August 2014 Celebrated Living - page 41

becomeawatch manfacture,a
Frenchtermdenotingafirm
that fabricatesnearlyallof
itsparts.Despitemarketing-
speaktothecontrary,atthe
time,onlyahandfuloffirms
actuallyfitthatdescription,
andallwere inEurope.
“Theterm watchmaker is
notaveryaccurateterm,”
Murphyexplains. “It’sused
mostlytodescribepeoplewho
repairwatches,not forpeople
whomakewatches. Ididn’t
justwanttobeawatchmaker
whocases-upsomebodyelse’s
movement.”
Murphydecidedtomake
hisownmovements in2000,
embarkingonadaunting
intellectual,experimentaland
artisticprocess. Ittookseven
years.Alongtheway,he found
theartisansheneededanda
placetoputthem,establishing
theRGMheadquarters ina for-
merbankbuilding, complete
with itsoriginalvault.There,
sixwatchmakers, including
Murphy, craftwatchesbased
onthreedi†erentRGM
movements:Calibers801and
20,andthenearly$100,000
PennsylvaniaTourbillon.
TheCaliber20andthe
PennsylvaniaTourbillon
requireanywhere fromsix
monthstoayeartomake,and
thus far, thecompanyhasmade
fewerthan200.Theyaretrue
luxury items,hand-fabricated
usingRGM’sown jigsandtool-
ing.Thedials,handsandmost
movementpiecesaremade in-
houseusingacombinationof
vintagemachinesandmodern
CNCmachines.RGM isknown
particularly for its“guilloché”
dials, intricatelypatterned
usingmachinesMurphyhas
personallycollected.
WhereRGMcannottechni-
callyoreconomicallymake
acomponent, it issourced
locally.Watchcases, forex-
ample, come fromaprecision
machinefirma fewmilesaway
tobefinishedandassembled
ERICTEGLER is aMaryland-basedwriter, broadcaster andphotographerwhosework
appears in a wide variety of publications, from AviationWeek to Wired. He’s been
fascinated bywatches since childhood and indulges his enthusiasm during extended
stays inSwitzerland.
intheoldbank.Morethan
90percentof thecontentof
RGM’sproprietaryCaliberand
Tourbillonwatches ismade in
Pennsylvania.
RGMcontinuestosell
watchesbasedonSwissmove-
mentsatpricesstartingat
$2,500because it’s important
toMurphytoservetheclients
whogothimstarted.Even
atthispricepoint, though,
heassertstheyarethemost
American-madewatchesyou
canbuytoday. (Swissmove-
mentsnotwithstanding, they
usemade-in-Americacompo-
nents, fabricated in-houseor
sourced locally.)
“Iseepeopletryingtoemu-
latethat.They’reassembling
Swissquartzmovementshere
andsourcingcases fromAsia
andthey’re [thesubjectof]
articlesthatsay ‘American-
made’.Youcan imaginehow
thatmakesme feel.”
RGM’sclassicmovements
echothoseofAmerica’sfirst
andfinestmakers,using
proventeethshapesandshying
away fromexoticmaterialsbe-
causeMurphy insiststheybe
reliableand,unlikeother haute
horlogerie watches, repairable
decades fromnow.
“Mybusinesshasnever
beenrunstrictlyasabusiness,”
Murphysaysquietly. “I’msure,
attimes, that’shurtme.”
Possibly.But foranyone
withaseriousaŸnity for lux-
urytimepiecesandadesire for
anexpertlycraftedAmerican
mechanicalwatch, ithassurely
helped.
“
Therewasnograndplan
toestablishabrand. I thought
I’dstartabusinessandsee
what Icoulddo.
”
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING AUTUMN
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