The skeleton calibres manufactured by Roger Dubuis in Geneva are iconic to the Excalibur collection. The watches are made to the hallmark standards of Poinçon de Genève or the Geneve seal, as readily marketed by the brand, implying that the Excalibur watches are hand finished to haute horologerie standards. In the latest 2021 releases, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur is now available in 3 new variants, one of which is the Excalibur Eon Gold 42mm.
Review: Roger Dubuis Excalibur Eon Gold 42mm
The case and dial
The 42 mm case is made with a non-tarnishing pink gold case with sapphire crystal and an open case back. The case is instantly recognizable thanks to the cut bezel and triple lug design. At 42mm, the watch is relatively wearable, and provides sufficient heft without being too large. Despite its lug-to-lug length, the curvature angles make for an ergonomic fit around the wrist.
The skeleton dial features an off center star motif and the excalibur tourbillon. The main movement parts like the spring barrel and keyless assembly are put on full display. Shot-blasted and trued up main plate and bridges decorate the metal surfaces and provide a sporty theme that complements the gray double-surface flange, engraved minute track.
Polished and pink gold plated hour markers line the periphery of the dial, and are fitted with superluminova in the center. The hour and minutes hands are partially skeletonized apart from a strip of superluminova held together at their tips like 2 pairs of chopsticks.
An off center flying tourbillon located at the 7 o’clock position is the beating heart of the watch, rotating around its axis making one revolution a minute. The cage and the tourbillon bridges are beautifully finished, with bevelled edges and inward angles along the interior and exterior sides of the bridges. A black arrowhead doubles as the seconds hand for the movement.
The movement
The watch is powered by the manual-wound caliber RD512SQ, featuring a titanium lower tourbillon cage and a mirror-polished upper tourbillon cage. The new materials, titanium in particular, reduces the weight of the tourbillon assembly, and increases the power reserve to 72 hours. In addition, a new antimagnetic material is used for the tourbillon. The movement beats at 21600 v.p.h and measures 6.9mm thick.
Concluding thoughts
The new Roger Dubuis Excalibur Eon Gold 42mm is a nice addition to the Excalibur line, in particular for its more elegant case size. Without compromising its sporty look, the skeletonized tourbillon timepiece provides an excellent alternative to classic watches, a segment of casual high luxury watches that are on an incline. The watch is priced at S$217,000 and limited to 88 pieces.
