And what better way for a watch brand could their be but to introduce a brand new watch that houses a completely new in-house movement?
The “Motor Barrel” is an American invention and was used only on the highest grade models. The benefit of the design is that is reduces friction and wear in the mainspring barrel bearing surfaces, thus transmitting power more efficiently.
Top grade American railroad watches from the past had a “Motor Barrel”, models like the Illinois Bunn Special , Hamilton 950 , and others from great American Watch Brands.
So, by far, the movement is the star of this particular show. If you house a diamond in a dunghill, however, it’ll lose it’s appeal. Thankfully, the machining they do over at RGM for the dial and cases is top-notch. Here, we’ve got a stainless steel 42.5mm x 38.5mm case measuring in at only 9.7mm (benefit of manual wind).
Set into that case you’ve got a sapphire crystal up front protecting the dial – and with that, you have your choice of a skeleton (which is pictured here, and lets you see that stunning movement) or full guilloche dial (for more on that, check out this post). Though, I’m guessing there could be some more adjustments made in the design (within reason). That’s because at the asking price of $19,500, if you’re picking one of these up, you’re not expecting pure “off the shelf”.
