The September 2011 ONLY WATCH 2011 auction is a great event not only for its charity, but also because of the opportunity that it provides for some watchmakers to come up with a truly meaningful piece.  I really appreciate the effort to come up with something truly unique, as opposed to using a standard production model watch and splashing some funky colors on it, as many of the participating brands do.  Yesterday you we saw the level of dedication and creativity given to the ONLY WATCH event by MB&F with its totally out-of-the-box HM-4 Flying Panda watch.  And today you can see it with Romain Jerome’s piece for ONLY WATCH 2011 – the Romain Jerome “Rock the Rock” DNA watch, with a dial carved from a small piece of limestone rock extracted from the western cliff of the Rock of Monaco.

Romain Jerome Rock the Rock DNA Watch for ONLY WATCH 2011

unique piece

46mm black PVD steel case, ceramic bezel, automatic mechanical movement, fitted on  black rolled-edge alcantara strap with red seam and black PVD-coated steel folding clasp; certificate of authenticity guaranteeing the origin of the materials used

Note also the “small seconds” subdial at 9 o’clock — also crafted of stone, which rotates on the surface of the dial.  Each time the seconds disc moves to 0, 15, 30 and 45 seconds, the red lines are aligned for a fleeting movement to symbolize the latitude and longitude coordinates of Monaco.  Paired with a matte black ceramic bezel and a black satin-finished PVD-coated steel case, the Romain Jerome Rock the Rock watch is a unique and special piece to bid on at for ONLY WATCH 2011.  Unlike RJ’s Eyjafjallajökull watch which I sharply criticized, this Romain Jerome watch definitely has some worthy DNA in it, and I hope it goes for big bucks in September.