Industry News: Ronda Returns to Mechanical Movements with the Impressive R01

Typically, not a lot happens in the world of third-party mechanical watch movements. The ETA2824 reigned supreme for decades until Swatch Group stopped openly supplying them, giving way primarily to Sellita, Soprod, and La Joux Perret on the Swiss side, and Miyota and Seiko on the Japanese side. For the most part, the catalogs of those brands stayed relatively unchanged for many years, but now, it appears that there’s a bit of an arms race happening.

The days of 42-hour power reserves are over, and brands are now vying for features and specifications once limited to more expensive calibers; to that end, there have been a series of interesting events/releases. First, the COSC announced the creation of the “Excellence Chronometer” standard with a -2/+4 accuracy standard among other considerations. Sellita launched the SW200-2 Power + movements with 65-hour reserves, new gear trains, and other improvements. The CEO of La Joux Perret spoke about the upcoming G-200 caliber, which will feature a 72-hour reserve and antimagnetic properties, on the Hodinkee podcast. And this week, a very exciting new automatic was announced by a surprising source: Ronda.

Ronda is a well-known Swiss manufacturer that was founded in 1946. Over their 80 years of existence, they have specialized in many things, from component manufacturing to ebauchés and full mechanical movements to, beginning in the 1970s, quartz calibers, which is what they are best known for today. In 2016, at Baselworld, they announced the R150 automatic calibers. An entry-priced, 2824 drop-in, it didn’t catch on as intended and was quietly retired in the decade since. The R150, like the SW200, was trying to answer the immediate need for ETA2824 replacements as the Swatch group began reducing sales to non-group brands with an affordable alternative, but it didn’t offer anything new. Enter the R01.

A far more ambitious caliber, the R01 has a series of high-end features that are yet to be offered in one package from any other movement manufacturer at the price. First and foremost, it features a full-silicon escapement and hairspring. The benefits of silicon include resistance to magnetism, temperature change, shock, and deformation, as well as being low-friction (the pallet fork doesn’t need to be jeweled). This results in more durable movements with lower service intervals.

Next, the R01 features a free-sprung balance. Essentially, rather than being adjusted via a “regulator,” which is the device that sits above the balance staff, typically featuring a screw near +/- symbols, and effectively adjusts the length of the balance spring, the balance is adjusted via screws on the balance wheel itself, altering inertia. Typically associated with higher-end movements, a free-sprung balance takes more time and skill to regulate, but is also more stable and shock-resistant.

Thanks to these features, among others, the R01 will be offered in four tiers of precision: elaboré (±7 s/d), top (±4 s/d), chronometer (-4/+6 s/d and certification), and excellence chronometer (-2/+4 s/d and certification). Additionally, each version can resist a magnetic field of at least 200 gauss, which is the excellence chronometer standard (which, to be fair, is 15,000 gauss for Master Chronometer). This is a notable range, as even the lowest tier offers a high level of precision.

In terms of power reserve, the R01 is rated at 80 hours, achieved through a single barrel, the lower power consumption of the silicon escapement, and a slightly unconventional beat rate. Rather than the standard 28,800bph or 21,600bph, Ronda went for 25,200bph or 3.5hz. Though less common, several Omega calibers, for example, utilize this frequency, so it is not an indicator of quality.

Interestingly, the R01 is not sized to be a drop-in swap for ETA 2824s/SW200s, etc. Measuring 12½ lines or 28.20 mm, they are about 3mm wider and, at 4.2mm thick, 0.4mm thinner. A decent compromise in width-to-height ratio, especially given the power reserve, they will fit most watches that use the aforementioned calibers. It’s worth noting, however, that they are still thicker than the ETA2892 / SW300 calibers. Perhaps thanks to its width, an unexpected and potentially quite cool feature of the R01 is that the date aperture can be 22% larger than on comparable calibers.

At launch, there will be two primary versions of the R01: the R01-01 and the R01-02. The difference is that the latter has a small seconds at six. The press release also suggests that more complications are coming and that the R01 platform was designed to accommodate them without changes to its dimensions. This is particularly exciting, as complications often increase thickness, which, in the case of the SW200 line, for example, can add an additional millimeter of height.

Finally, in terms of aesthetics, the R01 has a contemporary and appealing design with multiple large plates, a balance cock, and a large central rotor allowing for decoration and finishing, which will be matte, brushed, or Geneva Stripes as standard, with customization possible as well. Pricing will depend on the level of chronometry, and likely on order quantities and decoration. With that said, I was quoted that an élaboré-grade movement will start at around 139 CHF, making it reasonable to find in watches under $2,000.

As an enthusiast, a designer, and a bit of a nerd for movements, I find the release of the R01 to be very exciting. This is a feature set that rivals, or at least is beginning to rival, Tudor/Kenissi movements, which might be part of the point. Needless to say, that represents a big opportunity, especially for sports watches. Of course, there is an obvious flipside to a new movement that is exciting on paper; there isn’t any real-world experience with them yet, and servicing will take some time to catch up on parts/learning the new movement. That said, Ronda being an 80-year-old company with heaps of experience adds some confidence. Ronda