Monochrome Watches
An online magazine dedicated to fine watches

Schwarz-Etienne Roma Power Reserve with In-house Movement and Balance Spring

| By Xavier Markl | 3 min read |
Schwarz Etienne Roma Power Reserve

Schwarz Etienne is a a brand that has been flying under the radar for the past few years, however, there are some very legitimate reasons why it deserves a closer look. Take for instance its in-house developed and manufactured movement, and the fact that it’s one of the few Swiss manufacturers who actually make their own balance springs! We go hands-on with the Schwarz Etienne Roma Power Reserve. 

Visiting the Schwarz Etienne production facilities is an eye-opening experience. The level of vertical integration is rather unexpected for an independent watchmaking company manufacturing only a few hundred watches a year. This is the result of a plan launched in 2008 to develop and produce movements in-house. Today, the movement portfolio is structured around a family of high-end calibers and Schwarz Etienne even manufactures its own hairsprings.

Schwarz Etienne Roma Power Reserve

Ad – Scroll to continue with article

The first thing to catch your attention about the Schwarz-Etienne Roma Power Reserve however, is its pretty face. The silver color dial features different finishes, creating a rich sense of depth, in particular the guilloche pattern radiating from its center. The applied hour markers and hour/minute hands (lance/alpha type) are finely faceted and rhodium plated. The large seconds at 6 o’clock creates a nice balance, and at 2 o’clock the 4-day power reserve is shown.

The elegant round case is crafted in stainless steel and measures 42mm in diameter. It features thin, elongated straight lugs that are subtly fluted on the outer edge, and the sapphire display-case back is secured by 6 screws.

The movement – calibre MSE 111.00

The Roma Power reserve is built around the magnificent hand-wound MSE 111.00 caliber made of 230 parts. This large twin-barrel movement (30.40 mm) ticks at 3 Hz. with a healthy power reserve of 4 days. The architecture of the movement is superb with bridges for every wheel of the gear train. It is nicely decorated with Geneva stripes and hand chamfering on the bridges. The barrels are snailed and the jewel sinks are finely polished. The balance wheel with adjustment screws incorporates the brand logo which is a nice (and rare) touch.

Schwarz Etienne Roma Power Reserve

The balance wheel and hairspring of Schwarz-Etienne movements are manufactured in-house by the brand’s sister company E2O Innovation that is also managed by Mauro Egermini, CEO of Schwarz Etienne. Mind you, not many watch brands have the knowledge and skills to manufacture their own balance and hair spring, and most companies rely on Nivarox for these parts. The Schwarz Etienne balance comes with timing-adjustment screws, and is decorated with the brand’s initials. The hair spring is a a flat hairspring and the entire balance has an impressive inertia of 16 mg/cm2.

Schwarz Etienne Roma Power Reserve

The Schwarz Etienne Roma Power reserve is worn on an alligator strap with a dark blue lining – using colored lining (different for each model) is a brand signature and also a nice touch. It is secured with a steel folding buckle engraved with the brand’s logo.

The Schwarz Etienne Roma Power reserve is also available in pink gold and with a black dial. For more information, visit www.schwarz-etienne.ch


Technical specifications – Schwarz-Etienne Roma Power reserve

  • Case: 42 mm diameter x 12.13 mm thick – steel case – sapphire crystal with antireflective coating – sapphire case back – water resistant to 5 ATM / 50 m.
  • Movement: in-house mechanical movement with manual winding MSE 111.00 – 30.40 mm x 5.35 mm – 4 days power reserve – 21’600 vibrations/h – 38 jewels – Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds and power reserve indication
  • Strap: black alligator leather with blue lining with steel folding buckle.
  • Price: CHF 10.460 (before tax)

https://monochrome-watches.com/schwarz-etienne-roma-power-reserve-house-movement-balance-spring/

5 responses

  1. Nice, so different, cost of servicing down the road might be costly??

  2. Superb. Sadly it won’t keep its value because of people’s snobbery. How irrational it is that people blindly focus on brands. If it’s called Patek, Audemars or Vacheron it would sell for 10 times the deserved price. When people stop buying watches to show others their social status and their wealth, most ultra high luxury brands would see their prices halved at least. Easy to say that will never happen though.
    Meanhwile enjoy this watch and what it represents. It is really magnificiant.

  3. Try to find a
    – manual-winding good-looking mechanical movement view-able via transparent case-back
    – unique movement (while this doesn’t imply a 100% in-house requirement per-se)
    – simple time-teller: hour, minutes, seconds, i.e. no date (especially not through an aperture)
    – multi-day power reserve
    – the only ‘complication’ being a power-reserve indicator
    – steel case
    – full (non-skeletonized) dial but ‘innards’ visible from the back
    – Not as highly-priced (but for sure nevertheless super-impressive) Simplicity and Voutilainens
    !?

    A bit like a modern interpretation of the 1945 to 1968 chronometer watches. Good luck indeed! I mean finding one; something as-of-today (CNC machines etc). There a very few out there like this. This one seems to be one of them. Chapeau!

  4. I.AM.Baffled!!! I discovered this brand a few days ago. It is just unbelieavable! 10k for full in-house movement, 4 days power reserve, decorated and also HAND BEVELED bridges. Please every rich sheep on earth leave this brand in the shadow so we, poor proletarian can enjoy these pieces of art!

Leave a Reply