The New Roger Dubuis Excalibur Watch Is Guarded by a Dragon, Marking the Advent of the Chinese New Year

Dragon-themed watches often feature intricate and detailed design, incorporating mythical and fantastical elements. These watches are popular among individuals who appreciate unique and bold accessories. Timepieces created for specific zodiac signs or symbols, such as the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, is not a common or standardised practice in the watch industry. However, some watch brands occasionally release limited-edition timepieces to celebrate significant events, such as the Chinese New Year. The latest boutique exclusive, set to mark the Year of the Dragon, is the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Dragon Monotourbillon, a 28-piece, limited-edition, skeletonised model. Equipped with a tourbillon complication, the new pink gold watch features a sinuous dragon to celebrate the ascendance of the mighty creature during the forthcoming Chinese Lunar New Year. 

The Roger Dubuis Excalibur line is known for its bold and distinctive designs, high-quality craftsmanship, and technical innovation. The Excalibur watches often feature large, expressive cases with intricate details and skeletonised dials that showcase the movement. Introduced in 2005, the Excalibur collection does capture the extravagant personality of Roger Dubuis watches. 

The 42 mm Roger Dubuis Excalibur Dragon Monotourbillon watch gets a brass bezel with pink gold galvanic treatment. The same material can also be found on the lugs and the crown at 3 o’clock. On the dial, wearers will find that the star-shaped bridge, as normally seen on Excalibur watches, has been replaced with the figure of an S-shaped dragon. His head is seen coiling around the barrel as his body snakes down to the lower dial to slip beneath the flying tourbillon; his tail emerges again at 10 o’clock. The dragon’s body is crafted from 27 pieces of brass and embellished with black lacquer on the sides; it gets a pink gold treatment on the top.

In keeping with the brand’s dynamic compositions, each individual piece is set on 25 different levels at different angles to produce more volume. Another feature on the dial is the monotourbillon at 7 o’clock with a non-magnetic titanium cage. The upper tourbillon cage is produced in mirror-polished Cobalt Chrome, also non-magnetic, which enables the weight of the tourbillon to be reduced by 16%.

The hour markers have been applied to the brass flange that gets a pink gold galvanic treatment. Matching the V-shaped notches on the bezel, the interiors of the nine V-shaped hour markers are treated with black Super-LumiNova. The triple surface and the pink gold hour and minute hands are openworked with satin-brushed finish on the tilted surfaces and shot-blasted finish on the flat grey surface with Super-LumiNova.

Powering the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Dragon Monotourbillon is the in-house manual-winding Calibre RD512SQ movement that offers a power reserve of  72 hours when fully wound. Certified by the coveted Poinçon de Genève, every component is finished and decorated by hand, with four different types of finishings. The dragon is metallised on the inside of the caseback’s sapphire crystal as well. The caseback also includes the engraving of the individual watch number out of 28. The latest Excalibur collection is completed on a premium calf leather strap with a pink gold triple folding buckle. The strap is interchangeable, thanks to the Quick Release System.