Although the Roger Dubuis credo “No rules our game” opens up the field of possibilities, the company does not deviate from certain criteria specific to Swiss fine watchmaking. The enfant terrible of watchmaking has found his balance between past, present and future by proposing a bold, even cheeky vision in the wonderful world of time measurement.
Roger Dubuis worked at the Patek Phillipe factory in Geneva before founding his own brand in 1995. Roger Dubuis brings exceptional watches to life by giving free rein to designs with character. Barely four years later, the creations coming out of the company are now marked with the Geneva Seal, a seal of watchmaking quality certifying a standard of excellence and an emblem of Geneva’s fine watchmaking. This ultimate recognition, awarded to such a young company, is due in particular to the development of the brand’s own movements. Today, 93% of manufactured watches are certified Poinçon de Genève, but the company aims to have 100% of them certified in the coming years.
Five years later, Richemont integrated the factory as a subsidiary of the luxury group, a springboard that gave the company access to internal collaborations. New controls are being strengthened in order to develop a higher level of accuracy. Thus, five years after the launch of the Excalibur, the COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres) chronometer certification has been added to the Poinçon de Genève.
In the whirlpool of the haute manufacture
In 2003, Roger Dubuis developed its own balance spring, a regulator that gives precision to a watch through characteristic oscillations. The manufacture became master of an increasingly important field of creation, and two years later, it developed its spearhead, one of the pillars of the brand: Excalibur. The watch is available in 28 models, all skeletonized, with a minute repeater tourbillon and a double tourbillon, a true alliance between technical prowess and impertinent design. The signature of the watches is recognizable by its stylized star, integrated into the skeleton case and three lugs, interface between the case and the bracelet.
Extravagant goodness
At Roger Dubuis, we do not respond to a demand, we create it. This is probably what made it so successful. The young brand produces few pieces per year, and the number is kept confidential. In its quest for an aesthetic identity, the company shares common values with the Squadra Corse branch of the Lamborghini car manufacturer, a sector dedicated to racing. In 2018, they are developing a partnership that goes beyond putting a name on an item. A new Excalibur was born, always in search of extravagant perfection: the Spider Huracan.
In another genre, the manufacturer has partnered with Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama, known for his perpetual quest for the beauty of the body and the machine. The combination of their respective talents gives birth to the Excalibur Sorayama monobalance, on which the two signatures stand out while merging. From motor racing to contemporary art, everything passes through the Manufacture’s Research and Development department. Here, the watchword is to be inspired by the past while looking to the future and impertinence. The incubator explores, while working on lightness, gravity, as well as on the research of innovative materials. Roger Dubuis is gradually replacing steel with lighter and more resistant titanium, integrating braided or pressed carbon in the development of its cases and now offers a watch made from cobalt.
And if the perfection of hyper-watchmaking has a cost, it is because it is made according to the strictest standards of craftsmanship and reliability, a tribute to the god Chronos with a time that passes towards a future all in excess.
Cecile Papapietro-Matsuda
