RGM Watch Company, named for the initials of its founder, Roland G. Murphy, is famously based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an area with a rich watchmaking history. Murphy chose to honor the state’s founder, William Penn, with an eponymous timepiece in the early years of his company’s founding. The so-called William Penn Model returns this year, in a 10-piece limited edition with a new old-stock case, dial, and hands ? and makes its public debut at our upcoming WatchTime New York collectors’ event in October.
RGM William Penn Model in rose gold
The original William Penn Models, which debuted in 1999 and 2000, were available in three variations, one with a date display, another with subsidiary seconds, and another with a moon-phase and power reserve display. It is that third, most complicated model that is resurrected for this modern timepiece. Its rectangular case, in either 18k rose gold or 316L stainless steel, measures 40 mm x 28 mm, with sapphire crystals in the front and back. Since the cases date back to RGM’s early period, before the company was able to bring much of its manufacturing in-house, they are Swiss-made. RGM William Penn Model in stainless steel
The dial, on the other hand, is brand-new and American-made. Machined from solid argentium silver ? a material more pure than traditional sterling silver ? it is lavishly finished with a hand-cut, engine-turned guilloché motif in its center, executed by one of the very few antique rose-engine...