Roger Dubuis adds colored stones to the Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon

What do we know about Roger Dubuis? Well, to make it short, Roger Dubuis is a proper manufacture of Haute Horlogerie, creating extremely refined skeleton movements, and being the only brand to have its entire production stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva (and that alone must already give an indication of the beauty of the production…). Roger Dubuis is also a combination of complex mechanisms with a unique design, bold, sporty and clearly recognizable. Well, all of that can be seen in the latest addition to the catalogue, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon, which now receive colored stones incrusted in its rubber bezel.

The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon is not a new watch and its movement (by the way a properly magnificent movement, as we’ve seen here) has been seen already in several watches. That must not prevent us to take a look back at it. Roger Dubuis is first of all a great manufacture, producing superb movements, mostly skeletonized ones, and many of them carrying a tourbillon – or two. All the movements of the manufacture are finished with extreme care and all come with the Hallmark of Geneva engraved on their bridges. The Calibre RD505SQ of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon is no exception to the rule.

The Calibre RD505SQ (SQ stands for squelette, which means skeleton in French) comprises 165 individual parts, measures 16″ (16 ligne is approx. 36 mm) and 5.70mm in height. The balance makes 21,6000 vph (3Hz). This hand-wound movement has one main spring barrel that is skeletonized, so the main spring itself is visible. It’s located at the 1 o’clock position and delivers power for 60 hours of autonomy, when fully wound. The 19 jewel movement is adjusted in six  positions (one additional positioned compared to 99.9% of all movements on the market). The skeleton bridges are anthracite rhodium plated, circular grained (a extremely fine graining) and the tourbillon cage has been black polished. Talking about the tourbillon, the one in the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon entirely exposed on the front of the watch and shows a spectacular finishing. The cage itself is just superb.

At the SIHH 2015, Roger Dubuis already showed us the first edition of the Excalibur Spider Skeleton, which was coming with a world premiere: a rubber bezel with incrusted diamonds (diamonds are usually incrusted in a solid material, to make sure they maintain in place). This watch, with a bold 3D look, has a 45mm black-DLC titanium case, with complex hollowed lugs and casebands, attached to a rubber strap. This combination of a sporty and large case with the delicate skeletonized tourbillon movement, which looks like a spider web combined with a star, is what makes Dubuis’ watches so special.

To follow with the first edition, showing classical white diamonds, this year the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon receives colored stones. While usually not big fans of gems watches here at Monochrome, especially for men, we must admit that what RD did is quite interesting. The stones are graphically shaped and flat on their surface. The choice of colors is also quite masculine, with blue (sapphires), red (rubies) or black (black spinels), and is complemented by matching details on the dial (hands, indexes, tracks and logos). These stones, like in the diamond edition, are also incrusted in a rubber bezel. A bold watch that must be assumed by its wearer for sure, but still a highly interesting piece of horology.

Specifications of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon

• Case: black-DLC coated titanium, 45mm in diameter, 13.75mm thick, sapphire crystal on the front and on the back, Bezel set with 60 baguette-cut precious stones (approx. 2.60 ct – sapphires, rubies or black spinels), water resistant to 50m
• Movement: manual winding movement, Calibre RD505SQ, in-house, Poinçon de Genève, certified chronometer, entirely skeletonized, flying tourbillon, 60 hours of power reserve, adjusted in 6 positions
• Strap: available on a black rubber strap with Black DLC titanium/steel adjustable folding clasp