Romain Jerome DNA

At Romain Jerome, DNA is not a single model but a design principle: particles of historic artefacts are incorporated into the case, bezel or dial, and the material gives each line its name. The brand has used stabilised rusted steel from the Titanic, moon dust, fragments of spacecraft and compressed volcanic ash. Rather than a mere inscription on the dial, the Swiss brand made this a structural element: the texture of the material defines the pattern of the dial and the finish of the bezel. Today the line reads as a manifesto of avant-garde watch design of the 2000s and 2010s.

The line is recognisable at once. The massive round case is held by four protective bumpers ("claws") on the bezel, and the surfaces are deliberately raw: matt PVD coating, satin-finished steel, deep oxidation with a patina effect. Dials are layered, with X-shaped motifs and textures that evoke planetary surfaces or corroded metal. Inside are Swiss self-winding movements, chosen for robustness rather than ultra-thin complications. The watches offered here have 46 mm steel cases under sapphire crystal.

Related lines are named after their materials: Titanic-DNA, Moon-DNA and Liberty-DNA; the brand also makes the Moon Invader and Moon Orbiter. In this collection is the men's Volcano, on a black leather strap with a stainless steel folding clasp. Each listing gives the condition, what is included, the reference, calibre, case size and power reserve.