RALF TECH Academie Automatic Manufacture First Edition Black Dial 41mm
Sometimes the most important part of a watch is the part you don't see until you turn it over.
The Académie Manufacture First Edition takes RALF TECH's most classical design and gives it something altogether more significant: the French RTM001 Manufacture automatic movement.
For the first time, the familiar 41mm Académie architecture is paired with this movement, accompanied by a deep black lacquered dial, new Dauphine hands and a sapphire exhibition caseback.
The polished steel case and black alligator strap give the watch an almost formal restraint. Applied steel indices keep the dial beautifully clean, while Old Radium Super-LumiNova® brings warmth to the Dauphine hands.
Then turn it over.
Behind the sapphire caseback sits the RTM001, developed in Morteau by Pequignet and manufactured in France. Its bidirectional automatic winding, 28,800 vibrations-per-hour frequency and efficient escapement allow a substantial 77-hour power reserve.
Water resistance is 50 metres, reflecting the more refined character of this Manufacture Académie, while a black Tropic silicone strap is supplied alongside the hand-sewn alligator.
And rarity is very real here.
Only 22 pieces will be produced.
Why buy it?
Because this is more than a different Académie.
It represents a different level of watchmaking within the collection.
The lacquered black dial and polished case are beautifully restrained, but the real attraction lies underneath: a French Manufacture movement with 77 hours of autonomy, visible through sapphire for the first time in an Académie.
And with only 22 pieces in existence, this is genuinely uncommon rather than merely described as exclusive.
An Académie that finally invites you to admire what is happening behind the dial.