The Ral Pags Rgulateur dtente RP1 Is The First Indie Hit Of The Year

February 01, 2022

Spanish watchmaker Ral Pags cut his teeth working in the restoration workshops for Parmigiani Fleurier and Patek Philippe before setting out to create his own brand in the early 2010s. And last week, we received word of the independent watchmaker's latest release.The new Rgulateur dtente RP1 features the first application of Pags' new manual-wind movement featuring a pivoted detent escapement. And before you ask, yes, Pags both designed this escapement system and crafts each example by hand. Ral Pags To borrow from our very own Watch 101 section, the traditional detent escapement "uses a very thin blade spring with a jewel mounted on it to hold the escape wheel in place; a jewel on the balance trips the spring as it passes, which releases the escape wheel, allowing it to advance. The escape wheel then gives impulse directly to the balance, and is locked again as the blade spring falls back into place." The detent mechanism features Pags' patented anti-tripping mechanism. The pivoted detent escapement has long been associated with precision timekeeping, dating to the age of marine chronometers and the work of Pierre Le Roy, John Arnold, and Thomas Earnshaw. The detent is, however, dangerously susceptible to shocks, which has generally limited its application in the modern era. In the early 2010s, Urban Jurgensen challenged that notion with the P8 caliber used inside of its ref. 1140C wristwatch. Christophe Claret and Bulgari followed with their own attempts a few years after that, so this is rarefied air that Pags is operating in. What We Think Ral Pags may seem like a fresh face, but he's been in the game for a decade-plus. He set up his workshop in Les Brenets, Switzerland in 2012, making this year the tenth anniversary of his going at things alone. So it didn't feel right to write him up as a One To Watch, our column hitting young watch brands on the rise. But the new RP1 is, in fact, an impressive release worth highlighting, one that establishes a new horological signature for the 40-year-old watchmaker, offering a new take on old-world horology for today's discerning watch collector. Pags says the dial aesthetics are inspired by Le Corbusier. We haven't seen an example of the Rgulateur dtente RP1 in person yet, but it's clearly an impressive example of horological handcraft. And it will be a hard watch to find in the near future; Pags says he's only able to produce four to five examples per year.?There's not much precedent on pricing for watches with in-house detent escapements, and the time and effort involved in the RP1's construction are clearly shown in its final price tag of $85,000, a tall figure for a time-only watch.? The Basics Brand: Ral PagsModel: Rgulateur dtente RP1Diameter: 38.5mmThickness: 10.2mmCase Material: 316L stainless steelDial Color: Sandblasted, diamond and nickel-plated dial; Black nickel-plated minutes flange; Seconds dial matte lacquered, cerulean blue 59Indexes: Diamond-polished, circular-grained and rhodium-plated hours flangeLume: N/AWater Resistance: 30 metersStrap/Bracelet: Leather strap The Movement Caliber: In-house RP1, with detent escapementFunctions: Hours, minutes, secondsDiameter: 33.6mmThickness: 5.6mmPower Reserve: 47 hoursWinding: ManualFrequency: 3HzJewels: 17Additional Details: Pivoted detent escapement with "anti-tripping" system; variable inertia balance with four 18K gold weights; 171 total components Pricing & Availability Price: CHF 85,000Availability: From Ral Pags. Shop this story For more on the Ral Pags Rgulateur dtente RP1, click here.