In 2016, Laurent Ferrier displayed the full measure of its watch making expertise and mastery of visual aesthetics in its new Galet Traveller Globe Night Blue, with an interpretation of the Earth seen by night. The model is graced with a three-dimensional dial blending gold and champlevé enamel. A contemporary timepiece intended for globetrotters, this watch offers a new version of the dual-time display. Thanks to keen attention to details and to balance, as well as to achieving the pleasing proportions and refined curves characterizing the Laurent Ferrier spirit, the model combines perfect legibility with the traditional principles of haute horlogerie.
The Galet Traveller collection welcomes a new three-dimensional model: the Galet Traveller Globe Night Blue, in reference to the new dial specially designed for this timepiece. The center of this dial is adorned with a convex planisphere depicting the five continents in 18K white gold, surrounded by a blue enamel sea. Crafted using the age-old champlevé technique, the area designed to host the seas and oceans is hollowed out from the material before the enamel is applied.
The difficulty of this exercise lies in performing this enameling on a domed surface serving to reproduce the rotundity of the Earth and in highlighting the central five-continent motif. The edge of the continents slopes gently towards the coastlines, displaying various shades of blue. The three-dimensional effect is reinforced by several aesthetic details. The emerged territories are painted and the world’s cities seen by night are depicted by gold leaf-adorned dots further enhancing the contrast with the oceans.
Hand-finished with a circular satin-brushed decoration, the outer gold ring dips towards the central sphere, thereby accentuating the illusion of a raised globe literally balanced on top of the dial. The unique aesthetic of the model is heightened by the drop-shaped hour-markers whose tips extend beyond the ring, giving the impression that they are literally suspended in the void.
The Galet Traveller Globe Night Blue was developed in such a way as to combine practicality with an overall balance of the timepiece, thus ensuring readability and performance in all circumstances. Two perfectly symmetrical oblong pushers delicately integrated into the left-hand side of the case serve to adjust the local time indicated by the central hand. When passing from one time zone to another, this central hours hand may be moved forward or backwards in one-hour increments by successive presses. The upper pusher moves the hand one hour forwards, while the lower one moves it backwards, all without affecting the minutes hand.
In addition to this fast adjustment of local time, the date appearing through an aperture at 3 o’clock automatically jumps when the hand passes midnight, thereby adjusting without any separate intervention to the transitions between different time zones. Meanwhile, the 9 o’clock aperture keeps track of the reference time (home time). The 24-hour display provides a natural distinction between daytime and nighttime hours.
The decoration and finishing are performed in keeping with the spirit of haute horlogerie, combining extreme dexterity with artisan-style expertise. The sapphire crystal case-back of the Galet Traveller Globe enables one to admire the exquisite refinement of this craftsmanship. In addition to the Côtes de Genève décor on the bridges and the circular graining on the mainplate, the sides are manually chamfered and the screw heads are polished. The hand chamfering is particularly visible in the finesse of the interior angles, highlighting the authentic respect for the watchmaking art consistently cultivated by Laurent Ferrier.
