1770 Voltige

The 1770 collection takes its name from the year in which, according to brand tradition, the first watchmaking workshops supported by the philosopher Voltaire were born in Ferney-Voltaire: an explicit homage to the eighteenth-century origins that the Manufacture Royale, relaunched in 2010, chose to claim from the very names of its collections. Within the line, the Voltige — introduced in the mid-2010s — represents its most recognizable expression.

The Voltige's distinguishing feature is the position of the balance wheel and escapement, placed not inside the case but above the dial, at 12 o'clock, as if poetically "floating" above the mechanism: a solution that revives an approach dear to certain pocket watches of the past — exposing the regulating organ rather than hiding it — and translates it into a contemporary key with a large-diameter balance wheel and an aluminum rim to contain its weight.

The 45 mm case, built to accompany the staging of the raised balance wheel, continues the sculptural language already seen on the Androgyne, here rendered in a more tapered form. Over the years the line has been enriched with the Haute Voltige variant, which adds a second time zone to the reading of hours, minutes and small seconds, broadening the functionality without giving up the visual setup that makes the Voltige immediately distinguishable from any other chronograph or three-hand watch in the Manufacture Royale catalog.