388 articles · 22 videos found · page 6 of 14
Revolution
There are really two basic possible questions about any watch: what is it, and why is it? (The third question –how much is it? –need not concern us here as we recline in distant Olympian splendor, contemplating watches as objects of aesthetic reverie and intellectual amusement, rather than as consumer goods. The answer is usually […]
Revolution
Hodinkee
'House of Brands,' the group of watchmakers including Breitling, Universal Genéve, and the soon-to-be-revived Gallet, announced executive changes that will see the flagship brand led by new leadership, with Georges Kern becoming the group's Chief Executive Officer. Jean-Marc Pontroué, a long-time Richemont executive and the former CEO of Panerai and Roger Dubuis, is the new Chief Executive Officer of Breitling, the group says in a statement. The changes take effect in May. Georges Kern Georges Kern, who has led Breitling under new ownership since 2017, overseeing a more than doubling of annual sales to above CHF 800 million, according to analyst estimates, and one of the most dramatic turnarounds in modern watchmaking, becomes the new CEO of the House of Brands, overseeing the three marques and their leadership in a newly created role.At Universal Genève, which relaunched this month in the high-end segment in what's likely the most ambitious watch brand return and repositioning in decades, Grégory Bruttin remains Managing Director. Meanwhile, at Gallet, the approachable-priced brand known for its Flying Officer and Multichron models, to be revived in August this year, Erwan Rossignol, who is already leading the team preparing the relaunch, becomes Managing Director. The changes confirm the multi-brand ambitions of the private-equity-backed Grenchen, Switzerland-based company, and provide a structure similar to that of other groups with portfolios of several watch bra...
Revolution
After 21 years steering Officine Panerai to worldwide success, Angelo Bonati is handing the helm over to Jean-Marc Pontrue (previously of Roger Dubuis).
SJX Watches
Panerai chief executive Jean-Marc Pontroué has just revealed he’s stepping down in a post on his personal Instagram account. He took up the job almost exactly seven years ago, after six years as chief executive of Roger Dubuis and over a decade at Montblanc, where most notably he led the brand’s high-end watchmaking efforts (that were dialled back under subsequent managers). Mr Pontroué’s successor, effective April 1, will be Emmanuel Perrin, currently head of Specialist Watchmakers (SWM), essentially the watch division of Richemont, the Swiss luxury group that also owns Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. According to insiders, SWM will continue to exist, but at a regional level, rather than the group-level entity it is now. Emmanuel Perrin Mr Pontroué landed at Panerai with big shoes to fill: his predecessor, Angelo Bonati, led the brand for over two decades, taking it from essentially nothing to one of the hottest brands in the 2000s. Panerai’s impressive momentum had begun to slow towards the end of Mr Bonati’s tenure, and despite his best efforts Mr Pontroué never managed to recapture the magic. Amongst the initiatives launched by Mr Pontroué at Panerai was sustainability in watchmaking materials and packaging, as well as a renewed engagement with Paneristi, the community of dedicated Panerai fans – underlined by historically inspired new launches coming in 2024. The brand’s direction will now be determined by Mr Perrin. During his spell leading SWM, Mr...
SJX Watches
Having been acquired last year by Breitling’s private equity owners, Universal Genève is now officially back in business with both a new chief as well as website – though the new watches will only arrive in autumn 2026. Breitling chief executive Georges Kern takes the same role at Universal, but the managing director will be Gregory Bruttin, a two-decade veteran of Roger Dubuis who was its longtime head of product. An engineer and constructor by training, Mr Bruttin will oversee the development of Universal’s new collection of watches. A once-storied brand founded in 1894, Universal has been dormant for a decade or more. While its historical timepieces like the Tri-Compax and A. Cairelli split-seconds are desirable, the brand has not launched a hit product in a long time. The Tri-Compax Mr Bruttin has no doubt been tasked to fix that. His technical credentials are impeccable – he led the creation of an impressive stable of in-house movements at Roger Dubuis, though his past work was far from the heritage-focused brand that Universal will be. While challenging, Mr Bruttin’s job will be made easier by the fact that Breitling has its own manufacture and corresponding in-house chronograph calibres. The 1950s split-seconds chronograph made for the Italian air force While the launch of the rebooted brand’s first collection is still two years away, Universal is embarking on an immediate plan of brand building. In November the brand will mark the 70th anniversary of t...
Revolution
Allow us to shed some light on one of Wei’s favorite watches that may have caught your attention in 2023 – the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monobalancier Titanium. The Excalibur line by Roger Dubuis draws inspiration from the Arthurian legend and has been a flagship collection for the Geneva-based brand since 2005. One of the distinctive […]
Revolution
Roger Dubuis CEO Nicola Andreatta shows Revolution Founder Wei Koh the Roger Dubuis Monovortex Split Seconds Chronograph, an absorbing work of architecture and feat of engineering that beats gravity. Firstly, its high-efficiency Turborotor Cylindrical Oscillating Weight harnesses gravity to power the watch and necessitated eight months of research and development. Next, its Conical Monovortex Tourbillon […]
Revolution
Revolution speaks with the team at A Collected Man on their recently listed 1996 steel Franck Muller Chronograph and why it looks so much like the Roger Dubuis Hommage Chronograph.
Revolution
The story of how two friends and master watchmakers, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht and Roger Dubuis, gave the world its first bi-retrograde perpetual calendar.
Revolution
Roger Dubuis introduces the Excalibur Spider Unique Series minute repeater, a seemingly counterintuitive piece unique creation.
WatchAdvice
The Black Bay Bronze Blue Bucherer special edition was made specifically by Tudor for the Swiss watch company based in Lucern; Bucherer. Founded in 1888, Bucherer is one of the oldest luxury Swiss watchmakers that is still run to this day by the founding family. Bucherer has up to twenty nine stores throughout Europe, with ten of them being in Switzerland alone. One of the stores located in Paris, is the worlds largest watch and jewellery store. In the lead up to the 130th anniversary for Bucherer, they released a collection with Bucherer’s signature colour, termed “Bucherer Blue”. Along with Tudor, this collection would see collaborations with other major brands such as IWC, Breguet, Oris, Tag Heuer and Roger Dubuis just to name a few. A total of 36 watches has been produced for the Bucherer Blue collection. The Tudor Black Bay Bronze Blue Bucherer special edition is almost identical to the original Heritage Black Bay Bronze aside from the aesthetic appearance between the two models. While the original Tudor Black Bay Bronze had great success with buyers and collectors in general, it offered little to people that wanted more colour depth/contrast on the watch. This is due to the dial on the Black Bay Bronze being matte brown with a brown bezel insert, followed by a bronze casing. While the watch does indeed look great and has its own appeal, the similarities in colour throughout the timepiece didn’t do the watch justice. That is until the Tudor Black Bay Bronz...
SJX Watches
While it’s a new brand that just made its debut, Genus is founded on the watchmaking talent of an industry insider who has spent a lifetime working on complications. Its first watch is the GNS 1 that tells the time with an ultra-exotic complication with the minutes travelling across the dial like a train. Conceptually the GNS 1 harks back to the burst of creativity that started in the early 2000s, when watchmakers went all out with imaginative complications to display the hours and minutes. This was the heyday of the Harry Winston Opus series and the birth of brands like MB&F; and Urwerk. The brand Genus was founded by entrepreneur Catherine Henry and Sébastien Billières, founder of GMTI, a specialist watchmaking workshop. The son of a watchmaker, Mr Billières started his career at Roger Dubuis in 1999, followed by a stint at Urwerk. In 2011, he set up GMTI, which specialises in primarily in assembly and servicing of complicated movements for major watch brands. Now staffed by 25 watchmakers, GMTI’s repertoire is diverse, ranging from tourbillon movements bearing the Poinçon de Genève, or Geneva Seal, to time-only movements produced on an industrial scale. Telling the time According to Mr Billières, the GNS 1 is the realisation of his long-held ambition of creating his own watch, after spending his career doing it for others. The GNS 1 is essentially an exceptionally avant-garde display of the hours and minutes. Even when static the face is impressive...
Worn & Wound
Roger Dubuis’ latest releases at Watches and Wonders are steeped in the brand’s history. For the occasion, the maison introduces two complicated pieces – a perpetual calendar and day-date calendar – each in the brand’s patented biretrograde display. Prior to founding his namesake maison, Mr. Roger Dubuis was a prolific watchmaker for several brands, from Patek Philippe to Longines. One such project came in 1989 when he and fellow watchmaker Jean-Marc Wiederrecht collaboratively pioneered and patented their famous biretrograde display, which reworked the traditional concept and made it more streamlined. This approach eased assembly and improved the stability and readability of the hands on the ecliptic retrograde counters. Soon after, the pair engineered a double retrograde perpetual calendar module, which was notably used in a timepiece for Harry Winston. A year after the brand’s official founding, Roger Dubuis introduced its own biretrograde display timepiece and later the perpetual calendar complication in its iconic Sympathie and Homage collections. Today, we see the next evolution of these concepts highlighted in a rather modestly sized 40mm version of its Excalibur line. The Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar is notably powered by an entirely new movement: the RD850. Here, the maison builds upon the work set forth four decades ago with a self-winding caliber built from 435 components in-house at Roger Dubuis’ Geneva manufacture. A key functional i...
SJX Watches
Roger Dubuis continues its decade-long exploration of Arthurian mythos with The Enchanter Merlin, the twelfth iteration in its fantastical Knights of the Round Table (KRT) collection, and the second Merlin-themed watch in the series. At the heart of the spectacle is a highly architectural dial composed of 56 stepped columns, inspired by the basalt pillars of Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. The columns are rendered in a variety of materials, including Murano glass, vitreous enamel, and invisibly set diamonds. Above them stand 12 hand-engraved knights, each a unique character from the Matter of Britain, the medieval tales of King Arthur and his knights. Initial Thoughts Geneva has a long tradition in the decorative arts dating to the 18th century, mostly focused on enamelled boxes, small clocks, and of course, watches. It’s only natural that a Genevan watchmaker like Roger Dubius would continue that tradition, as do neighbouring Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. In 2013, Roger Dubius launched the first KRT watch with a miniature enamel replica of the famous Round Table in Winchester’s Great Hall. Since then Roger Dubuis has pushed the boundaries of what can be reasonably called a “table” with striking results. While the miniatures were what made the first KRT special, The Enchanter Merlin’s basalt pillar-inspired crystal palace dial could easily stand on its own (perhaps Kollokium should take notes for its next Projekt). The 45 mm case is 18k pink gol...
SJX Watches
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...
SJX Watches
Roger Dubuis is celebrating 30 years by looking back on its days as a trend-setting independent. The Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar deftly balances the spirit of Genevan watchmaking from the brand’s early years in the 1990s with the boisterous designs of the 2000s in a manageable size, but less manageable price. While the style is reminiscent of the oversized Excalibur models that were far from ergonomic, the Biretrograde Calendar has been redesigned for wearability. The retrograde calendar mechanism on the front is an in-house construction, built on top of the brand’s own automatic movement that is unexpectedly sophisticated and classical. Initial Thoughts Roger Dubuis is a marque built on calendars, so the new Excalibur has historical resonance. The late Roger Dubuis was a Patek Philippe alumni who caught his big break working with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, who would go on to found Agenhor, on a double retrograde perpetual calendar developed for New York jeweller Harry Winston. It was during the project that Dubuis met his future business partner, Carlos Dias, an entrepreneur who would help establish the Roger Dubuis brand and transform it into a hit maker in the 2000s. The same double retrograde perpetual calendar mechanism would accompany the first Roger Dubuis model the brand’s debut in 1995. And the retrograde calendar also has a historical connection to Geneva, as a local watchmaker named Marius LeCoultre created the most prolific retrograde perpetual design of ...
Fratello
Watches and Wonders 2025 might be done and dusted, but some watches continue to haunt me. Patek Philippe is always impressive, but this time, it wasn’t something complicated that struck a nerve. Rather, it was the introverted Calatrava 6196P, a classic with a contemporary twist. The Chanel J12 Bleu collection surprised me in the metal […] Visit Fratello Favorites: The Best Watches And Wonders 2025 Releases - Lex’s Picks From Patek Philippe, Chanel, And Roger Dubuis to read the full article.
SJX Watches
The latest iteration of Roger Dubuis’ signature model is the Excalibur Dragon Monotourbillon. A limited edition conceived for the Chinese Lunar Near Year, the watch features an stylised dragon composed of 27 brass plates that integrate the mythical creature into the bridges of the open-worked movement. Initial thoughts Best known for ultra-contemporary, open-worked calibres, Roger Dubuis (RD) specialises in extravagant designs, including the recent Knights of the Round Table. The Excalibur Dragon Monotourbillion is a prime example of what the brand does best. In contrast to most dragon-themed watches that are either traditional or whimsical, the Excalibur Dragon portrays the dragon in a modern, almost abstract manner. Although the watch is big and bold, attention has been paid to the finer details. The movement is open-worked in typical RD fashion and finished to Poinçon de Genève standards, which means bevelled edges, chambered flanks, and polished pins, amongst other things. And while the pronounced styling might not be for everyone, the Excalibur Dragon is actually more wearable than the typical complicated RD watch. At 42 mm in diameter and a bit over 12 mm high, it is moderately sized relative to much of the brand’s offerings. At CHF195,000, the Excalibur Dragon sits in between its most obvious comparables on the price spectrum, more affordable than Richard Mille and pricier than Hublot. The movement inside is arguably better executed than those of its rivals, t...
SJX Watches
One of the latest releases from Roger Dubuis, the Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph, makes the most of its openworked dial to show off a newly-developed calibre, the RD780, which combines an inclined balance wheel with an integrated chronograph. A complex movement with two patents pending, the RD780 is notably elaborate with unusual features like a digital minute counter and twin barrels. And technically-minded enthusiasts will also note the RD780 boasts diamond-coated silicon escapement parts, which are both wear- and magnetism-resistant. Initial thoughts Roger Dubuis’ current chronographs distinguish themselves through bold design and flashy technical features. While the style is outlandish, it is refreshing to see this unique approach to a chronograph design, particularly since the technical features are novel and interesting, such as the inclined balance wheel and column wheel, visible through the openworked dial. But the Excalibur chronograph’s technical merits are perhaps overshadowed by the design, which is excessive in a hyper-mechanical style. The chronograph’s dial is busy, even for an openworked dial. It is not easy to read, even when compared to what is being offered by the likes of Richard Mille, which is perhaps the closest comparison to the Excalibur chronograph. The Excalibur chronograph is priced at US$101,500, making it more affordable than the equivalent from Richard Mille, the RM 72-01. In fact, the Excalibur is half as expensive as the Richar...
SJX Watches
As has become a tradition for Singapore children’s charity Kidz Horizon Appeal, its annual fundraising dinner will include an auction of one of a kind watches created especially for the event. Past auctions included timepieces by Audemars Piguet, Greubel Forsey, Vacheron Constantin and Voutilainen. This year’s line-up is made up of three watches from Roger Dubuis, Franck Muller, and Louis Moinet, the proceeds from which will go to the charity that funds medical treatment for children from poor families. Inspired by the colours of the Greek island, the Franck Muller Vanguard Mykonos (also pictured above) is the first watch from a limited edition of 28 made for the brand’s retailer Sincere Watch, which donated the watch to Kidz Horizon. It’s a variant of Frank Muller’s popular sports watch, with a polished steel case that has an integrated strap and a white resin insert running lengthwise along its side. Inside is the FM 0800, an automatic ETA movement. Vanguard Mykonos Commissioned by an anonymous donor, Roger Dubuis put together the Excalibur Huracàn “Kidz Horizon”, based on the wristwatch inspired by Lamborghini’s V10 coupe. Ordinarily available only with a titanium case, the Kidz Horizon edition has a case made from a combination of lightweight materials: titanium for the bezel and back, and a skeletonised case middle in C-SMC carbon – the same carbon composite used in the Huracan. The red accents on the dial and bezel are also unique to ...
Deployant
Roger Dubuis…this brand have had a mystique since its early days when Mr. Dubuis was running the company…after his retirement from Patek Philippe. The Symphatie case, as shown here today in the now classic Bi-Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Chronograph was a wonder in those days…still is. Then Carlos Dias took over the company, and for me,Read More
Hodinkee
Thirty years in, the Maison celebrates its origins with a tribute to its founder.
Hodinkee
The indie watchmaker's Hommage Condottieri from the '90s was all about simplicity, not schtick.
Hodinkee
Where Arthurian legends meet "Hyper Horology."
Quill & Pad
As the digital spectacle of Watches & Wonders 2021 unfolds, we are starting to see the new trends emerging within the pandemic-saddled world of watches. Some are surprising, others not so. The tourbillon retains its the top spot in the horological food chain and has become something around which all other trends come and go. Here, Martin Green highlights 5 new tourbillons from Watches & Wonders 2021 that caught his eye.
Hodinkee
This piece-unique minute repeater is not for shrinking violets.
Hodinkee
I mean, just look at them!
SJX Watches
Audemars Piguet (AP) is increasing its presence in what’s historically been the territory of Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. Not only is AP returning to Watches & Wonders, the industry’s flagship event held each year in Geneva, the brand is also expanding its footprint in the city’s suburb of Meyrin with an expanded case and bracelet manufacture. What and where Meyrin was already the home of AP’s case and bracelet manufacture, but the brand has been bulking up on industrial capacity and took over a U-shaped building, completed in 1965 for a pharmaceutical company, in 2023. The new facility increases its Geneva footprint almost four-fold, to 9,000 square metres, with room for 350 staff. While the brand has built new structures closer to home, the choice to renovate an existing historical building is notable. Fortunately AP’s employees won’t be stuck in the past, as the building has been modernised for energy management and to accommodate modern machines. The building is a short jaunt from Les Boîtiers de Genève, F.P. Journe’s case and bracelet manufacture, in what’s already a hotbed of horological activity, home to brands like Roger Dubuis and Chopard. In addition, the new facility will be home to what the brand is calling its New Technologies hub, presumably part of the brand’s new approach to research and development, known internally as the ‘Fab Lab.’ Industrial excellence We recently had the chance to hear directly from AP’s chief indu...
SJX Watches
With the curtain having just come down on the Geneva sale season, auction houses are migrating to Hong Kong for the second half of the autumn auctions. Going on the block at Phillips’ The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XV are 270 lots that encompass heavy-hitters and “hype” watches, but as usual we’ll take a look instead at a few interesting watches, starting with a selection of independent watchmaking. We round up nine notable creations from the independents, mainly time-only watches with high-quality construction and unique design, such as a Voutilainen Vingt-8 with a skeletonised dial and the Ludovic Ballouard Upside Down. The auction takes place on November 28 (lots 801-938) and November 29 (lots 939-1070). The full catalogue and sale registration can be accessed on Phillips.com. Lot 829: Roger Dubuis Hommage H37 A modern-day chronometer heavily inspired by traditional watchmaker – the aesthetics are a practically a revival of styling from the good old days – the Hommage H37 is an easy watch to like. Living up to its name, the Hommage pays tribute to classical gentlemen’s watches. It’s a three-hander in a classically-sized 37 mm case that contains a Lemania-based self-winding movement certified as a chronometer by the Besançon Observatory. The Hommage case was modelled on the Patek Philippe ref. 1463 “Tasti Tondi” chrongraph, though the resemblance is less obvious on the time-only model. But the simple lines are undeniably appealing despite their sim...
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