Romain Jerome Watches

Romain Jerome: The Brand That Gave You a Piece of the Moon… or the Titanic… or a Volcano

Romain Jerome didn’t just make watches — it made stories. Wild ones. Polarizing ones. Watches filled with lunar dust, volcanic ash, or metal

from the actual Titanic. And whether you thought that was brilliant or a

marketing fever dream, RJ made sure you were talking about it.

This was a brand built on spectacle — but underneath the theatrics was legit Swiss manufacturing, often backed by real complications and

bold industrial design.

If you like watches that make you say “Wait, what?” — Romain Jerome was in a class of its own.

Brand History: Outrageous From the Start

Founded in 2004 by Manuel Emch and based in Geneva, Romain Jerome (often abbreviated RJ) made an immediate name for itself with the Titanic-

DNA collection — a line of watches built using metal allegedly salvaged from the Titanic, blended with modern steel.

That was just the beginning.

RJ went on to build:

  • Moon Dust DNA – With real lunar dust in the dial

  • Eyjafjallajökull-DNA – A tribute to the Icelandic volcano eruption, complete with volcanic ash in the case

  • Space Invaders & Pac-Man watches – Licensed tributes with pixel dials and retro gamer energy

  • Batman & Spider-Man editions – Yes, really

But this wasn’t just marketing kitsch — the cases were robust, the movements often came from La Joux-Perret or Concepto, and the design

language was brutal, oversized, and unapologetically industrial.

Unfortunately, Romain Jerome ceased operations in 2020, citing financial pressure and brand identity challenges.

Collector Highlights: The Watch as Conversation Piece

  • Titanic-DNA Chronograph – The original flex. Big case, rusted bezel (intentionally oxidized), and real historical controversy. Collectible in the same way an art piece with a backstory is.

  • Moon Dust DNA – A 46mm oxidized case, NASA-style dial layout, and fragments of real lunar material embedded in the design. It’s nuts. And it’s cool.

  • Eyjafjallajökull Volcano – Literally has a piece of the volcano on the dial. Possibly the most absurdly specific thematic watch ever made.

  • Space Invaders / Pac-Man / Super Mario – Officially licensed pixel art on mechanical dials. Limited runs, big collector crossover with pop culture fans.

  • RJ ARRAW Collection – A late attempt to clean things up into a more cohesive line. Still had comic-book collabs but with sleeker case architecture.

Case sizes were generally 44–50mm, materials ranged from carbon and PVD titanium to bronze and oxidized steel, and movements were either

high-grade modified base calibers or off-the-shelf chronograph modules.

Why Collectors Should Care

  • No one did storytelling like RJ — even if it got a little crazy

  • Legit materials and bold design — these weren’t cheap fashion watches

  • Perfect “art-meets-watch” pieces for collectors who like statements

  • Some pieces are already gaining cult value now that the brand is defunct

  • Straddles the line between pop culture and horology — few brands can pull that off

You didn’t wear an RJ to flex heritage. You wore it to start a conversation.

What They’re Making Now: Nothing — It’s Over

Romain Jerome officially shut down in 2020, after an unsuccessful pivot to a cleaner brand identity under the “RJ” banner. The brand tried to shift

from spectacle to coherence — but its wild DNA was both its greatest strength and its eventual undoing.

Today, what remains is the secondary market, and for the right collector, these pieces are unicorns of the absurd and awesome.

Fed’s Take

RJ was like the horological version of a concept car that actually hit the road.

I’ve sold Moon Dust DNAs to space nerds who didn’t care if it was real lunar dust — they just wanted the vibe. I’ve flipped Space Invaders chronos to

guys who wore them to gaming expos and Baselworld. And every single RJ I’ve touched had one thing in common: it made people smile.

Sure, it was a little over the top. Maybe even silly. But in a sea of safe watches, RJ had the guts to be ridiculous — and that’s worth

remembering.

Absurd? Maybe. Collectible? Absolutely.

If you want a watch that tells time and a story — one that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still goes all-in on design — Romain Jerome is one of

the most fascinating footnotes in modern watch history.

Delray Watch occasionally sources Romain Jerome watches — especially Moon Dust DNA, Titanic-DNA, and Space Invaders models.

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