There's something happening in the watch world that doesn't make the evening news but probably should. A watchmaker working out of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania just teamed up with one of the biggest names in online watch media to create something that's equal parts old-world craftsmanship and modern sensibility.
Roland G. Murphy runs RGM Watch Company, and if that name doesn't ring a bell, it should. He's part of an incredibly small group of American watchmakers who actually make their own watch movements and components right here in the United States. We're talking about the kind of vertical integration that barely exists anymore—where the guy making the watch also designed it, built the parts, and probably knows the serial number of the machine that cut the gears.
On the other side of this collaboration is Teddy Baldassarre, who's built a YouTube following north of 1.3 million subscribers talking about watches. He also runs a successful online watch business and a brick-and-mortar boutique in Westlake, Ohio that carries some serious names—Grand Seiko, Omega, Breitling, and Glashütte Original among them. When you're moving that kind of product and commanding that kind of audience, watchmakers tend to pick up the phone when you call.
A few years back, Baldassarre sat down with Murphy for a YouTube interview. Not the first time they'd talked shop, and not the last. That conversation eventually evolved into a friendship, and friendships in this business sometimes turn into watches. In this case, it turned into the RGM 501 Teddy Baldassarre Edition.
Image credit: Monochrome Watches/RGM/Teddy Baldassarre
The Case for Smaller Watches
The collaboration started when Baldassarre got wind of an unreleased RGM concept: a 39mm case that Murphy had used once before for a custom client project but never put into regular production. For context, 39mm sits in that sweet spot where a watch feels substantial without overwhelming your wrist. It's the kind of size that works whether you're wearing a suit or a flannel shirt.
The case itself measures 39mm across and stands 11.3mm tall, with a lug-to-lug measurement of 48mm. For those keeping score at home, that means it'll sit comfortably on just about any wrist without hanging over the edges or looking like you borrowed your kid's watch. RGM built it from 316L stainless steel, which is the same grade most serious watchmakers use when they want durability without the price tag of exotic materials.
What makes this case distinctive is the stepped bezel design. It's not something you see every day, and it gives the watch visual depth that a simple round case can't match. There's also a box-style sapphire crystal protecting the dial—a touch that RGM particularly favors because it has that vintage aesthetic without the vintage fragility. The crown is slightly oversized and represents another new design element for RGM. Water resistance comes in at 50 meters, which is fine for washing your hands or getting caught in the rain but probably not for your next diving expedition.
Flip the watch over and you'll find a sapphire exhibition case back engraved with both the RGM and Teddy logos, plus the number 25. That number represents the initial production run, but here's where it gets interesting: this isn't technically a limited edition. RGM and Baldassarre left the door open to make more if demand warrants it.
The watch ships on a 20mm brown leather strap made by Jean Rousseau, complete with a deployant clasp. Jean Rousseau knows leather, and the strap choice reflects the kind of attention to detail that runs through this entire project.
The Dial That Makes You Look Twice
If the case draws you in, the dial makes you stay. RGM built this dial using two different Guilloché patterns—one covering the main section in the center and another on a smaller sub-dial at 6 o'clock. Guilloché is the art of creating intricate, geometric patterns by hand using antique rose engine lathes. It's painstaking work that requires serious skill and machinery that's older than most people reading this.
Murphy's workshop in Pennsylvania houses these antique lathes, and he uses them to create patterns that would be impossible to replicate with modern CNC machinery. The patterns aren't just decorative—they catch light differently depending on the angle, creating a dial that seems to move even when it's sitting still.
Both Guilloché sections are finished with blue galvanic plating, a process that gives the dial a deep, rich blue color that shifts in different lighting conditions. Surrounding these blue sections are silver chapter rings marked with black Breguet numerals. Here's a quirky detail: the numerals at 3 and 9 o'clock are flipped. It's the kind of thing you might not notice immediately, but once you see it, you can't unsee it.
The hands follow a hybrid leaf/sword design in silver, which means they combine the elegance of leaf-style hands with the readability of sword hands. Dial text is minimal—just "RGM WATCH CO." at the top. No date window cutting into the dial, no complications cluttering the view. It's a time-only piece that makes no apologies for what it isn't.
The overall effect is something that looks simple from a distance but reveals layer after layer of complexity the closer you look. It's the visual equivalent of a well-written sentence—easy to read but impossible to improve.
What Makes It Tick
Inside the case sits the RGM-Schwarz Etienne ASE 200 calibre, a Swiss-made micro-rotor automatic movement that fills the entire exhibition case back. Schwarz Etienne isn't a household name unless your household is really into independent Swiss watchmaking, but they're known for building high-quality movements for brands that want something special.
The micro-rotor design is worth understanding. Traditional automatic movements use a full rotor that spins across the entire movement to wind the mainspring. A micro-rotor is much smaller and sits within the movement itself rather than on top of it. This allows for a thinner overall case height and gives you an unobstructed view of the movement finishing when you flip the watch over.
The ASE 200 contains 33 jewels and beats at 21,600 vibrations per hour—that's 3 Hz in watchmaker speak—which is standard for a reliable, accurate movement. What's not standard is the 86-hour power reserve. That means you can take the watch off Friday evening and put it back on Monday morning without needing to reset the time.
Movement finishing is shared between RGM and Schwarz Etienne and includes traditional Côtes de Genève (those parallel stripes you see on high-end movements) and perlage (the circular pattern that looks like fish scales). The micro-rotor features a small curved plaque highlighting Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which isn't just decorative nostalgia. Lancaster was a legitimate hub of American watchmaking in the 19th and 20th centuries, back when names like Hamilton and Waltham meant something in your grandfather's generation.
The Math and The Market
At $13,900, the RGM 501 Teddy Baldassarre Edition isn't cheap, but it's also not outrageously priced when you break down what you're getting. The Guilloché dial alone represents hours of skilled handwork on antique machinery. The Schwarz Etienne movement brings legitimate Swiss watchmaking pedigree without the markup you'd see from a bigger brand. And Baldassarre's involvement means the design choices reflect what actually sells in today's market rather than what a designer thinks should sell.
For comparison, you could spend similar money on a mid-tier offering from a larger brand and get a watch that's well-made but fundamentally mass-produced. Or you could spend it here and get something made in much smaller numbers with components you won't find anywhere else.
The initial run of 25 pieces suggests RGM and Baldassarre are testing the waters before committing to larger production. That's smart business in a market where even established brands sometimes miscalculate demand. By keeping it as a special edition rather than a limited edition, they're giving themselves room to make more if people want them without creating artificial scarcity.
What This Says About American Watchmaking
The broader story here is about what's possible when American watchmaking gets serious. For most of the 20th century, American watch brands either died off or became marketing operations that slapped American names on watches made elsewhere. RGM is one of the few operations that actually makes movements and components in the United States, and they're doing it at a level that holds up against Swiss competition.
Murphy isn't trying to be the biggest American watchmaker. He's trying to be the best, or at least one of them. That means small production runs, hand-finished components, and the kind of attention to detail that doesn't scale well. It's a business model that works when you've got the skills to back it up and a partner like Baldassarre who can get the word out to people who care about this stuff.
The collaboration also shows how the watch industry is evolving. Twenty years ago, a YouTuber partnering with a traditional watchmaker would have seemed absurd. Today, it makes perfect sense. Baldassarre has direct access to hundreds of thousands of watch enthusiasts, many of whom are looking for something beyond the standard offerings from major brands. Murphy has the capability to make watches that stand out in a crowded market. Put them together and you get something that might not have existed otherwise.
The Bigger Picture
There's a certain irony in using Swiss movements in an American-made watch, but Murphy's been transparent about that choice. Making a micro-rotor calibre from scratch would require an investment of time and money that doesn't make sense for a small operation. By partnering with Schwarz Etienne, RGM gets a proven movement that works and can focus their resources on what they do best—case making, dial work, and finishing.
This is how small watchmakers survive in a world dominated by conglomerates with unlimited R&D budgets. You pick your battles. You make what you can make better than anyone else and buy the rest from people who specialize in it. The result is a watch that's greater than the sum of its parts.
The RGM 501 Teddy Baldassarre Edition won't save American watchmaking single-handedly. But it's proof that there's still room for small operations doing quality work if they're smart about partnerships and honest about what they're selling. In a market full of marketing hype and inflated heritage claims, that's worth something all by itself.
For anyone who's spent time around watches, there's something satisfying about seeing American craftsmanship holding its own against Swiss tradition. It's not about nationalism or brand loyalty—it's about the fact that good work should be recognized regardless of where it happens. Murphy's doing good work in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. Baldassarre recognized it and helped turn it into a watch that people might actually buy. That's how the industry moves forward.
