24 Hours Later: The New Excalibur Monobalancier Titanium from Roger Dubuis

What’s thrilling about Watches & Wonders is that the show gives you exclusive opportunities to interview frontline actors in the watch industry and even discover timepieces the brands are set to launch in only a few weeks or months after the event.

That was precisely the case when, a month ago, we sat down with the Sadry Keiser, Chief Marketing Officer of Roger Dubuis, to learn more about the brand’s updated take on its approach to products and its new and surprising Excalibur Monobalancier (MB) Titanium.
 

For anyone who has ever written about the brand, you know how difficult it is to explain to a watch world newbie or outsider the quintessence of Roger Dubuis’ approach to watchmaking.

Luckily, Roger Dubuis’ CMO, Sadry Keiser, has landed on a great explanation: “I am going to try to do it as simple as possible: It is fine watchmaking, expressive and contemporary. And to be even simpler, when we talk about ‘expressive,’ I mean the skeleton approach, skeleton making. And by ‘contemporary,’ I mean straight lines. So, the three main ingredients are traditional complications, skeletonization, and finally, a very straightforward and minimalistic aesthetics.”
 

Indeed, the Excalibur MB Titanium features a skeleton dial and the company's trademark star-shaped bridge, proving its expressive approach. And powered by the self-winding micro-rotor calibre RD720SQ (72-hour power reserve) introduced last year, Roger Dubuis puts its best foot forward with a movement featuring a micro-rotor designed to minimize vibrations. Plus, the remarkable inertia of its balance wheel maximizes stability and reduces its sensitivity to shocks.
 

“With this kind of product, we refocus on our core price range starting at CHF 45,000 up to CHF 200,000. And this is where we can express ourselves. Having plain, flat dials priced at CHF 12,000 doesn’t make any sense for us,” added Keiser.

Moreover, Roger Dubuis is one of only six watch brands that conserves the precious Poinçon de Genève stamp, and the latest Excalibur MB is no exception.

“There is actually a culture of great respect for tradition and not only aesthetics [at Roger Dubuis]. As you may know, Roger Dubuis, [the man], was obsessed with watchmaking and would probably kill us if we abandoned the Poinçon de Genève,” explained Keiser. “So, we are cultivating our own expertise in fine watchmaking using modern materials and a modern approach. It is one of the tools we use to keep up the expressivity of the maison and its contemporary spirit.”
 

Fun Fact: The other Poinçon de Genève watch maisons are Ateliers DeMonaco, Cartier, Chopard, Louis Vuitton, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin.