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Listening to Jean–Marc Pontroué while he talks about Roger Dubuis's latest news is always a pleasant experience. The energy that Roger Dubuis's leaving CEO (he will be Panerai's number one from next March) transmits when he talks about 2018's news is really contagious. To him goes the merit of having relaunched a brand, as well as having redefined its personality in bold.
Roger Dubuis is the Excalibur Spider, and moreover, that is the manufacture that everyone nowadays associates with the world of motors and sports, that of Formula 1, as in the case of the cooperation with Pirelli and that of supercars in series, that started in 2017 with Lamborghini. Entering the Roger Dubuis stand in Geneva looked like entering a Grand Prix box.
The whole stand was a reference to the world of engines: large, airy, dominated by white and with hints to the stylistic language of Lamborghini, such as the typical LED arrow light that identifies the LED daytime lights of a Lamborghini Aventador S. The biggest innovation of 2017 were the launch of the new Aventador S collection, that of a new caliber with the jumping seconds' function, as well as a caliber that resembles a miniature of the engine compartment of an Aventador S made by Amalgam, and inserted within the case of an Excalibur Spider.
Although the Holy Grail of luxury die–cast collecting has been mentioned, the work has obviously been carried out by the joint development team Roger Dubuis–Lamborghini, whose sports management's director, Sanna, was at SIHH. A testimony to the intensity of the partnership between the two brands which, as Jean-Marc has confirmed, will go beyond the product and extend to new forms of customer experience.
If the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Aventador S has had full visibility on the pages of Horbiter® and will soon continue to have it with the new gold edition, presented just last week, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Pirelli Edition has never had a dedicated article. The entrance of Roger Dubuis into the world of engines, and into the highest levels of sporting competition, took place with Pirelli and goes on with the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Medium White Pirelli Edition, with which the brand has found a particular alchemy.
What is so special about a Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Medium White Pirelli Edition?
The two shades of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Medium White Pirelli Edition reproduce the same colors on the white compound created by Pirelli for test sessions and Grand Prix Formula 1 races. The strap, easily interchangeable and made of rubber, has an insert made with parts of white compound Pirelli tyres used during race weekends.
That insert is certified, the bar code inserted on the side of the tire is the same as reported on the inside of the strap. A brand of authenticity and a symbol for every enthusiast, who will wear on his wrist a piece of the history of a Grand Prix. The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Medium White Pirelli Edition also has a merit: the combination of black case and white shades is one of the most successful within the Roger Dubuis maison, and I hope they will continue to offer it, because the two tones combine perfectly.
On the one hand the black DLC–treated titanium case and on the other the lightly mentioned white that enhances all the elements that identify the watch: the micro-rotor on the dial side (the caliber RD820SQ is the first automatic movement with micro-rotor made by Roger Dubuis), the bezel, the rubber insert on the crown, the small parts and the white SuperLuminova® on the spheres and the luminous points.
It is the balance between the various parts of the caliber, which seem to be held together by the Astral pattern of the skeleton dial, that strike me the most, and the white pleasantly underlines this structure. It takes 530 hours to complete an RD820SQ caliber, only a portion of those needed to complete and certify a Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Medium White Pirelli Edition with the Geneva Seal.
Availability of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Medium White Pirelli Edition.
The 88 specimens of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Medium White Pirelli Edition will only be available at the brand boutiques, and for a limited time window: they will exclusively be available from the 1st of March to the 30th April this year. On the 1st of May, should any specimen be left unsold (I doubt it), it will be withdrawn from the boutiques.
A brilliant operation to make even more exclusive a sports watch that is already very exclusive and virtually unique, considering the particularity of its strap. Each Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Medium White Pirelli Edition will have a price tag of 65,000 Swiss Francs, the easiest and most accessible way to enter, without renouncing anything but a few mechanical complications, into the world of Roger Dubuis.
(Photo credit: Horbiter®'s proprietary photo-shooting)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
