Roger Dubuis, as a brand, was never known to be one to play by the rules. The brand lies at the summit of expressive and contemporary watchmaking as they combine secrets of watchmaking tradition along with cues of visionary genius. As Roger Dubuis put it; “the idea of life to the bravest souls is to live intensely, passionately and excessively”. This is where Roger Dubuis’ latest creation, Excalibur Diabolus in Machina comes in.
Roger Dubuis has made every effort to make sure that the Excalibur Diabolus in Machina gives the best possible Haute Horlogerie experience. The Excalibur Diabolus in Machina not only includes a minute repeater but also a single flying tourbillon in a very daring and intricate open-worked dial design. The minute repeater itself is a horological complication that is very challenging to achieve. The traditional minute repeater uses a push-piece, which activities a low chime ring for hours, high pitch for minutes and two tones for the quarter hours. Roger Dubuis has now gone a step further.
At the 11o ‘clock position is a disc which is laid underneath the roman numerals shown on the dial. The disc has been inscribed with “Hours”, “Quarters” and “Minutes”. It will start to turn as soon as the minute repeater is activated. The disc will show the wearer visually the time intervals that are being chimed.
As a showcase to the obsessive nature to detail from the Roger Dubuis designers, a functional indicator has also been placed as a lever between the 3 and 4 o’clock positions. The lever which can be seen from the open-worked dial lets the wearer know whether it’s in “manual winding” or “time setting” position. To achieve this, on the main plate a “W” and “S” has been inscribed in the lever positions.
As another added feature and the reason behind the Daibolus name, Roger Dubuis has chosen to tune the minute repeater to the sound of tritone. This is the famous “Diabolus in Musica” which was outlawed in medieval religious music. Roger Dubuis states that “tuned to C and G flat, its tones are enhanced by the nobility of the materials through which they resound, offering listeners an enchantingly sensory experience.”
The second notable feature of the Excalibur Diabolus in Machina is, of course, the flying tourbillon. The flying tourbillon is iconic to Roger Dubuis as it has been integral to their timepieces and brand identity from the start. The movement powering flying tourbillon as well as the minute repeater in the Excalibur Diabolus in Machina is Roger Dubuis’s Calibre RD107. The calibre RD107 has a total of 558 components, 30 metres (3 Bar) water resistance and puts out a power reserve of approximately 60 hours.
Besides the intricate and nothing short of amazing features, the watch is also visually appealing. While it may seem hard to read with the hour and minute hands matching the openwork dial, the blue main plate along with the minute track helps to break up the colour and make it somewhat easier to tell the time. The 45mm casing, bezel and crown have all been manufactured with CarTech Micro-Melt BioDur CCMTM (®in the USA). To match the dial, the Excalibur Diabolus in Machina comes in interchangeable 3D calf leather strap, which comes with the interchangeable titanium cover and titanium triple folding buckle.
If it wasn’t obvious already just by looking at it, the Excalibur Diabolus in Machina is more than just a watch. As Roger Dubuis put it best “It is a manifesto for an exclusive tribe of pioneering minds on an incessant quest to constantly reinvent their own game.”
