Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph
‘A Supercar on the Wrist!’
A couple of months back, I had written about the Excalibur MB Titanium and if you had missed out on it, check it out here: https://thecorneaimpression.com/roger-dubuis-excalibur-mb-titanium-do-you-dare-to-wear/. In this one, the focus is on their new release which is part of the Excalibur Spider collection. This collection is known to illustrate connections to racing as well as supercars, and of course, there are watches in the collection that have been created with the likes of Lamborghini and Pirelli to showcase this connection.
The last time I mentioned Roger Dubuis, I highlighted that it’s for someone who dares to wear, likes differentiation and wants a piece of art on the wrist. With this new model, it goes to a higher level, a level of hyperdrive, this watch expresses speed….Just pure speed! This is the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph (Reference Number RDDBEX1046).
The watch was launched during the Goodwood Festival of Speed which happened mid-July this year. The watch represents what Goodwood Festival of Speed stands for – Celebration of Speed!
To start off, let’s look at the exterior of the watch, this 45mm timepiece is made of a carbon case similar to those used in supercars and the highlight is its lightweight properties. The case has a black ceramic bezel with red minute markings that adds to the contrast. This is finished off with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal as well as another one as an open caseback. Once you see the open caseback, you could keep staring at it for hours, while the rotor spins. The rotor is shaped like a supercar rim with its 5 spokes and while it’s delightful to look at, it’s also very functional adding to the balance in addition to the mechanics of the whole piece.
Once you focus on the dial which has been skeletonized to the maximum (a feature of this collection), you will notice that it has a black lower flange and grey upper flange with contrasting markings across the dial. At the 6 o’clock position, you have the date which resembles an electronic speed dial, a balance wheel at 9 o’clock and a rotating minute counter at 3 o’clock. The case and dial is finished with a black titanium crown that has a red lacquered ring. Finally, the black rubber strap which has the screeching tyre mark pattern completes this piece.
Looking under the hood, you will be introduced to the new RD780 calibre movement which is the new flyback chronograph movement that allows the instant restart of the timer function, even when the chronograph is running. The way this movement has been built is to tell time as well as measure time. The Maison has made this possible by integrating the chronograph complication into the movement.
The 3 main highlights of this movement is firstly, the column wheel at the 6 o’clock position and the column wheel is visible from the front even in the chronograph mode. This column wheel makes the pushers much smoother to operate. Secondly, the vertical clutch which comes with the innovative Second Braking System (SBS) that reduces the flicker which brings more stability to the chronograph seconds hand. Finally, the eye-catching 120-degree Rotating Minute Counter (RMC) which has been crafted with a radical isotoxal shape. The RMC adds to the playfulness of the watch, especially when you see the tripartite hand carrying 0, 1 and 2 rotating past the 0-9 digits. The timepiece offers a power reserve of 72 hours and water resistance of 100m.
This Roger Dubuis model is valued at AED 392,500 (Approximately US$ 106,900). The engineering, innovative mechanics and design aesthetics of the watch does make it a valuable as well as desirable piece. However, the 45mm size and overall dimensions does make it large for small to medium-sized wrists, but the sight of the watch does make one forget everything else. So would you dare to wear this piece?
Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in News
