A Short Biography of Daniel Roth
Daniel Roth Le Sentier / Credit: HJWatch
There are numerous revered watchmakers, both new and old, that are worth noting in the context of horology history. Many are prominent either for a specific invention, or for founding a brand that is still a namesake today. In contemporary times, reaching such legendary status is ever more difficult, the hoops to jump through ever more cumbersome. Nonetheless, some rise to meet the challenge, and one of such watchmakers, is none other than Daniel Roth.
Daniel Roth was born in Nice, France to a family with deep horological roots. His grandfather and great-grandfather were both watchmakers in Neuchâtel, his grandfather moving the Nice to open a boutique where Daniel Roth was a young apprentice. Roth moved to Vallée de Joux in 1967, eventually landing a job at Audemars Piguet. We previously mentioned that Chaumet had acquired Breguet in 1970 from the Brown family, well now they were looking for a talented watchmaker to manage operations as they revitalized the brand and moved production to Switzerland. While working at Audemars Piguet, Roth was noticed by the Chaumet brothers and won the them over, deciding to go back to school to further study Breguet’s archives and techniques before taking up the position. Roth spent 14 years at Breguet before striking out on his own and launching ‘Daniel Roth’ in 1989. Unfortunately, financial trouble quickly struck as his financiers and distributors tightened their belts. The company was salvaged in 1994 by an investment from the Tay family, owners of The Hour Glass in Singapore. However, they too met with financial stress and sold the brand to Bvlgari in 2000, with Daniel Roth himself relinquishing his shares in the company.
Luckily, the story doesn’t end there, as with most greats, Daniel Roth didn’t give up and launched a new brand called Jean Daniel Nicolas with his son, also a watchmaker. Their first timepiece, the Jean Daniel Nicolas Two-Minute Tourbillon, was released in 2003.