Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome Watch Review
Today, at Watches and Wonders Shanghai 2024, Roger Dubuis unveiled its latest instalment of Hyper Horology, the Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome. Recently, Angus Davies was granted an exclusive opportunity to get hands-on with this exceptional timepiece.
Roger Dubuis watch
Many moons ago, with confetti still in my hair, I jetted off to the US with my new wife for an action-packed honeymoon (no smutty innuendos intended). I knew Heidi was a nervous flyer but during our honeymoon, I was determined that we should fly over the Grand Canyon together, so I cajoled her into making the trip.
I still recall the leaflet, ‘panoramic viewing, two pilots and twin engines’. “What could go wrong?”, I urged. She summoned courage and we agreed we would book the ‘Grand Canyon tour’. Later, we strolled over to the concierge’s desk in the hotel lobby and attempted to book the trip with our preferred tour operator only to be told, “They’re booked up”. My wife looked relieved, but I wasn’t giving up so easily. “Are there any other companies that offer tours?”, I asked. “Yes”, the concierge replied. Noting my wife’s anxiety, I continued, “Do they have two pilots and two engines?” The concierge answered in the negative and in that moment, I accepted the inevitable; my wife would not be leaving terra firma. Clearly, when it comes to flying, my wife subscribes to the belief that ‘two’s better than one’!
It seems Roger Dubuis subscribes to this point of view as well. Its latest creation, the Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome, features not one, but two tourbillons and, coincidentally, they also fly. But what makes this horological twin-engined aviator so special? Allow me to elaborate.
Monsieur Roger Dubuis (1938-2017)
Born in Corbeyrier, Switzerland, Roger Dubuis embarked on a career in watchmaking with Longines back in the 1950s. Later, he moved to Patek Philippe to assume a role in the firm’s high complications workshop. There he spent 14 years amassing skills and knowledge before leaving and setting up his own modest workshop, repairing clocks and watches. In the late 80s, he worked with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, the famous movement specialist, and developed his own high complication, a perpetual calendar module with retrograde displays.
Sometime later, Roger Dubuis met Carlos Dias, a Portuguese gentleman with an interest in watch design, and the two men went on to form a company in 1995. First named ‘Sociéte Genevoise de Montres’, the company was subsequently renamed, Manufacture Roger Dubuis. From the outset, the eponymous company chose to specialise in making avant-garde expressions of Haute Horlogerie, often incorporating high complications.
Roger Dubuis depuis 1995
Recently, I thumbed through a former brand catalogue from 2010 and was amazed to read that ’31 exclusive calibers have been developed in just 10 years – more than some manufacturers have accomplished in a century. Each one bears the prestigious Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark’.
As I turned more pages of this impressive hardback, I discovered that by 2010 the brand was already making its ‘own balance and spring assembly’. Moreover, the young Manufacture was producing all four high complications, including the split-seconds chronograph, perpetual calendar, minute repeater and tourbillon. Indeed, the high-end firm was even making mindblowing grand complications such as the Calibre RD0829, endowed with a minute repeater, instantaneous perpetual calendar with in-line apertures, flying tourbillon, dual time and two micro-rotors. I can’t think of many other watch brands that have created a horological tour de force of comparable complexity.
In 2008, Richemont acquired a stake in Manufacture Roger Dubuis before purchasing the remaining equity in 2016. Despite the ownership of the company changing, the ethos has never altered. The Swiss marque continues to make avant-garde watches, many of which bear the prestigious Poinçon de Genève.
I initially visited the Manufacture in 2012 and subsequently returned 10 years later, after which I published my observations. During my visit in 2022, I looked around the modern facility and witnessed the Maison’s no-compromise practises at close quarters and can attest, its expressions of ‘Hyper Horology’ are of comparable quality with the finest expressions of traditional Haute Horlogerie. Indeed, while the company’s models often incorporate contemporary materials, rest assured they are finished to an elevated standard seldom seen elsewhere.
Tourbillons and Flying Tourbillons explained
In 1801, Abraham-Louis Breguet, widely regarded as the greatest watchmaker of all time, patented the ‘tourbillon’. Observing the behaviour of the escapement and regulating organ within a pocket watch, Breguet realised that gravity would adversely affect the rate. His solution was to place the escapement and regulating organ within a rotating cage, revolving 360° once every 60, 240 or 360 seconds. As the cage rotated it would ameliorate any positional errors.
With a tourbillon, the cage spindle rotates in jewels, one set in the mainplate and the other set in the upper balance cock or bridge. However, in 1920, Alfred Helwig, a German watchmaker, invented the ‘flying tourbillon’. In contrast to Breguet’s patented invention, the flying tourbillon eschews the upper balance bridge and is supported solely from below. The absence of an upper bridge confers superior views of the escapement and regulating organ in motion, while still delivering the chronometric benefits of a traditional tourbillon.
Since the early days of its inception, Roger Dubuis has been closely associated with the flying tourbillon. In fact, the Manufacture has become known for crafting numerous references endowed with this high complication. Widely considered a flying tourbillon specialist, Roger Dubuis has also crafted double flying tourbillons where each ‘whirlwind’ is connected with a differential averaging out any gravitational errors.
The magnitude of the variances between each tourbillon may be infinitesimal, but in the world of Hyper Horology, perfection is often manifest with the smallest of details. Furthermore, many purists would also point out that the journey is sometimes of greater importance than reaching the final destination. To create a movement featuring a double tourbillon requires an inordinate amount of watchmaking expertise and time; lots of time.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome – two’s better than one
At Watches and Wonders Shanghai 2024, Roger Dubuis unveiled a new model, the Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome. As its name implies, it features two flying tourbillons which are linked with a differential. This latest creation is equipped with the RD108SQ calibre, a skeleton movement that has already appeared in some existing expressions of Hyper Horology, including the Roger Dubuis Excalibur DT RDDBEX0952 and the RDDBEX0822.
Roger Dubuis RD108SQ calibre – a skeletonised movement
A double tourbillon is already incredibly challenging to produce, but the RD108SQ calibre is even more complex due to its openworked design. At the conception stage, much consideration must be given to the torsional rigidity of the movement to ensure it confers precision and reliability. But, in this esoteric domain where only a few brands can breathe, Roger Dubuis flourishes, repeatedly demonstrating it is more than up to the task.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome – Poinçon de Genève
The Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome bears the Poinçon de Genève to the front and rear of its openworked torso. To carry this prestigious hallmark, the Manufacture must be independently audited every month by TimeLab. The assessment covers an array of processes, several of which I observed during a visit to the company’s Meyrin site. A notable attribute of watches bearing the Poinçon de Genève is the sublime finishing imparted to every component, including those surfaces that will never be seen by the wearer.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome – finishing
When discussing the finishing of the RD108SQ calibre, Roger Dubuis states ’17 different types of hand finishing are used across the 319 components’. The upper tourbillon cages, the design of which are inspired by the Celtic Cross, are mirror-polished (aka ‘black polishing’ or ‘poli-plat’). This form of decoration is especially challenging to perform and is typically the preserve of Haute Horlogerie.
Cobalt Chrome – a speciality since 2017
The case of this latest watch, as its name implies, is formed of Cobalt CarTech Micro-Melt BioDur CCM, a material that is exclusive to Roger Dubuis. It’s not the first time the Maison has used Cobalt Chrome. The brand used it back in 2017 and, most notably in 2020, it was used for the case of the mindblowing Excalibur Diabolous in Machina.
Exhibiting a silvery-grey appearance, Cobalt Chrome is non-magnetic and grants a brilliance that surpasses that of steel or titanium. It can also be polished to a lustrous, mirror-like conclusion. However, the material is incredibly challenging to work with, something I discovered when chatting with Sadry Keiser, Chief Marketing Officer of Roger Dubuis. Despite the state-of-the-art material proving difficult to machine and polish, the resultant aesthetic justifies the challenges encountered and the brand’s protracted efforts. In fact, as you will probably have ascertained by now, both time and effort underpin the Swiss marque’s success.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome – closing remarks
Earlier this year, at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024, I got ‘hands-on’ with the Excalibur Titanium Monotourbillon RDDBEX1111 and fell for its array of attributes. Indeed, I vowed that if I ever won the EuroMillions, I would hotfoot it to Meyrin with my credit card in hand. However, while I tend to be a loyal individual, my head has now been turned by the new Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome and I have to confess it is my favourite RD to date. The highly original design, the marriage of gleaming silver and blue hues, and finishing that’s beyond compare, all scream horological seduction. But the pièce de résistance is the sight of two tourbillons and, as my wife will attest when it comes to flying, ‘two’s better than one’!
Further reading
Technical specifications
- Model: Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Cobalt Chrome
- Reference: RDDBEX1109
- Case: Cobalt CarTech Micro-Melt BioDur CCM, diameter 45 mm, height 14.66 mm, water resistance 10ATM (100m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds on tourbillon cages
- Movement: RD108 calibre, hand-wound movement, frequency 21,600 vph (3Hz), 32 jewels, power reserve 72 hours, 319 components.
- Strap: premium calf leather strap, interchangeable with Quick Release System – QRS. Titanium triple folding buckle.
- Price on application
- Limited Edition: 28 pieces (boutique exclusive)