Bold and Bright: Introducing Excalibur Blacklight Monobalancier from Roger Dubuis

Known for its collaborations with Lamborghini, Pirelli and Squadra Corse (Lamborghini’s motorsport department), expectations from Swiss timepiece maker Roger Dubuis have always been high. In fact, it won’t be an exaggeration if we say that there is always an adrenaline rush associated with its new launches. 

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Driven by the hunger to scale newer heights in hyper horology, Dubuis, now owned by the Richemont group, has just showcased its new Excalibur Blacklight Monobalancier (Ref. RDDBEX1014) as a boutique exclusive and a 28-piece, limited-edition model. This follows last year’s unveiling of its Excalibur Hypebeast Monobalancier in white ceramic. 

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In 2005, Roger Dubuis came up with new technological innovations in horology, especially with its new collection, Excalibur, and the world premiere of two new calibres in it — double tourbillon skeleton (RD01SQ) and minute repeater tourbillon (RD08). Inspired by global art, the Excalibur collection’s micro beams are spread inside the calibre that are placed like rays of light. Under ultraviolet light, these micro-beams become luminescent, resembling neon tubes. 

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Boasting a 42 mm white gold case, the latest limited-edition timepiece gets a white gold bezel, set with 60 round cut diamonds, and a white gold crown with sapphire crystal at 3 o’clock. The dial gets a grey double surfacing with an engraved minute track with one diamond, white gold-plated hour markers, coloured in the centre, and a 3D metallic grid, coloured with UV paint. The Blacklight microbeams turn tridimensional to fit the NAC star-shaped bridge; they are enhanced by UV paint to glow under UV light. 

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The timepiece gets triple surface hands on white gold with satin brush finishing and shot-blasted finish on the flat grey surface with solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) tips. Turning the watch over reveals the white gold, sapphire crystal skeleton caseback with the engraving of the individual watch number out of 28 and four visible screws with yellow and orange bands.

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Powering the watch is the in-house, self winding, Monobalancier RD720SQ automatic movement, whose engraving is also visible on the caseback. There is a 72-hour power reserve. 

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Finishing the watch is a bimaterial rubber strap with a rubber base and a bright yellow calf inlay with a white gold cover with stainless steel blades. It also sports a triple folding buckle, which is interchangeable with a quick release system. The limited-edition timepiece has a 50-metre water resistance. 

From every angle, the watch looks audacious and trendy. All in all, the celebrated timepiece maker has highlighted a new face of horology, one that can set new benchmarks for the future.

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