Hands-On: Roger Dubuis Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar DBEX1179 Watch

Photos by David Brendan

This year at Watches and Wonders, Roger Dubuis released a watch that for many (myself included) signaled a re-connection with the brand’s roots. Roger Dubuis had long drifted from its founder’s more refined aesthetics into ultramodern, often divisive designs for the ultra-wealthy. Most of the brand’s catalog is horologically compelling but also comically over-styled. Compare that to the man Roger Dubuis, who work for the likes of Longines and Patek Philippe (neither brands known for loud designs) and designed stunningly elegant and unique timepieces like the Sympathie. His signature complication was the biretrograde perpetual calendar, but even the biretrograde display itself was recognizably Dubuis. It’s that novel show of time that the brand revisited this year. While the Grande Complication may have stolen the show, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar offers the spirit of those old RD’s a taste of that grander watch in a much more manageable package, and one that I think actually outshines the far more expensive piece.

The case of the Roger Dubuis Biretrograde Calendar is familiar to anyone who knows modern RD. Rendered in 18k pink gold, the 40mm case has the brand’s signature crenelated crown and triple lug design. Unsurprisingly, it’s finished exquisitely, with transitions and surfaces as clean and well-executed as you’ll find on any watch. The leather strap adds a bit of length to the lug-to-lug, but is comfortable if bulky, and closes with a pink gold folding buckle and can be removed using a single-button quick-release system. It’s worth noting that within the Excalibur line, this is the smallest case you can get without jewels on it. That’s quite fitting of a watch inspired by Dubuis the Man’s earliest designs, which were a far cry from the 42mm+ behemoths the brand usually makes. On the wrist, it meant a far more pleasant wear than those larger models, and it never once felt too encumbering. An even more pleasant surprise? It’s actually water resistant to 100m, making it that special unicorn of a complicated ultra-luxury watch you can actually wear without worry.

Most of this dial is simply beautiful. Instead of the perhaps too intricate dial of the Grande Complication, the Biretrograde Calendar pares things down to the essentials: time, day, and date. The time is neatly indicated by lumed pink gold hands (which remind me of the Halo Energy Sword) and corresponding lumed hour plots with pink gold surrounds. The brushing and color of the hands helps them stand out against the contrasting elements below, though I did find it just slightly harder to find them (half a second versus a millisecond) when they were both over the retrograde apertures. But those elements are the raison d’être of the watch. Huge brushed pink gold arcs with polished bevels show the day of the week and date on either side of the dial, within which the mechanics of each display are shown. They’re both indicated by skeletonized hands with partial black fill, though they stop short of their respective tracks; extending them and filling the tips with lume would’ve improved legibility a great deal. Rounding out the dial is the sub-seconds in silver-plated brushed central portion, and mother-of-pearl elements at 6 and 12, which add even more sophistication to this already elevated dial. While I appreciate the balance it provides, the recessed circle above the hands printed with the model name and the Poinçon de Genève is a bit on-the-nose for my liking; the dial layout makes the model quite clear, and the finishing level is evident.

The Biretrograde Calendar is powered by the in-house RD840. This new automatic movement operates at 4hz with a power reserve of 60 hours. It is, of course, wonderfully finished, as is indicated by the Geneva Seal, indicating the highest level of execution throughout the watch (not just the movement). Roger Dubuis is not shy about letting us know, either, using the seal on a bridge, the rotor, and as you’ll recall, on the dial. Uniquely, this timepiece has a quote from Dubuis the Man on the movement ring that translates to, “This is a watch of today, inspired but not restricted to the past, projected into a future that belongs to us.” It may seem a bit contrived, but I genuinely think it rings true for this particular model with its decidedly modern design combined with a more modest size and clear inspiration from early Sympathies.

At less than one-tenth the price of its Grande Complication counterpart and one of the most affordable RD’s currently offered, the Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar is quite the proposition. While it may not have Dubuis’ perpetual calendar complication, you get the biretrograde display, which was really the best part. On top of that, you get a beautiful white dial and wearable 40mm case that’s more reminiscent of the Sympathie than the open-worked black and gold dial of the pricier version. The Roger Dubuis Biretrograde Calendar DBEX1179 is priced at $60,000 USD. For more information, please visit the Roger Dubuis website.