excalibur

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Lady Watch For 2011

2011 doesn't have a ton of new Roger Dubuis watches for women (in fact, I think it has less), but some of the new models are more polished and refined versions of the existing collection. Here is the 36mm wide Roger Dubuis Excalibur Lady. I really like this watch because it has a nice jewelry side and a nice mechanical watch side. The new dial is also symmetrical, which I think suits the Excalibur design a lot. You actually don't need to get the watch with all the diamonds - so those are optional. Plus, Roger Dubuis offers the case in steel, or white or rose gold. I don't always understand why brands offer watches in both white gold and steel, but whatever.

Inside the watch is the in-house made RD821 automatic movement. The decoration is real nice, and it is also COSC Chronometer certified for accuracy - which is really rare in watches like this. The diamond studded version of the Excalibur Lady is limited to 88 pieces, and has a massive 5.7 carats of stones on it. Because 8 is a lucky number in China, and 88 means nothing here, the amount of the limited edition pretty much tells you that Roger Dubuis expects to sell most of these in Asia.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: excalibur, lady, Roger Dubuis, watch

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Jewellery Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Roger Dubuis keeps making versions of their crazy looking skeletonized double tourbillon watches. This newest one is going to be even more expensive - being a quasi jewelry piece with large baguette-cut diamonds on the inner bezel ring. In a 45mm wide 18k white gold case with an open dial, this is one of the boldest looking luxury watches around today. The skeletonized movement shows off the two tourbillon carriages, gear train and skeletonized mainspring barrel of the movement. The movement is very difficult to put together, and I imagine rather delicate. DO NOT drop this watch!

Like I said, what makes this "Jewellery" version of the Excalibur Double Tourbillon watch different is the 48 diamonds on the bezel. The watch by itself is shiny enough, and the diamonds will push it to a new level of bling - high horology bling that is. This Roger Dubuis watch will be limited to just 28 pieces and is matched to an alligator strap.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: diamonds, double, excalibur, roger dubuis, tourbillon, watch

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Automatic Tourbillon Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Roger Dubuis' Excalibur now comes in a version with a front mounted flying tourbillon and exposed automatic micro rotor! Some watches lovers will rejoice. the high-luxury, high-style watch is the latest in the band's revitalization effort. Several years ago the brand was very popular, then things went south, and now with refined designs and improved mechanics, they are really fighting to come back and reassert themselves. I will give it to them that the new watches are certainly easy on the eyes and have some novel design features.

The highly complex movement here is the RD 520, that is in-house made by Roger Dubuis. The case is 45mm wide in 18k rose gold, with a standard (large) Excalibur style case. The dial has those great looking sharp Roman numerals complete with sharp hands. You've see thins look on other similar watches - but those had double tourbillons, while this has a single tourbillon and a solid gold micro rotor. The face has a fascinating asymmetrical look, but symmetrical versions of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur are also really nice. The dial is further decorated with mother-of-pearl elements. A nice watch, this one isn't at all cheap. Limited to 88 pieces, the Excalibur Automatic Tourbillon is priced at about $158,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: automatic, Excalibur, Roger Dubuis, tourbillon, watch

Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon Watch For 2010

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Does the style of this watch kick ass or what? I've always been a fan of Roger Dubuis designs, and their relatively recent acquisition by the Richemont Group has helped them drastically improve quality. No more rushed-to-market watches. This is the newest version of their Double Tourbillon watch that was originally released back in 2005. The RD01 movement is manually wound and has two flying tourbillons that average each other out for a better accuracy rate. The dial displays the time with retrograde minutes, and the back of the watch has a power reserve indicator. There are few watches that can make a tourbillon look more sexy than this.

Roger Dubuis chose the name of the Excalibur case well. Large and in-your-face in terms of styling, the watch literally seems to yell "look at me." Depending on your style or mood, this is exactly what you want, or not what you want at all. The bezel has a neat serrated look to it and the crown is actually located underneath a large crown cap. Polish and finish are all really nice, and the dial details are fun to to see. Roger Dubuis is among a few people that do two different polishes on their hands. The sword style hands are polished on one side, and brushed on the other side of the middle fold. You'll love the resulting look. You can even still see Dubuis' iconic art deco style Roman numeral hour markers on the dial that are given a unique placement. The watch comes in 18k white or rose gold. Price is high, of course. It is one of those watches you love or hate, but if you love it, you really want one.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon

Tags: 2010, double tourbillon, DoubleTourbillon, Excalibur, Roger Dubuis, RogerDubuis, SIHH

Richemont Owned Roger Dubuis Watch Brand To Cut Jobs

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Last year the Richemont Group added Roger Dubuis to its luxury watch collection of brands. Richemont owns such prestigious brands as A. Lange & Sohne, Jaeger LeCoultre, and Panerai. The acquisition of the Roger Dubuis occurred in the midst of wild growth in key markets such as Asia and the Middle East. With surges expected, Roger Dubuis promoted a liberal hiring policy adding new staff quickly.

Recent revenue disappointments have resulted in a decision to lay off as much as one sixth of the Roger Dubuis work force, or about 70 people. The move will emphasize a marketing refocus for the brand that hopes to increase its presence in retail stores as well as complete production on highly sought after high-end models.

Roger Dubuis seems eager to express that this move does not signify an end to the esteemed watch maker, nor does it indicate a slew of bad management decisions. No one is immune from the current economic market, and Roger Dubuis was perhaps a bit too optimistic with its growth and watch production capacity. Unlike "Tier One" luxury watch brands with the most valuable brand names, Roger Dubuis is less known (making them "Tier Two'), even though they still offer a very high quality and complex watch product line. This can negatively affect the value proposition of buying their watches in hard times for some consumers.

Despite this news, Roger Dubuis customers are still eagerly awaiting the release of its most expensive watch date, a $500,000 complex multi-timezone perpetual calendar timepiece. Pictured, is a Roger Dubuis Excalibur with a 45mm white gold case, minute repeater, perpetual calendar, tourbillion, and double rotors.

Via Bloomberg News.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: cut, cuts, EX45 0829 0 N9C.71R, Ex4508290N9c.71r, excalibur, industry, jobs, richemont, roger dubuis, RogerDubuis, timepiece, watch