Swiss watchmaker Romain Gauthier is marking its 15th anniversary year with a “Manufacture Only” and “Special Order” iteration of its flagship timepiece, the Insight Micro-Rotor. The new Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette uses hand-finishing techniques ? including bevelling, softening, smoothing, and polishing along its bridges and mainplate ? that it introduced in 2005. The new models are available in either a 42-mm Carbonium case or in a 39.5-mm case made of either precious metals or black-DLC-coated Grade 5 titanium.

Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette Manufacture-Only Carbonium Edition.

According to brand founder and namesake Romain Gauthier, Carbonium is “a form of carbon composite sourced from aerospace-grade fibers,” produced by the French company Lavoisier Composites. The idea behind using a high-performance, carbon-fiber composite, Gauthier says, “is because of the excellent mechanical properties [it offers],” and that it is “three times more rigid,” compared to titanium, “yet twice as light.”
Carbonium caseband, bezel, back, crown and buckle of Insight Micro-Rotor.

For the Insight Micro-Rotor Squelette Manufacture-Only Carbonium Edition, Gauthier made the case, crown, hours-minutes subdial, small seconds subdial, and buckle from Carbonium. The dial’s off-centered hour and minute hands are skeletonized, while the small seconds hand is solid steel; ...