Introducing the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Autumn, with a new 5N red gold dial (specs & price)

Saying that the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square was welcomed and that it is a superb achievement is kind of an understatement. This watch is simply superb. When launched, it was the entry-level proposition of the brand, with a (slightly) sportier look, a stainless steel case, a more reasonable price but still with the same true elegance and a perfectly finished, innovative movement. As we’re now in the middle of October, Laurent Ferrier has just decided to add a new iteration to the collection (that you can see in the flesh here) with a brushed red gold dial. Here is the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Autumn.

Until now, the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square was only available in 2 main editions, with a stainless steel case. The first one was a classic from the small independent manufacture, with a vertically brushed blue dial and usual indexes. The other one was a sort of cleaned edition, with a more vintage feeling, due to a warm silver / light gold dial, a natural leather strap and a very pure dial with only 4 indexes. Both watches can be seen closely here. In addition to these regular editions, Laurent Ferrier also created a red gold / brown dial edition to celebrate its fifth anniversary (thus using the same theme as the other anniversary pieces). Finally, but this one is really special (and oh so nice), the brand introduced a unique edition, with a two-tone sector dial and an officer case for the 2015 edition of Only Watch. You’ll admit, quite a collection for a young watch and a confidential brand.

For the Autumn/Winter 2015-16 collection (well, if brands began to create watches considering the seasons, let’s use the same terminology as fashion), the brand comes with a new, warmer edition to fit the actual colors of autumn, with the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Autumn. Basically, we’re only talking about cosmetic changes, by changing the color of the dial and the strap. Using the blue edition as a base (the one with full indexes), we now have a dial that still features the typical vertical brushed finish but with a 5N / red gold tone. This dial is complimented by a dark brown alligator strap. These warm colors contrast with the cold feeling of the stainless case and somehow reminds of certain vintage watches from Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin from the 1940s or 1950s, where some editions could be manufactured in steel or in white gold with a salmon dial.

We still find the 11 typical drop-shaped white gold hour-markers and the white gold, “Assegai-shaped” hands for the hours and minutes. One tiny difference though between this Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Autumn and the blue edition, as the dial features here a minute track depicted by small dots on the periphery of the dial – something absent from the blue edition but present on the anniversary red gold edition.

For the rest, the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Autumn remains the same watch, both for the design (a 41mm x 41mm cushion-shaped case in stainless steel, with tapered lugs and onion crown) and for the technical part, as we found back the same Calibre 229.01, a micro-rotor movement with silicon escapement with double direct impulse on the balance and one of the best possible hand-finish (wheel spokes are bevelled, screw hands are chamfered and polished, the interior angles are hand- crafted, the micro-rotor is engraved, the steel parts are black polished, the bridges are chamfered with large and shiny bevels…). It is a both superb and technically impressive movement – more details and live photos here.

Considering that the Laurent Ferrier Galet Square Autumn only brings a new dial, the price should be the same as the other stainless steel editions, meaning CHF 35.000 / USD 38.000. More details on www.laurentferrier.ch.