There is just a handful of watch brands that can lay claim to over two centuries of heritage. L.Leroy’s contemporary interpretation of 240 years embodies a thread between past and present that has its roots in 1785, when watchmaker Basile Le Roy established his eponymous workshop beneath the arcades of the Palais-Royal. Few names in horology carry a weight as aristocratic as Louis Leroy, a name laden with historical achievements — revived in recent years and enjoying a welcome comeback.

Across the centuries, Le Roy watches have been coveted by the elite and its complications have been world-record breakers: When Louis Leroy presented the legendary Leroy 01 at the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition, the piece – with 975 components and 27 complications – remained, for nearly ninety years, the most complicated watch in the world. The Leroy 01 secured L.Leroy’s place in the pantheon of haute horlogerie, alongside Swiss counterparts in the Vallée de Joux and Geneva.

Leroy 01

Placing himself at the centre of a Parisian high society fascinated with precision timekeeping and fine artistic crafts, his maison swiftly earned favour with Europe’s crowned heads and military elite – Le Roy’s savvy entrepreneurship and watchmaking prowess saw him count Napoleon and assorted French royalty amongst his clients. Two hundred and forty years later, the maison marks the anniversary of its founding with a new masterpiece.

Remaining French in spirit, today, L.Leroy continues to balance its French heritage with Swiss savoir-faire, drawing inspiration from its royal past while embracing modern materials and complications.

L.Leroy Osmior Bal du Temps in grade 5 titanium case

Presented at both Geneva Watch Days and Dubai Watch Week, the Osmior Bal du Temps is a high-complication wristwatch that belongs to the Osmior line, the collection that distils Leroy’s neoclassical codes. Its tambour-shaped case, available in 18-carat red gold, platinum, or grade 5 titanium, measures 4 mm in diameter and 13.6mm in height including its domed sapphire crystal. The proportions are refined, given the complexity of the calibre inside. A polished surface and recessed case middle emphasise its architecture; chamfered lugs with rounded ends, a fluted crown engraved with Leroy’s double “L,” and a caseback ring alternating frosted and polished finishes complete the ensemble.

L.Leroy Osmior Bal du Temps in 18k 5N platinum case

The open-worked dial reveals the ‘dance’ of the timepiece: a flying tourbillon at six o’clock and a minute repeater activated by a slide at nine. In an audacious conceptual twist, the time is indicated with a single central hand for the hours; the minutes are heard, not seen, sounded on demand by the repeater. In this, Leroy recalls its early nineteenth-century “à tact” watches, designed for discreet nocturnal reading by touch or sound. The minutes are indicated by the Minute Repeater inspired by the watch made for Prince Emil Maximilian Leopold August of Hesse around 1810, which has already been the subject of a recent timepiece produced by the brand.

L.Leroy Osmior Bal du Temps in 18k 5N red gold case

The tourbillon cage in polished titanium and shaped into the interlaced double “L,” makes a stately one-minute rotation. It is composed of 76 parts, secured by white gold screws and pillars, and its upper bridge gleams with bevelled edges. The minute repeater mechanism, meanwhile, strikes on two gongs with distinct tonalities for hours, quarters, and minutes. On the case-back, the hammers are arranged between ten and twelve o’clock, their mirror-polished surfaces and anglage a demonstration of artisanal finishing as much as acoustic precision.

The tourbillon cage in polished titanium and shaped into the interlaced double “L”

Powering this display is the hand-wound calibre L601SQ, developed and assembled exclusively in Geneva. Comprising 321 components, it beats at 3 Hz and offers an impressive 90-hour power reserve from a single barrel. Its architecture is as considered as its performance: a rhodium-plated single bridge with frosted decoration, visible rubies providing a counterpoint of colour, and satin-finished levers that animate the spectacle on the dial side.

Calibre L601SQ

The watch is offered in three variations, each with a distinct personality. In titanium, a rhodium-plated silver hour track and discreet ALD-treated blue hand emphasise understatement. In platinum, the sunray hour ring shimmers in pale blue with white numerals, complemented by a rhodium-plated hand. In red gold, anthracite grey hosts gilded numerals and a golden hour hand, the warmth of the case metal amplified by the dial’s palette. All are paired with large-scale black alligator straps and folding clasps in matching metals. By aligning two of horology’s most noble complications with this audacious single-hand display, Leroy presents a watch that is avant-garde and steeped in its own lineage. It’s an anniversary-worthy release to mark the maison’s 240 years.

L.Leroy Osmior Bal du Temps collections

Tech Specs: L.Leroy Osmior Bal du Temps

Movement: Manual-winding calibre L601SQ movement, minute repeater, flying tourbillon. Rhodium plated single bridge with frosted decoration, hand-finished. Power reserve: 90 hours
Functions: Hours indication by a single central hand. Minute-repeater on two gongs for audible hours, quarters and minutes indication
Case: Round, tambour-shaped case in grade 5 titanium, 18k 5N red gold or platinum. Diameter: 43 mm
Dial: Anthracite hour track with sunray finish. L.Leroy Arabic numerals in gold decal, gold-plated hour hand
Strap: Black alligator leather