SJX Watches
Roger Dubuis Impresses with the RD780 Flyback Chronograph
Representing a new era for the Roger Dubuis manufacture, the Excalibur Spider Flyback is an aggressively styled, motorsports-themed chronograph – boasting the impressive, high-spec RD780 movement with some unusual tricks up its sleeve, including an inclined balance. While the Excalibur Spider Flyback harkens back to the brand’s early aspirations in terms of movement construction and ambition, it diverges entirely in style with its supercar-inspired lines. Limited to 88 examples in pink gold, it debuted at Monterey Car Week – Roger Dubuis is a partner of Lamborghini – this variant in pink gold and blackened titanium is a new iteration of a model originally available in carbon composite. The RD780 Initial Thoughts In its past life, Roger Dubuis raised a menagerie of ambitious – perhaps overambitious – movements. While the brand thinned the herd after the 2008 financial crisis, some of that spirit lives on inside the Excalibur Spider Flyback. It attempts the dial-movement integration and three dimensionality mastered by some independent watchmakers like Greubel Forsey, though the construction is still fairly traditional, leading to some lost opportunities. The calibre is impressive – especially for a brand owned by a luxury group – but could be better. For example, the minutes counter could be inclined by 12° to mirror the balance and the imitation barrel bridge to be more convincing in terms of style and symmetry. With its over-the-top-style, the Richard Mil...
