Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. A Set Of Unique Raúl Pagès Régulateur à Détente RP1s With Dials By Master Enameller Anita Porchet
A collaboration between the award-winning indie watchmaker and the renowned enamel artist results in a trio of uniquely coloured watches.
When two masters of their respective crafts meet, it’s very likely greatness will ensue. However, while masters may strengthen each other, it’s difficult to find common ground when crafts might seem at odds. Despite this, a positive and uniquely intriguing outcome is still a possibility. Such is the case with the collaboration of Raúl Pagès, the esteemed independent watchmaker, and Anita Porchet, a true master enamelled. Even though the two are long-time friends, it wasn’t until now that they worked on a shared project, which happens to be a uniquely coloured trio of Pagès’ brilliant Régulateur à Détente.
Raúl Pagès was recently awarded the 2024 Louis Vuitton Prize for Independent Creatives, for his work on the stupendous Régulatuer à Détente. Louis Vuitton is also deeply connected with the work of Anita Porchet, who has decorated many of the watches by the design house over the years. Watches such as the Tambour Moon Flying Tourbillon and the Tambour Opera Automata both feature her work, as well as that of other craftsmen and -women. She’s also worked on the incredible Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinnotiers Westminster Sonnerie “Tribute to Johannes Vermeer”, for which she did the miniature painting of Girl with a Pearl Earring, should you need more convincing.
Finding common ground in the canvas that is the dial, Raúl Pagès and Anita Porchet set out to find a unique combination of colours. Through several trial-and-error attempts, the final result is a brilliant pairing of blue and yellow. The blue main dial is finished with a matte Grand Feu enamel set over an 18k white gold base, paired with glossy yellow Grand Feu enamel for the subdials. The colours changed about seven times before nailing the right ones, as the process of enamelling is very challenging and delicate. But if it weren’t for these difficulties, they wouldn’t have landed at these colours, Anita Porchet mentions.
With the focus being purely on the aesthetics, the technical side of the Régulateur à Détente has remained untouched. It still has a beautiful and relatively compact brushed and polished steel case of 38mm and 10.2mm in height. The movement, based upon the principle of a detent escapement by Pierre Le Roy and improved by John Arnold and Thomas Earnshaw is designed and crafted by Raúl Pagès. Not going into all the details, I recommend checking out our in-depth story on how this impressive calibre works.
There’s no real necessity to mention elements like its limitation or pricing, as this is part of a series of three watches that are already spoken for. But, considering the price of CHF 85,000 excl. VAT the Régulateur à Détente costs to start with, it’s not hard to imagine what this would have cost to each of the three owners. As mentioned, one of the three was allocated through A Collected Man, who undoubtedly had little trouble in finding a single discerning collector willing to pick up this work of art!
For more information, please visit PagesWatches.com or ACollectedMan.com.
1 response
Did I miss it or the photos did not represent finished products? Anita Porchet’s work always bears either her full signature, meaning made by herself, or initials, meaning done by her workshop. But neither was found on the dial.