Once again, LAURENT FERRIER is supporting the Only Watch biannual charity event that raises funds for research against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The unique LAURENT FERRIER timepiece created for Only Watch 2023 is called ‘Sport Auto On Track’. This timepiece embodies the brand’s history and the motor racing passion of its founders, Laurent Ferrier and François Servanin.
The brand has long been involved with motor racing since François and Laurent joined forces more than once in the 1970s to take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The LAURENT FERRIER Only Watch 2023 model boasts a new, distinctive dial with grained charcoal grey and black gradient shades that resemble the appearance of asphalt. Thanks to the white gold Assegai-shaped hands and drop-shaped indices combined with a white Super-LumiNova luminescent coating, it offers enhanced legibility.
On the outer edge of the dial, a track pattern alternating yellow and blue from 7 o’clock to 2 o’clock, together with a white transfer from 2 o’clock to 7 o’clock, acts as a boundary for the dial, evoking the speed bumps delimiting the racetrack. The hour-circle is surrounded by a green transfer.
The logo, the central cross, as well as the thin transfer that underlines the bevelled window, are all matching in white. The window, positioned at 3 o’clock, displays the date. Like the Tourbillon models, to round off the composition is the toneon-tone transfer indicating the ‘Sport Auto’ movement, between the central hands and the small second.
Finally, the white small second combined with the tone-on-tone indication ‘OW’, in contrast with the entire dial, appears to indicate the finish line or the very objective of the race played on this unique timepiece. Protected by a domed sapphire crystal, this exceptional dial is housed in the Sport case.
Made of grade 5 titanium, the case measures 41.5 mm in diameter. On the barrel-shaped case middle, LAURENT FERRIER added a contrasting bezel with softer features, an evolution of the Square case. The bezel has a circular satin-brushed finish that is in contrast with its mirror-polished sides as well as the vertical satin-brushed case middle.
An integrated bracelet in grade 5 titanium completes the case, evoking the combination between vertical satin-brushed and polished sides. The sloping sides of the central links are also polished.
The iconic ball-shaped crown of the LF Maison is screwed down and elegantly integrated into the case middle. The lines of this crown allow a pleasant handling of the features in order to initiate the automatic movement. This screwed-down crown, combined with 120 metres water resistance, ensures the comfort of the wearer on a daily basis.
LAURENT FERRIER Calibre LF270.01
The second automatic calendar movement of the Maison, the LF270.01 calibre, is the result of an exclusive development by LAURENT FERRIER. While remaining a subtle tribute to the Micro-Rotor with a natural escapement calibre, its style is more distinctive and sportier, and the movement is entirely designed, decorated, assembled and adjusted in LAURENT FERRIER workshops.
Less delicate than the natural escapement and more suitable for sports watches, this is a Swiss lever escapement exploiting an off-centred micro-oscillating weight self-winding system. For the purpose of providing significant benefits in terms of shock and vibration resistance, this movement is equipped with a unidirectional ball bearing as a replacement for the traditional pawl-fitted system.
Like a balance wheel, the micro-rotor is provided with an oscillating weight made of platinum 950, placed directly between the plate and the bridge in order to ensure ideal stability and maximised winding power. Once fully wound, this calibre offers a power reserve of more than 72 hours.
A sapphire glass case back, secured using special screws, similar to those used in automotive sports, reveals a movement whose architecture and finishing evoke the main codes of the brand’s first automatic movement.
Each LF 270.01 calibre alone requires more than 139 manual finishing operations. In particular, the bridge of the micro-rotor movement is meticulously decorated by hand: the angles are softened and then finished using gentian and diamantine, while the surface is mirror polished.
The movement features several inward angles, multiple zinc-polished surfaces and numerous satin-brushed and circular-grained finishes, all handcrafted in LAURENT FERRIER workshops. The ruthenium-coated bridges feature a horizontal satin-brushed finish.
Technical details
Model: LAURENT FERRIER Only Watch 2023 ‘Sport Auto On Track’ Unique Piece
Movement
Calibre LF270.01
Self-winding movement
Diameter: 14’’’ (Ø 32.50mm)
Thickness: 4.85mm
Frequency: 4Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
Power reserve: 72 hours
215 components
31 jewels
Horizontal satin-brushed finish and ruthenium-coated bridges
Functions
Central hours and minutes
Small second at 6 o’clock
Date at 3 o’clock
Case
Grade 5 Titanium
Dimensions: 41.5mm (3 o’clock – 9 o’clock)
Thickness: 12.70mm
Frame, bezel and screwed back
Sapphire glass case back, visible movement
Water resistant to 120 metres
Domed sapphire crystal
Circular satin-brushed finish on bezel, polished sides and vertical satin-brushed finish on the case middle
Special screws on the case back, engraved with ‘Only Watch 2023’
Dial
Charcoal grey gradient shades and grained texture in the centre, black on the edge
White transfer
Snailed small second at 6 o’clock with ‘OW’ tone-on-tone transfer
Indexes: 18K/750 white gold 210Pd with white Super-LumiNova
3 o’clock window, white discs and charcoal grey date
Hands
18K/750 white gold 210Pd
Hours and minutes: assegai-shaped with white Super-LumiNova
Seconds: baton-shaped
Bracelet
Grade 5 titanium 3-link integrated bracelet
Grade 5 titanium folding clasp
Estimate
CHF 55,000 – 85,000
