Roger Dubuis

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Belles Montres 2011: Roger Dubuis

The Monegasque collection is the keystone of the new Roger Dubuis ambition. For a lot of people's minds, the most representative line of the current Dubuis collection is the Excalibur: superb movements with a XXL case with a very daring design. We may forget it but in the past, the Roger Dubuis collection housed superb classic watches like the Much More with their rectangular shape cases, the Hommage and their elegant round and elegant cases and of course the Sympathie and their very refined and original cases.

The Monegasque collection symbolizes the come-back of Roger Dubuis into the classic watches territory. Classic? Not that much! Because the base of the collection is the use of a new case which can be considered as a softened evolution of the Sympathie case. I find this use very clever: it is a sort of hommage of the past of the brand and it brings enough spice with a subtle touch of originality, a good way to differentiate the offer when compared to brands like Patek, Lange, Vacheron.

The Monegasque collection was presented at the 2011 SIHH. And we really feel that it is  crucial for the future of the brand. Roger Dubuis communicates a lot about it and we can underline this will to gain a better visibility with the presence of a Roger Dubuis booth at the Salon Belles Montres this year in Paris. It was the only representative of the "Georges Kern" pole because IWC nor Baume & Mercier were not amongst the exhibitors. Another proof of the strategy to give a highlight on the new Dubuis offer.

The collection is already quite large with 4 different models gathering 8 watches. The complications are:
- Tourbillon with a big date and a power reserve indicators
- Perpetual Calendar
- Chronograph
- Automatic with a small second hand at 6 o'clock.

The Salon Belles Montres gave me the ability to see them all so I propose to browse the whole collection.

Let's start with some pics of the booth. Obviously,  choice was made to put the focus on the Monegasque collection with this gambling atmosphere: the booth was very well designed with a movie about the player's experience in Monaco casinos.














First watch I saw was the entry level watch, the Mnegasque Automatic. It is available in SS and in PG. Both use the RD821 automatic movement housed in a 42mm case. It has a 4hz frequency, a 48 hours power reserve and its chronometric performances allow it to get a COSC certificate.
I really like this watch thanks to is refined design, the great finishings of the dial and of the movement. On the wrist, the Monegasque case brings a lot of charm. I have two regrets: even if it is an excellent movement, the RD821 has a 26mm diamater and i find it a bit too small for the case (you can feel it at the small second subdial position too close to the main hands). Morevoer, I would have prefered a gold rotor. The rotor of the RD821 is a bit too simple and doesn't enhance the beauty of the finishings of the movement.

PG Monegasque Automatic:





Movement RD821, I especially like the regulator organ and the bridges shapes:


These 42mm are easy to wear thanks to the short lugs:





With the Monegasque Chronograph, we enter a Roger Dubuis speciality: the automatic chronograph movement.

4 watches are available: 2 unlimited (SS and PG) and two sold in LE (88 and 128 pieces).

Movement in the unlimited versions is the RD680 which can be considered as a simpler version of the RD78. But simpler doesn't mean here less quality. The finishings of the RD680 are excellent and it keeps a similar architecture, based on a micro-rotor, than the RD78. Poinçon de Genève oblige, the column-wheel is covered by a top. There is a true feeling of depth in this movement. Even if it doesn't have the luxurious side of the RD78, it remains on top of the hill of the automatic chronograph movements of the swiss industry. It has a 4hz frequency and a 48 hours power reserve.

Case has a 44mm diameter and like the Monegasque Automatic, the dial features a satin sunburst centre which creates beautiful shades of colour.

The Chronograph is my fav watch, especially the LE with organic shell centre (the Monegasque Club), of the Monegasque collection.

The SS version of the Chronograph:





The beauty of the RD680 and its micro-rotor. You will notice that the column-wheel is covered by a top:








The two LE which use the RD78 movement. First the Big Number, limited to 128 pieces:






And the Monegasque Club, limited to 88 pieces. This is a truly gorgeous watch. Look at the beautiful Chesterfield pattern brown leather:










The RD78 which is found in the two LE. Its micro-rotor bridge looks like a web:










The Perpetual Calendar also uses the 44mm case. The main feature of this watch is the dial layout. At Roger Dubuis, they managed to create an original dial lay-out (look at the position of the moonphases, of the date and of the leap-year displays) without losing the legibility of the watch. Is is a dynamic lay-out which fits very well the Monegasque case.

Movement is the RD821J i.e the RD821 + the PC module. It is the reason why the caseback offers the same view than the Monegasque Automatic.

The Monegasque Perpetual Calendar is a very fine watch which reminds us the beautiful PC from the past of the brand.

An original dial lay-out:





View of the movement is similar to the Monegasque Automatic:








Last watch is the emblematic Tourbillon. A Tourbillon by Roger Dubuis is never a mere Tourbillon. First of all, it is a flying Tourbillon. Secondly, it comes with big date and power reserve displays.   This LE of 28 pieces uses the handwind movement RD540 which has a 3hz frequency and a 60 hours power reserve. The dial lay-out is a bit similar to the Perpetual Calendar one with a Tourbillon at the bottow left side and a power reserve indicator slightly above it. Big date is located at its most logical place. Again, the case (only available in platinum) has a 44mm diameter. The classic sunburst centre of the dial can be found again on its dial, this centre is a bit a part of the DNA of the Monegasque collection.

With these 4 models, Roger Dubuis offers a quite comprehensive collection with a wide range of complications available. From a simple 3 hands watch to a flying Tourbillon, each Roger Dubuis lover may find again his favourite complication in a new context, without any doubt, more classic and  which doesn't forget its roots from the past.

The impressive flying Tourbillon:






A rare example of Cosc-ed Tourbillon:


An hypnotizing view on the Tourbillon:



During the presentation of the Monegasque collection, I had the chance to see and to handle this very special Excalibur Tourbillon - Minute Repeater which was produced in a very limited number of pieces. The main characteristic of this watch is the half-open dial which allows us to observe how the movement works while the hammers play. Movement is the RD08 with a 3hz frequency and a power reserve of 60 hours. Case diameter is 45mm.

You will notice that there is no slide lever. The reason is simple: you don't need one beause you launch the minutes repeater function by turning the bezel. Do you see the little note on the bezel? It symbolizes its hidden function. It is not a pure trick. It is also very useful to give the right energy to the striking mechanism.






A two-micro rotors movement:


Difficult for me to give it back to its proud owner!


I finish my report with this exceptional and rare watch. I really enjoyed to discover better the Monegasque collection and I will follow very closely the upcoming novelties because I feel a lot of promises and a great potential in this brand thanks to the capacity of the Manufacture combined with the new ambition and dynamic given by Georges Kern.

I would like to thank a lot the Roger Dubuis team in France for the warm welcome during the Salon Belles Montres.

Fr.Xavier