Fingers-On: Roger Dubuis Excalibur Tourbillon Cobalt Watch

For my part, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur watch assortment goes to obtain much more consideration from collectors over the subsequent few years. These are present underdogs of worth and elegance, and run the gamut from micro-rotor-based automated actions to complicated double tourbillons. Someplace within the center is that this single flying tourbillon Excalibur reference DBEX0838 that is available in an fascinating cobalt alloy steel case. I acquired to take a look at this Roger Dubuis watch when assembly with Mr. Porter, a certified Roger Dubuis supplier.

As wild as some folks discover Excalibur styling, that is actually a watch you possibly can put on each single day in the case of consolation, model, and general sturdiness. I additionally occur to notably like this 42mm-wide case dimension for the Excalibur, which simply occurs to be actually comfy on my wrist and I believe presents good proportions to the longstanding Excalibur, case which is typified by the actual notched bezel and middle component between the lugs. The case can also be waterproof and sandwiched with two AR-coated sapphire crystals.

For this explicit restricted version (of 88 items) Excalibur Tourbillon watch, Roger Dubuis determined to make use of an fascinating industrial alloy from principally the automotive trade often known as “CarTech® Micro-Soften® BioDur® CCM®.” That’s plenty of logos! In essence, it’s a extremely sturdy and corrosion-resistant cobalt-chromium-molybdenum steel alloy that advantages from energy metallurgy and vacuum induction melting, which suggests it may be fashioned with plenty of flexibility into exact shapes — form of good for a watch case materials. The shine of the steel-like floor is enticing, and the burden of the case is greater than metal. I don’t know that Roger Dubuis is fixing any age-old horological questions by utilizing this alloy as a case materials, but it surely positive makes for good storytelling and can seemingly show to be way more sturdy over time than, say, a carbon case.

Cobalt blended with blue is a stunning mixture of colours and precisely what Roger Dubuis did with the theme of this watch. The fantastic customized blue, smooth calf-leather strap is interesting-looking and in addition very comfy. I make it some extent to shoot the spring-loaded deployant buckle right here as a result of I felt it was each ergonomic and slim. The strap, certainly, must be customized for Roger Dubuis due to the “break up” the place the lug middle-piece is supposed to go between the strap ends.

Contained in the watch is a motion that represents Roger Dubuis’ present “star theme.” You may see the tough star form within the motion bridges whose arms have their focus proper over the middle of the mainspring barrel. The in-house-made and -designed Roger Dubuis caliber RD512SQ can also be given the distinguished Seal of Geneva marking, which has to do with the place the watch is made, in addition to the way it appears and performs. This skeletonized motion options the hours and minutes with the spinning tourbillon window functioning because the subsidiary seconds dial. The motion operates at 3Hz with 72 hours of energy reserve. Manually wound, the motion is definitely moderately sensible for day by day put on, and the show could be very legible due to outstanding arms and hour markers which might be painted with luminant materials.

I get enthusiastic about very high-end watches like this as a result of they test off plenty of issues I worth in standing symbols of this nature. At the start, the Excalibur Tourbillon is a critical piece of horology from a very revered watch producer (examine aBlogtoWatch’s Roger Dubuis Geneva go to right here). Second, the watch is comfy to put on and straightforward to learn. Third, the watch has plenty of character and tales to inform except for “it was very costly and laborious to get.” That mentioned, that is nonetheless a $100,000+ luxurious merchandise, and that comes with a way of “wealth pleasure” for a lot of wearers. This isn’t the one 42mm Excalibur Tourbillon in Roger Dubuis’ assortment, however I discovered it notably pretty and look ahead to seeing extra like this from the model. Value for the restricted version of 88 items Roger Dubuis Excalibur Tourbillon Cobalt DBEX0838 watch is $146,500 USD. Study extra on the Roger Dubuis web site right here.