Laurent Ferrier Galet Traveller: I think it is general knowledge that today the watchmaking industry is rather bloated and some may even say it has now become an overcrowded space, where watches are produced for the sake of it. While this may be true, you can take solace in knowing that amongst these watch manufacturers are independent watchmakers, who don’t have to worry about marketing their watches in a way that requires them to attach it to a famous face or whatever else is required to sell the watch. Instead these watchmakers rely on the element of small production, numbers and the art of true watchmaking, with their own personal flair and in many cases their own personal touch. Laurent Ferrier is one of these independent watchmakers and while they have their current product lines, such as the new Galet Square, the Galet Micro Rotor and so on and so forth. Every now and then something special is waiting around the corner.
Laurent Ferrier are well-known for producing timepieces made from precious metals but to produce a working prototype they sometimes make a couple of samples or two out of a less extravagant metal: stainless steel. This my dear readers is what you are looking at right here. This is a one-off, stainless steel Laurent Ferrier Galet Traveller that belongs to the former CEO of Lauren Ferrier.
As mentioned, this one-off Laurent Ferrier in stainless steel Galet Traveller, was the first prototype timepiece created for the new line and this is indicated by the movement number, P01. But not only this, it also bears the first serial number of B007-P01 and houses the newly developed in-house movement LF 230.01. While the finished article has seen improvements in the calibre department, this prototype was upgraded to match the production design, ensuring reliability and accuracy.
Just like the production version, the Galet Traveller sports two beautifully sculpted oblong shaped push buttons on the case band at 8 o’clock and 10 o’clock, which integrate into the “pebble” shaped curves of the all steel 41mm case.
This Galet Traveller sports a familiar slate grey dial that we’ve looked at here before, albeit in a different case metal. The slate grey dial, which is fashioned from solid silver, has two contrasting finishes: a vertical satin-brushed finish in the centre and a circular satin-brushed around the outside. Long minute indices emphasizes these two textures along with ten white-painted hour-markers, with two at 12 o’clock. In the two apertures at 3 and 9 o’clock for the date and home time respectively, the Arabic numerals are painted in black. The seconds counter at 6 o’clock is hollowed and bevelled. The hands sweeping over the dial are “assegai-shaped” for the hours and minutes, and baton-type for the seconds. The different layers and use of details on the dial add subtle but noticeable depth to the clean dial layout.
Now here is the most interesting part, the watch is actually for sale, which may come as a surprise as pieces like these tend to show up at auctions more often than not. The prototype Laurent Ferrier, which is THE only known Galet Traveller made in steel, is currently being offered by The Watch Xchange, right here in London, for £50,000. For more detail visit, their website here.
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