LAURENT FERRIER Sport Auto
In February 2022, independent luxury Swiss watch brand LAURENT FERRIER introduced Sport Auto, a new timepiece inspired by automobile racing.
Made of grade 5 titanium, the case of Sport Auto watch is both sporty and curvaceous. The 41.5 mm diameter case is topped with a contrasting bezel with softer lines, an evolution of the brand’s Square case, to the tonneau-shaped middle case with a very pronounced look.
The finishes are different on each of its faces. The bezel displays a circular satin-brushed finish that contrasts with its mirror-polished flanks as well as with the vertical satin-brushed middle case.
The emblematic ball-shaped crown is, for the first time, screwed down and elegantly integrated into the middle case. Combined with water resistance tested to 120 metres, the crown guarantees maximum comfort for daily wear.
The domed sapphire crystal glass offers a clear view of a dial bringing together all the LAURENT FERRIER aesthetic codes. Its different shades of blue, combined with its opaline finish, give it a soft and powdery line. White gold drop-shaped hands and indexes illuminated by green Super-LumiNova add tone to the dial. At 6 o’clock, a snailed small seconds dial is enlivened with powdered grey markers.
The grey minute track enhances the dial readability. The logo and the central cross also match this colour. A beveled date window underlined with a fine coordinated transfer is delicately positioned at 3 o’clock. As with the Tourbillon models, the “Sport Auto” movement indication, tone-on-tone transferred between the central hands and the small seconds, completes the composition.
This timepiece houses the Maison’s second automatic calendar movement, the LF270.01 calibre. As a subtle blend of a tribute to the micro-rotor with natural escapement and a more assertive and sporty style, this movement is entirely designed, decorated, assembled and adjusted in the LAURENT FERRIER workshops.
Less sensitive than the natural escapement and more suited to sports watches, this is a Swiss lever escapement using an automatic winding system with an off-centre micro-rotor. For non-negligible benefits in terms of resistance to shocks and vibrations, this movement is fitted with a unidirectional ball bearing replacing the traditional ratchet system.
Like a balance wheel, the micro-rotor is equipped with a 950 platinum oscillating weight, placed directly between the plate and the bridge to ensure ideal stability and maximised winding power. Once fully wound, this calibre offers a power reserve of more than 72 hours.
A sapphire crystal case back, fixed with specific screws, similar to those used in motorsport, reveals a movement with impeccable finishes and whose architecture takes up the main codes of the brand’s first automatic movement.
The bridge of the micro-rotor movement is meticulously decorated by hand: the angles are softened then finished with gentian wood or diamantine, while the surface is mirror-polished. In addition, the movement features several internal angles, multiple zinc-polished surfaces and numerous satin-finishing and circular-graining, all executed by hand in the LAURENT FERRIER workshops.
For the first time in the history of LAURENT FERRIER, the micro-rotor is made here in 950 platinum to achieve a more contemporary contrast with the ruthenium-coated bridges featuring a horizontal satin finish.
The LAURENT FERRIER Sport Auto watch comes fitted on a fully integrated metal bracelet has been added to this case, also in grade 5titanium, which takes up the vertical satin finish enhanced by polished flanks. The inclined sides of the centre links are also polished.
Technical details
Model: LAURENT FERRIER Sport Auto
Reference: LCF040.T1.C1GC5
Movement
Calibre LF270.01, Self-winding movement
Diameter: 14”’ (Ø 32.50mm)
Thickness: 4.85mm
Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 vph)
Power reserve: 72 hours
215 components/31 jewels
Horizontal satin finish and ruthenium treatment on the bridges
Functions
Hours and minutes in the centre
Small seconds at 6 o’clock
Date at 3 o’clock
Case
Grade 5 titanium
Dimensions: 41.5mm
Thickness: 12.70 mm
Screwed middle case, bezel and case back
Sapphire caseback, visible movement
Water resistant to 120 metres
Domed sapphire crystal
Circular satin finish on the bezel, polished flanks and vertical satin finish on the middle case
Specific screws on the case back
Dial
Gradient shades of blue with an opaline finish
Powder grey transfers
Small snailed seconds at 6 o’clock
Indices: 18K/750white gold 210Pd drop-shaped with green Super-LumiNova
Window at 3 o’clock, white discs and slate grey date
Hands
18K/750white gold 210Pd
Hours and minutes: “Assegai” shaped with green Super-LumiNova
Seconds: “Baton” shaped
Bracelet
Integrated bracelet with 3 links in grade 5 titanium
Grade 5 titanium folding clasp
