Former racing driver Laurent Ferrier’s latest watch – the Galet Regulator – continues to explore the time-honoured principles of watchmaking.

by James Buttery 

Given the level of acceptance, appreciation and outright adulation heaped upon Laurent Ferrier it?s very easy to forget that the former racing driver has only had his name above the door of his own brand for nine years now.
There are many reasons that he has very quickly become a favourite on the independent watchmaking scene. Certainly skill is one, as the level of finishing on his movements is among the finest out there. Ambition is another; Ferrier does not shy away from a challenge such as his double hairspring tourbillon or harnessing the fiendishly difficult natural escapement.
But it could be argued that Ferrier?s most recognisable and endearing trait comes in the aesthetic design of his watches. His style is refined and elegant – as witnessed by the lines of his cases, which are almost imperceptibly smooth and yet provide ample form – and is yet supremely confident in its sparseness (pushed perhaps as far as it could be reasonably expected to go by the Galet Square Boreal). There?s a balance and harmony to his designs that Ferrier has no doubt spent a lifetime developing in theory before implementing in a prolific burst of creativity over the past decade.

That?s what makes the latest developments from his Plans-les-Ouates headquarters so surprising. Earlier thi...