The watchmaking workshops of Daniel Roth in Le Sentier are awe-inspiring for collectors, in particular, the brand’s prowess with adapting base calibers and for its know-how with minute repeaters.

However, Daniel Roth is no slouch when it comes to the chronograph. The brand launched its first chronograph – an automatic column wheel piece – in 1990 and today continues to refine its expertise in this ever-popular complication.

The Papillon Chronograph – featuring the now-famous ellipsocurvex case – revisits the 1999 chronograph issued to celebrate the brand’s 10th anniversary. To be precise, it references the 2005 Papillon Chronograph, minus the cover that hid the action of the pivoting minute hands. Significantly, the Girard-Perregaux movement of 2005 has been replaced with a Frederic Piguet caliber (reference 1185).

What you will immediately notice is the presence of the jumping hour indicator at 12 o’clock and the chronograph counters at 10 and 2 o’clock. Looking a little closer, you will notice that the central sweep seconds hand starts, in fact, at 6 o’clock. This is simply to keep the display of the jumping hour clear. It also serves to draw attention to the distinctive central semi-circular minutes display.

Note the two blued hands on the central disc. These hands mark the minutes alternately, with one hand pivoting out of position while the other pivots into position. In this visual, for example, the hand at 10 o’clock is out of position while the one at 4 o’clock is in position. The time therefore is 10 minutes past the hour.