【ROBERT REPORT】This New Watch From Roger Dubuis Puts
the Spotlight on Carbon Components
The watchmaker has debuted its first fully
carbon watch.
BY CAROL BESLER ON
AUGUST 3, 2019
Carbon has been around in modern
watchmaking for a while now, most often seen used on cases. But in Roger Dubuis’s new Spider
Excalibur Carbon3 not only the case, but also the bracelet and some components
of the movement are made from the super-tough material. The advantage of carbon
composites is that they are super-light (more than half the weight of
titanium), yet highly shock resistant and as strong as steel.
Roger Dubuis
Spider Excalibur Carbon3 Courtesy of
Roger Dubuis
Carbon’s special properties make sense
for Roger Dubuis, and particularly the Excalibur series, because it allows the
watchmaker to go big without the heaviness of a large watch weighing down the
wrist and Roger Dubuis is nothing if not big—even CEO Nicola
Andreatta admits the word that sums up the company’s DNA best
is “excess.” A typical case width is 47 mm. Even the brand’s ladies’ watches
are no smaller than 36 mm, and many are 42 mm. Spider Excalibur Carbon3 is 45
mm wide and 14.05 mm thick.
Carbon is also important because of its
tensile strength, which makes compatible with Roger Dubuis’s other specialty:
skeletonization. The art of openworking a watch movement is tricky because the
goal is to carve away as many of the bridges and plates as possible without
losing strength and shock resistance. Using carbon alleviates these concerns.
The plate, bridges and tourbillon upper cage of the RD590SQ caliber are all
made of carbon.
Roger Dubuis Spider Excalibur Carbon3 Movement Courtesy of Roger Dubuis
Another advantage of the material is
that it simply looks good. It is formed in layers, giving the hardened material
a unique graining pattern that adds depth and dimension, and an interesting
marbling effect. The case is actually quite complex. It is carbon, but it is
overmolded with black rubber and has a black DLC titanium caseback. The crown
is also titanium, with an overmold of black rubber and topped with a
multi-layer carbon crown cover. The bracelet links are also made of multi-layer
carbon. And if that’s too much carbon for one watch, there is also an
additional strap available in rubber with red stitching.
Roger Dubuis Spider Excalibur
Carbon3 Courtesy of Roger Dubuis
The watch will be made in an edition of
28 pieces, a typical number for Roger Dubuis, which makes small editions of its
skeletonized flying tourbillons. But that’s not the only thing that makes this
watch rare. It is made to Poinçon de Genève standards—of the 20 million watches
produced in Switzerland each year, only 24,000 bear the Hallmark of Geneva. It
guarantees the watch’s mechanical movement has been assembled, cased and
adjusted in the Swiss Canton of Geneva.
Roger Dubuis Spider Excalibur Carbon3 Courtesy of Roger Dubuis
Each component of each section of the
movement is individually finished and decorated by hand, and each watch is
individually tested and certified in order to guarantee its smooth running,
water-resistance and precision.
The finishing is not just aesthetic. It
also makes the watch run better, reducing friction and ensuring exceptional
durability. Roger Dubuis says it takes 40 percent longer to produce watches
made to Poinçon de Genève standards and all of its watches carry the Hallmark.
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