Category Archives: Roger Dubuis

roger dubuis excalibur one-off caseback

EXCALIBUR ONE-OFF

RUSH OF ADRENALINE

The 2019 SIHH in Geneva lived up to expectations, particularly thanks to this watch, unique in more than one way. We take a closer look!

The idea of luxury changes over time. At Roger Dubuis, watches must be exclusive and meet the needs of the voracious hedonist, men with well replenished bank accounts and always seeking new, powerful sensations. To make them all happy or one of them at least, the brand has developed a unique model: the Excalibur One-Off. The source of inspiration? A Lamborghini SC18 Alston supercar that has been totally customised to suit its owner’s tastes. Since the brand’s partnership with the Italian carmaker began, the watches have combined a mechanism worthy of a V12 with a modern and even futuristic design. For this model, a new, 47mm-wide carbon case with titanium inserts has been made. The design elements recall a racing car. The calibre has been specially developed for the occasion.

roger dubuis excalibur one-off casebackLast but not least, a selector at 4 o’clock provides the crown, at 2 o’clock, with two distinct functions. When you move the monopusher to W mode, you can wind up the One-Off. In S position, you can set the watch. Like all Roger Dubuis watches, the excellence of the Excalibur One-Off is certified by the exacting Geneva Seal.

Price: 1,063,000 CHF

By Dan Diaconu

roger dubuis excalibur huracan performante closeup

EXCALIBUR HURACAN PERFORMANTE

MECHANICAL THRILLS

Boasting a unique mechanism and design, this limited series will delight anyone looking for more than just a simple watch. We made contact with the new watchmaking racer designed by Roger Dubuis.

At the 2018 SIHH trade show, Roger Dubuis announced the launch of a partnership with the Lamborghini sports car department. The partnership soon produced the Excalibur Aventador S, a watch with a surprising calibre, featuring double sprung balances linked with a differential at an angle of 90°. The movement’s architecture recalled the V12 made by the Italian carmakers. For SIHH 2019, the brand will be introducing the press to a new episode in the collaboration, the Excalibur Huracan Performante. Once again, innovation is the watchword with a brand-new self-winding movement, the RD630, which stands out with a 12° angle balance escapement. The inclusion of a double barrel provides a power reserve of 60 hours.

roger dubuis excalibur huracan performante closeupThe technical components are housed in a 45-mm-wide titanium case. Many of them play a role in the watch’s design, too. The bridges are faceted like a strut bar in the V10 engine of a Lamborghini super car, while the rotor is shaped like a car rim. A honeycomb-style design recalls the radiator grill on a racing car.

The 88 pieces in this limited edition come with a strap combining alcantara and rubber. And for perfect grip, the inside pattern borrows from the P Zero Trofeo R tyre developed by Pirelli, another one of Roger Dubuis’ partners.

Price on request

By Dan Diaconu

roger dubuis excalibur closeup

ROGER DUBUIS – EXCALIBUR SPIDER PIRELLI – AUTOMATIC SKELETON

AT TOP SPEED!

Watchmaking and the automobile regularly take the same road. And when the iconic legend of car tyres Pirelli meets Roger Dubuis, the result is a sensation.

What makes this new timepiece, baptised the Excalibur Spider Pirelli Automatic Skeleton, so outstanding is that the elements composing it come from the internationally famous Italian brand, Pirelli. The legend of car tyres has supplied Roger Dubuis with pieces of tyre from race-winning cars from the past. So, the watch is equipped with a rubber strap made from these flamboyant entrails, and with the inner side decorated with tread reproducing the profile of a tyre.

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To be unveiled at the next SIHH show in January 2018, the Excalibur Spider Pirelli Automatic Skeleton borrows the aesthetic codes of the previous versions of the Excalibur, but hoists the colours of the chequered flag: black DLC titanium and immaculate white touches provide this timepiece with its distinguished and masculine look. Equipped with a 45mm-wide skeleton case, this watchmaking gem is crowned with a fluted skeleton bezel, also made of black DLC titanium, and completed by a crown covered with a white rubber moulding, a small echo of the strap stitching. On the skeleton dial, the chapter ring comes in black and white colours, with rhodium-plated, Super-LumiNova® indices, and all accompanied by gold hands with black PVD coating. Roger Dubuis has had fun giving this timepiece an exclusive and atypical character, seamlessly blending the two worlds of watchmaking and the automobile.

This special edition houses the automatic calibre RD820SQ with a mini rotor, driving the hour and minute functions. Running at a frequency of 28,800 vph, it provides the Excalibur Spider Pirelli Automatic Skeleton with a power reserve of 60 hours. Certified with the Geneva Seal, this timepiece by Roger Dubuis should be in top gear for 2018!

Price: 69,500 CHF

By Isabelle Guignet

roger dubuis pirelli pzero

ROGER DUBUIS – EXCALIBUR SPIDER PIRELLI

TECHNIQUE IS NOTHING WITHOUT CONTROL

The watchmaker from Meyrin in Switzerland has teamed up with the Italian tyre manufacturer to design two limited editions that are outrageously classy, stamped with the Poinçon de Genève and only available in Roger Dubuis boutiques.

The inauguration of the Roger Dubuis stand at the Salon International de Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) is always a big event. From the opening of the annual watchmakers’ exhibition, journalists and customers rush to see the curtain rise and catch the new surprise concocted by the Geneva manufacturer. This year, dancers dressed in auto driver suits with the Roger Dubuis and Pirelli logos and black full-face helmets were there to unveil a white space crossed by a orange-red wavy line. The crack running along the ground and mounting the wall evokes an erupting volcano or the merger of two powerful companies, each in its own area of expertise. The fruit of this union is a pair of timepieces, the Excalibur Spider Pirelli, in a limited edition.

roger dubuis pirelli pzero

roger dubuis excalibur 36 closeup

ROGER DUBUIS – EXCALIBUR 36

SPARKLING BLUE!

The watchmaker from Meyrin relies on blue in his new watch collections including a timepiece that skilfully mixes rock ‘n roll allure and precious stones.

Well-known for his avant-garde watchmaking and his non-conformist spirit, Roger Dubuis seems to have understood that the “men’s or women’s watch” concept is largely old-fashioned, and so he concentrates on the “versatility” of the diameter of his new Excalibur 36. In fact, a jewelled timepiece is not necessarily destined to be worn by the fairer sex – some male clients really like diameters smaller than 40mm, and others favour bezels studded with precious stones.

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Going beyond the genderisation of products, Roger Dubuis’s Excalibur 36 model is aimed first and foremost at the lovers of character watches; at people who are looking for a timepiece with a strong identity. Its DLC-treated black titanium case is 36mm in diameter and 9.80mm thick. It is topped with an angular, notched bezel set with 48 brilliant-cut blue sapphires. Placed in rows of four stones, they reach a total of 1.5 carats. The electric blue of these gems is picked up by the dial in blue PVD with a sunburst finish where the rays converge on the centre, where dauphine-shaped hands in white gold are fixed, showing the hours and minutes. The hour marker is made up of long Roman numerals starting from the heart of the dial and spreading out towards the chapter ring. The seconds are displayed in an azure sunken counter, set off-centre at the 6 o’clock position. The lower part of this sub-dial includes a trapezoidal display that shows the date in black on a white background.

Excalibur 36 is powered by a self-winding mechanical movement, the RD830 calibre, that also provides a 48-hour power reserve when the watch is completely wound. Its oscillating weight in red gold is visible through the sapphire crystal back of the case.

Two strips of blue alligator leather completed by a folding clasp in DLC-treated titanium are there to attach this new Roger Dubuis model to the wrist.

Price on request

By Sharmila Bertin

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ROGER DUBUIS – QUATUOR COBALT MICROMELT®

HOWLING METAL

The Meyrin-based manufacturer unveils three pieces scheduled for the SIHH 2017, including a gravity-defying watch adorned with a rare alloy.

Daring to be avant-garde may seem simple. But to show audacity, to be slightly impudent and at ease with your original and even rebellious side is not within everyone’s reach. Yet, Roger Dubuis excels in the exercise. True to its reputation as something of a troublemaker in the prestige watch-making sector, the brand based in Meyrin, Switzerland, has produced another surprise with its new Quatuor Cobalt MicroMelt® model, available in a limited edition of 8 pieces.

roger dubuis quatuor cobalt micro melt closeup

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ROGER DUBUIS – EXCALIBUR SPIDER TOURBILLON VOLANT

Introducing the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Tourbillon Volant

Nature meets futuristic on a wristwatch? Welcome to the world of Roger Dubuis. The Excalibur Spider collection was unveiled in 2015 and its new electric blue model is stamped with the Geneva Seal: Excalibur Spider Tourbillon Volant

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The white rubber strap keeps the 45mm titanium case securely in place on your wrist.

Price: 148,000 CHF

By Sharmila Bertin

ROGER DUBUIS – Velvet by Massaro

Roger Dubuis – Velvet by Massaro
The big names in fashion and haute couture all want it: Massaro. The famous Parisian bootmaker that has been working to showcase men’s and women’s feet since 1894 and has lent its artisan, creative and unique expertise to Genevan watchmaker Roger Dubuis.
Velvet by Massaro is a joint creation with a gold leather strap that’s braided in the centre. The two gleaming straps wrap around a white gold case that dazzles with rows of diamonds. The self-winding RD821 calibre lies in the heart of the 36mm case; it brings to life the hour and minute functions alongside a 48-hour power reserve.
Two series of black Roman numerals stand on the silver sunburst dial punctuated by two gold applied numerals at 6 and 12 o’ clock. The dauphine hour and minute hands appear in a diamond-covered and gold-bevelled barrel shape in the centre.
Price: 48,600 CHF (limited edition 88 available)
By Sharmila Bertin

ROGER DUBUIS – Blossom Velvet Pink

After focusing on masculine, or rather, very masculine collections, Genevan brand Roger Dubuis has finally turned its attention to ladies! 2016 is set to be an all-woman year with a girl power message fuelled by the Velvet collection and namely the limited edition Blossom Velvet Pink (88 available). Six glittering flowers bloom on the mother-of-pearl dial whose diamond cores are surrounded by pink Grand Feu enamel petals and red and purple leaves. Slim rose gold filaments bring them together to form a delicate floral web. The centre of the dial features a barrel shape paved in 48 diamonds with two gold dauphine-shape hour and minute hands. The self-winding 821 calibre brings the time functions and 48-hour power reserve to life whilst 86 diamonds sparkle on the 36mm rose gold case’s bezel and lugs. Price: 64,800 CHF. Sharmila Bertin

Excalibur Table Ronde II

The star of the Genevan watchmaker’s timepieces has, like in 2013, brought the Arthurian legend of the Knights of the Round Table back to life from the 5th century. The spirit of Merlin, Paimpoint Forest and King Arthur radiates from 12 sculpted bronze figurines standing around a black jade disc engraved with Celtic patterns. Each 6.5mm tall knight stands on a ring of tiles with his helmet in his left hand and his sword acts as a time marker. Sword-shape hour and minute hands burst from the centre of the famous dial and are brought to life by the RD821 calibre inside the 45mm white gold case enclosed by a notched bezel. The self-winding movement also provides a 48-hour power reserve. The caseback bears Merlin’s oath and a blue lacquered shield with three crowns. Price upon request