Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor Blue Cobalt MicroMelt(R) watch at SIHH 2017.
Roger Dubuis ha a very interesting line up this year at SIHH. While last year was dubbed the year of the woman for this audacious brand, this year there are a host of new additions to its much coveted Excalibur line, including the World Premier Excalibur Quatuor MicroMelt® and the Exaclibur Spider Skelton Automatic: please handle with care.
Quatuor Cobalt MicroMelt(R) Features
The new Quatuor MicroMelt(R) is a 48mm, 590-part manually wound tour de force. It is powered by the RD101 Quatuor movement and beats at a frequency of 16 Hz. The piece features four sprung balances and five differentials that allow the watch to instantly account for the inaccuracies in time keeping that gravity causes vs. the traditional tourbillon that takes a full minute (or in some cases 30 seconds) to do the same regulation.
The 2017 Excalibur MicroMelt model is offered in bold and vibrant cobalt chrome that is actually an ultra high-performance cobalt chrome alloy. The material is highly exclusive and produced using MicroMelt® technology, which represents just 0.1% of worldwide metallurgy. Known for its strength and durability, the alloy is typically associated with aeronautics and high-end medical equipment. It is made from melting and atomizing the alloy into a fine powder by introducing the molten metal to a high- pressure stream of gas using a dedicated vacuum induction melting gas atomization unit. The powder is then blended and screened to a controlled diameter, poured into canisters that are sealed and subjected to hot isotsatic pressing to achieve full denseness, before being hot-worked to produce hot-rolled bars and then processed to finished size.
The cobalt is achieved via a rare MicroMelt(R) procedure and is used in less than 1 percent of the world’s metallurgy. The watch retails for more than $375,000.
The alloy coats the case, bezel, case back and crown of the watch and contrasts nicely with the blue PVD-coated movement barrel cage and bridges, as well as the dial, hour-marker and alligator leather strap. Additionally, the timepiece features bold blue, red and chrome coloring as accents across the dial and the speedometer style minute track on the dial in the center of the watch. The accompanying watch strap is finished in matching red and blue accents, as well. The world premiere watch retails for 390,000 Swiss Francs.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Automatic Features
In addition to the impressive Quatuor MicroMelt(R) watch, Roger Dubuis also unveils the Excalibur Spider Skelton Automatic — inspired by auto racing. The watch is a study in blue, black and red expressions of the theme. The 45mm piece seeks to extend skeletonization beyond the movement to include the case, flange and hands. The use of titanium and other light weight materials ensures an easy wear on the wrist.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Automatic is inspired by auto racing in color and skeletonization in design.
The color contrasts in this watch are achieved by DLC treatment of the case, and crown, vulcanised rubber details on the bezel, crown and container, along with red accents provided by the ring, crown, hand tips and strap stitching. The contrasting theme is extended through to the finishing textures including the polished chamfers and satin brushed sides. To assist in the legibility of the piece the applied screws on the flange, as well as the tips of the hands sweeping across the dial, are enhanced with Superluminova.The watch is driven by the Calibre RD820SQ, which the manufacturer first launched in 2015 as the first Roger Dubuis automatic skeleton movement.
The Excalibur Spider Skeleton Automatic is being built in an 88-piece limited edition run and is presented on a multi-material strap with a black rubber base and blue calf leather inlay secured by a DLC-treated titanium folding buckle. It retails for 67,000 CHF.
The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Skeleton Automatic retails for about $67,000.
