The Best Men’s Watch is perhaps one of the hardest categories to judge. The field is crowded with outstanding contenders, especially when so many leading independent watchmakers are focused on classical dress watches, alongside long-established maisons with deep historical roots in the genre.

At Revolution, the evaluation comes down to a watch that embodies refinement, proportion and genuine horological depth. This year, the watch that stood out was the Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold. It is a watch filled with emotion and effort, and most importantly, one where that effort is evident at a glance.

Daniel Roth Extra Plat Rose Gold (©Revolution)

When Daniel Roth launched his independent watchmaking career in 1989, he did so with the Tourbillon C187 in a distinctive double-ellipse case. A year later came a simpler, time-only watch that would go on to become one of the great modern men’s watch designs. This was the ultra thin C107. Years passed, the brand faded from view, and for a long time it seemed that chapter had closed. Until recently, when LVMH stepped in and revived Daniel Roth.

The revival follows the original brand’s trajectory. The first new watch was a Tourbillon Souscription, followed by the Extra Plat Souscription. What makes this revival compelling is that it is not only faithful to Daniel Roth’s aesthetic language and proportions, but also signals a continuation of mechanical ambition. Each watch is powered by a newly developed movement, conceived from the ground up under the LVMH umbrella, with construction and finishing that seeks not merely to preserve the legacy, but also to elevate it.

Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription (©Revolution)

Launched in early 2025, the limited edition Extra Plat Souscription can be seen as a second chapter of the original C107 from 1990. In many ways, it feels like a redemption, an opportunity to refine the original idea with the benefit of time, experience and modern capability. The guilloché dial is a prime example. It is now executed in-house, with greater care, patience and maturity of craft, resulting in a cut that is crisp and precise. The dial is filled with blue lacquer, perfectly matched to the blued steel hands. The impression is striking from a distance and even more rewarding up close.

The case measures a restrained 38.6mm by 35.5mm and is just 7.7mm thick. Crafted entirely in yellow gold, it features beautifully curved lugs that are soldered to the case. This curvature was absent from the vintage original, which used straight lugs, and the change makes a tangible difference on the wrist, allowing the watch to sit more naturally.

Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription

But the Souscription was limited to just 20 pieces, which begged for a regular production model that came rose a few months later in a rose gold incarnation. While it retains the same case size, the material change to 5N rose gold gives it a refreshed modern aesthetics. The dial is two-tone, crafted from solid white and rose gold with handcrafted guilloche en ligne.

Daniel Roth Extra Plat Souscription in rose gold case

For both iterations, the movement is in-house and remains extra thin, which is perhaps one of the most significant developments. The original Daniel Roth did not use an in-house caliber, which was not a weakness, but a fully integrated construction inevitably strengthens the narrative and historical continuity of the brand. Where the original relied on a Frédéric Piguet base, the new movement beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and offers a power reserve of 65 hours. It also features a refined multi-bridge architecture, following the layout seen in the Tourbillon Souscription unveiled earlier.

While the Souscription bears a solid case back as a nod to the original models, the rose gold model bears a sapphire case back to to showcase the caliber DR002.

The in house movement (©Revolution)