Roger Dubuis entered the fascinating world of horology only recently. The brand is named after a person as usually done in the watch industry. Fourteen years with Patek Philippe made Roger Dubuis an adept in the art of making high quality watches for the most glamorous people on earth. It was Carlos Dias, a doctorate holder in political science that made the name of Roger Dubuis immortal. It was with the help of Dubuis that Dias set up his watch company. It was surprising he named timepieces after Dubuis an unusual practice in the industry; in a way Roger Dubuis was Carlos Dias' employee.
Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor is an enchanting name with amazing brand equity in the refined circles. Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur. The sword is said to have magical powers. The sword and its myths are associated with the Arthurian legends; the film Excalibur (1981), a retelling of the legend of King Arthur gives a fare idea of the legendary sword.
Similar to the sword of King Arthur, Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor Silicon Case is certainly a legend. This model is a detour from the conventional tourbillion technique of the watch maker to counteract the effects of gravity in watches. Employing the avant-garde technique the company managed to eschew the tourbillon and employed four sprung balances in the movement. The balances are paired and positions at 90 degree angles to one another connected by differentials which provides more reliable time keeping. It is a superb piece of innovation.
The ground-breaking movement is encased either in 48 mm gold case, a limited edition of only eight and another more limited edition of three housed in a case made of silicon; a feat performed for the first time. The silicon makes this piece lighter in weight. The rationale for the choice of silicon is indeed its low weight and its amazing hardness. The substance has half the weight of titanium and yet it is four times harder than it.
The watch has been in the anvil for quite some time. Master watch craftsmen, technicians and designers worked in unison to produce this marvel of perfect of fusion of design as well technology. The 590 components of the timepiece, their concept, crafting, assembly and their manual ornamentation was a formidable task and there is no wonder that with only three pieces only to go around the entire world it has a mind boggling price tag of $ 1 million.