Romain Jerome is a brand that is synonymous with using exotic materials to craft their watches- from relics of the Titanic to the mysterious moon dust. This time, they have looked towards the famous Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and specifically, the “Pink Lady”.
The pin-up on the caseback; it is inspired by the Varga Girls and the “Pink Lady” Nose Art.
Here is a little historical information on the “Pink Lady”. This plane was launched in 1945, and it was deployed to carry out missions for the US army. After the war, the plane continued to serve in various missions around the world. It is perhaps most famous for being a “star” in many movies, such as the “La Grande Vadrouille” in 1966, “Memphis Belle” in 1990, and most recently in the 2012 movie “Red Tails”. The plane’s most distinctive feature is of course the nose art, which is where the “Pink Lady” pin-up lies.
A wristshot of the Romain Jerome Nose Art-DNA.
When the Deployant team first saw the watch in person, we knew it was a Romain Jerome watch right away. The design of the case and the crown simply screams out the Romain Jerome DNA that was found in most of their watches. The size of the watch is at 46mm, which is currently the norm in the world of horology today. This watch has certainly got the wrist presence it required, especially since it is sort of a homage to a bomber aircraft.
The Romain Jerome Nose Art-DNA is certainly a military-inspired watch, with the NATO strap and the camouflage dial.
The dial of the watch features a camouflage design, but it has a different colour scheme for different variants. The Black PVD case variant features a green and brown camouflage dial, while the Red Gold model features a grey camouflage dial. The dial certainly looks unique, but legibility of the watch is an issue here (especially for the Black PVD case variant). The hands, sub-dials (which are inspired by the reading instruments in the cockpit by the way), and the arabic numeral markers of the watch seem to blend in very well with the camouflage design, and this makes the process of time-telling a little difficult. Hmm, some food for thought there.
The caseback of the Romain Jerome Nose Art-DNA watch. Possibly one of the highlights of this timepiece itself.
The caseback of the watch features possibly the highlight of the watch- the pin-up girl. Each caseback features an individually painted pin-up girl, and it is protected by a transparent sapphire glass. The artwork is very intricate, and it adds a very unique touch to this timepiece itself. As mentioned, the pin-up girls are inspired by the Varga girls and the “Pink Lady” that was featured on the B17 Flying Fortress as well.
The Red Gold variant of the Romain Jerome Nose Art-DNA watch.
The watch is powered by the RJ001-CH movement. It is based on a Valjoux chronograph movement, with a decent power reserve of around 42 hours. Every piece comes with a calf NATO strap. It was chosen since it befits the military/ aviation theme, as well as the fact that it is comfortable and durable at the same time. The watch comes in two different case variants: Black PVD or Red Gold. Each variant is limited to only 99 pieces.
The Romain Jerome Spacecraft, a visually arresting watch which got the Deployant Team excited about RJ in the first place.
We would have preferred the Nose Art to be a bit more daring terms of its design elements. A case in point is RJ’s own Spacecraft. The Spacecraft’s unusual case design is very cool. This “out of the box” thinking” gave us high hopes when we anticipated the release of a new watch from RJ; we thought , we would see the same level of creativity we saw in the Spacecraft. The Nose Art series is a nicely balanced design, but we wished for something more edgy. What do you think?
