of 83.
The Case & Bezel
Just like all other Androgyne and Opera models, the ADN features an eye-catching, unmistakably steampunk-inspired 67-part case with flexible floating lugs to ensure extreme wearability. This ingenious construction gives a linear frame to the circular bezel where 12 bezel screws typically mark the hours.
The 18K pink gold middle case measuring 46 mm in diameter and 10.20 mm in thickness is mirror polish finished throughout serving as the perfect backdrop for the matte finished forged carbon flexible lugs fastened by eight pink gold screws.
The Dial
The Manufacture Royale ADN is a watch that offers a dual time zone complication, cleverly executed in order to maintain two independent time zones. A satin-brushed anthracite disc marks the minutes and hours —via a jumping hours disc in white— for the local time zone, while the smaller disc at 4 o’clock marks the hours and minutes in a more conventional way for the home time.
Featuring a floating dial structure, these two discs appear suspended as they remain attached to the movement bridges that have been treated with a grey PVD treatment. The movement features a one-minute flying tourbillon at 7 o'clock with silicon escape wheel and ceramic ball bearing. A well balanced dial where transparency plays a very important look in the overall appeal of this timepiece. All functions are set via the crown for both time zones.
The Movement
The beating heart is the ninth movement developed by Manufacture Royale. This calibre MR09 powering the Manufacture Royale ADN is a manual wound movement that beats a frequency of 21,600 vph and which provides a power reserve of 80 hours when fully wound. The movement is exquisitely skeletonized on its front and back side and delicately decorated with prominent chamfers, anglage and bead blasting.
The MR09 movement’s brass parts have gone through flank drawing, before being chamfered by their master craftsmen and lastly undergone a PVD treatment, which gives them their intense grey color. The one-minute flying tourbillon features a silicon escapement wheel and ceramic ball bearing.
On the Wrist & Pricing
On the wrist, the Manufacture Royale ADN wears slightly smaller than its actual size and with great wrist presence. Thanks to its floating lug construction, the watch embraces the wrist very comfortably. Despite its middle 18K pink gold case, the watch feels relatively light because of the floating lugs in forged carbon. A great looking watch that exudes ‘haute horlogerie’ from every angle. The Manufacture Royale ADN is also available in stainless steel or in Black DLC with forged carbon.
Sticker Price CHF 110,000 Swiss Francs—approximately $111,000 USD. For more info on Manufacture Royale click here.
