This watch commemorates Roger Dubuis’s 30th anniversary and features a noteworthy complication.
A watchmaker trained at the haute complications atelier of Patek Philippe, Roger Dubuis (1938–2017) was the man who, in collaboration with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, developed the world’s first mechanism featuring a double retrograde display, which made its debut in 1989 in the Bi-Retrograde Perpetual Calendar by Harry Winston.
The double retrograde display made a comeback a decade later in the Sympathie S37 Perpetual Calendar, one of the first watches Roger Dubuis created in collaboration with his Portuguese partner and designer, Carlos Dias, a timepiece he consistently wore on his wrist.
Thirty years later, the double retrograde indication for the day and date returns, framed by the iconic Excalibur case, here in rose gold, with a reduced diameter of 40mm. The signature asymmetrical scales, wider at the ends and narrowing toward the center, dominate the silvered dial, which has also been simplified. Alongside the twin retrograde indications, the set of functions includes hours, minutes, and small seconds in a subdial at 6 o’clock. Two mother-of-pearl inlays at 6 and 12 serve as a reminder that Roger Dubuis was among the first to incorporate this material (along with rose gold) into men’s collections.
Visible through the sapphire crystal caseback, the automatic Caliber RD840 carries, like all movements of the brand, the Geneva Seal. Composed of 240 parts, it beats at 28,800 vibrations/hour, has 40 jewels, and offers a 60-hour power reserve. Of special note is the engraved ring integrated into the movement, bearing a quote from Dubuis and Dias in French: «C’est une montre actuelle, inspirée mais pas soumise au passé, qui se projette dans un futur qui nous appartient» (“This is a contemporary watch—one inspired by, but not bound to, the past—projecting itself into a future that belongs to us”).
Available at: Patseas
