Geneva, September 2026 — The revival of Daniel Roth under LVMH has moved at a deliberate, unhurried pace since the maison’s return a few years ago, and that restraint is precisely what makes each new reference land with such force. The latest chapter arrived quietly this month: the Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold Gilt, a time-only dress watch in 5N rose gold whose dial is a genuine, historically correct gilt — black, glossy, and shot through with gold that is not painted on, but cut out of the solid gold plate beneath.
I spent time with the watch at the brand’s presentation in Geneva, and the effect is difficult to capture in photographs. The dial appears almost black at rest; tilt it and the pinstripe guilloché catches the light, while the Roman numerals, the Daniel Roth signature and the individual number at six o’clock glow with the warmth of the 5N alloy they were born from. This is the true definition of a gilt dial — the gold you see is the dial plate itself, revealed where the black finish has been masked away — and it is a technique Daniel Roth’s original atelier used in the 1990s, back when black-dialled Roths were rare birds indeed.
Mechanically, the Rose Gold Gilt stays true to the Extra Plat’s formula, which is no bad thing. Inside the double-ellipse case beats the Calibre DR002, designed and assembled at La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton under the supervision of master watchmakers Michel Navas and Enrico Barbasini. It is a manual-winding manufacture movement, 31 by 28mm and just 3.1mm thick, beating at 4Hz with roughly 65 hours of power reserve. The 143 components are finished in the grand tradition — Côtes de Genève, perlage, hand-bevelled inner angles — and all of it is visible through the open sapphire caseback.
The dial itself demanded a multi-stage dance. The artisans start with a solid 5N rose gold plate, cut the pinstripe guilloché on a straight-line rose engine, then apply a varnish mask over the areas that must stay gold — the numerals, the signature, the text. The plate is electroplated black, and only then is the mask lifted to reveal the untouched gold beneath. A second guilloché, the circular filet sauté, rings the chapter track. The result is a dial with real depth rather than mere decoration, and it is a process that took the LFT dial workshop weeks to perfect.
On the wrist, the dimensions do most of the work: 38.6mm long by 35.5mm wide, just 7.7mm thick — the double-ellipse case that Daniel Roth sketched in the 1980s, now in a slimmer, more contemporary envelope. It wears like a classic dress watch with a modernist twist, the black dial reading dramatically against the rose gold.
The Extra Plat Gilt is not a limited edition, but it is produced in small numbers, and after the reception of the Platinum Extra Plat earlier this year, I suspect the rose gold gilt version will be the one collectors fight over — it has that rare combination of historical correctness and contemporary cool.
Specifications
| Reference | Not disclosed |
|---|---|
| Case | 18k 5N rose gold, 38.6mm x 35.5mm, 7.7mm thick, double-ellipse |
| Bezel | Polished 5N rose gold, integrated with case |
| Crystal | Box sapphire crystal, open sapphire caseback |
| Water Resistance | 30m |
| Dial | Solid 5N rose gold gilt dial, pinstripe guilloché, filet sauté chapter ring, black electroplated finish, gilt Roman numerals and signature |
| Hands | Rose gold hands (dauphine style) |
| Movement | Calibre DR002, manufacture manual-winding, 31 x 28mm, 3.1mm thick |
| Power Reserve | Approximately 65 hours |
| Frequency | 4Hz (28,800 vph) |
| Components / Jewels | 143 / 21 |
| Finishing | Côtes de Genève, perlage, hand-bevelled inner angles (anglage), étirage des flancs |
| Strap | Calfskin leather, 20mm lug width, pin buckle |
| Price | CHF 55,500 (excl. taxes) |
Availability is through Daniel Roth boutiques and authorised distributors. For more information, visit danielroth.com.
