Roger Dubuis Excalibur 42 Chronograph

Under the leadership of president Georges Kern since October 2010 (formerly he ran IWC) , Roger Dubuis is making its best watches in recent memory.   Though we have seen new collections such as the Pulsion and Monagesque, the flagship of the brand remains its iconic Excalibur.  In addition to a new 42mm automatic intro’d this month, Roger Dubuis is unveiling a new bi-compax Excalibur chronograph, seen here. Full details and analysis, below.

The piece, in a 42mm steel case and deep blue dial, is beautifully proportioned and with a great balance of polished and brushed surfaces; the crown and chrono pushers are also nicely integrated.  The Excalibur chrono retains signature design elements such as  triple horns attaching the bracelet, the fluted bezel and the slender Roman numerals; this said, it should be noted that the overall styling is less aggressive, less exuberant if you will, than earlier iterations (this is a good thing, in my view).  On the inside, the piece boasts a new manufacture caliber, the RD681 with micro-rotor — it is both COSC certified and carries the Geneva Seal aka “Poinçon de Genève”.

42mm steel case, 30 minutes at 3 o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock, manufacture Roger Dubuis caliber RD681 with micro-rotor