The French watchmaking manufacture B.R.M Chronographes is taking another direction, the opposite to that which has marked its success so far. Setting aside its vibrant palette of colors it is backing black, jet black.
This autumn’s watch will be monochrome, from the color of its case, perforated hands, crown, lugs to the double stitching of its strap with its pin buckle.
The DDF6-46-N-SQ-AN is black as ink. This new variation of the manufacture’s racing line is sober and yet technical.
The black three-piece case (bezel, case, and back) is machined from the block. Only our B.R.M workshops avoid stamping and instead fashion each part through milling, cutting, the removal of material. This method of manufacture pays tribute to the house’s first love and inspiration: motorsports. Drawn from the design of the brake-disc (the French term “Disque De Frein” is reflected in the model’s initials), the perforated bezel and stirrup-shaped crown protector, all assembled and screwed on by hand, lend the automatic watch a modern and sporty allure.
In this total-black version, the case serves as an elegant shell for the timepiece’s core, an automatic handmade skeleton movement. This in turn rests in a casing ring of Fortal HR® suspended on three springs, to cushion it against parasitic micro-vibrations. The mechanism laid bare, the unrefined works, the bright reflections, and the black hand-painted automatic bridge together yield a timepiece of muted color but daring design and technique.
Each timepiece is the fruit of meticulous work, done as always in the artisanal tradition — as you’d expect from one of the rare French firms to bear the “Living Heritage Company” label.
Machined, assembled adjusted, and tested in France, the three-handed DDF6-46-N-SQ-AN is a singularity in the horological universe.
VARIED MATERIALS FOR AN INTENSE CHROMATIC SPECTRUM
The apparent monochromatic simplicity of this timepiece belies the variety of its materials, their mechanical properties inspired from other domains of state-of-the-art industry.
Within this device you will find titanium and extra-fine stainless steel, both machined from the block and then treated with black PVD; both polished and brushed parts; hand-applied permanent and incorruptible mirror lacquer; Alcantara®, carefully selected for its unique velvety aspect; and a hand-made double-stitch. So many elements to absorb or reflect light, producing hues and shines of rare intensity.
“Black, for sure, but shaded through the singular, creative, modern vision that is B.R.M Chronographes’ specialty.” Bernard Richards