By launching the Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar on the brand’s 30th anniversary, Roger Dubuis didn’t just celebrate a milestone; it also shared with the watch community the direction it has taken, as we discussed in our opening article about the 2026 releases.
The time has come for the next-gen Roger Dubuis, and the new era’s most complicated Excalibur to date (if we exclude the Excalibur Grande Complication): the Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar.
Get used to it; the retrograde day-date display isn’t a fancy detail; it embodies a renewed product philosophy and grounds the most prestigious Excalibur, combining old-school watchmaking with exclusive materials and finishes.
Richly detailed, meticulously crafted
When a timepiece carries the Hallmark of Geneva, rest assured you made a high-end specs-based timepiece yours, down to the tiniest, invisible detail.
Still, that cannot make an excellent watch feel superb, and that’s where Roger Dubuis added its formula to make it stand out.
An Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar sums up an expertise that places decoration and materials in the first row, out of a seven-layer skeletonised dial, where extensive use of mother-of-pearl, aventurine quartz, and rose gold applications come together to enrich the execution.
Aventurine Quartz
For your records, aventurine quartz appears exclusively as a starry skyline base, with a laser-engraved rose-gold domed moon on top.
Mother-of-pearl is executed in the brand’s signature “Astral Blue,” and is everywhere, from the elliptical counters to the outermost flange, whereas the main plate combines satin-finish and PVD-treatment instead (same as for the tiny leap year disc).
The designers’ effort aimed to further decode the multiple pieces of information on display, despite the darker tones chosen.
Topping it all off with a rose gold case, the outcome is the richest Excalibur ever, miles apart from the sportier executions and much classier than ever before. It works and conveys exclusivity in a classic haute horlogerie silhouette, and in a quintessential Excalibur baroque style.
At 40.00 mm in diameter and 12.25 mm thick, this compact perpetual calendar watch is water-resistant to 100 meters, making the most of a sporty yet luxurious case.
A traditional design approach
Aside from the visible gearing to make the retrograde non-linear display of day and date work, the RD850 calibre follows a traditional design approach; its execution complies with the Hallmark of Geneva specification, as said, while a handy 60-hour power reserve guarantees everyday functionality.
Also, it provides a precise moon phase for approximately 122 years before requiring its first adjustment, and comes equipped with a silicon escapement that uniquely pairs a perpetual calendar with a retrograde day-date display.
Final Thoughts
The Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar retails at an on-request listed price, with a total of 188 pieces produced.
What excites me most is how the watch fits within its specific market. While style and proportions are, and always will be, subjective, the execution is remarkable and continues to strengthen the RD’s foothold as a disruptive watch brand—not everybody’s cup of tea, by any means.
Any collector placing an order for this Excalibur is rarely anybody looking for a Jaeger-LeCoultre Perpetual Calendar or a Vacheron Patrimony housing the same complication.
Even in such a rooted execution, an Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendarbelongs to a class of its own, which is why it won’t fit into any mainstream product portfolio, despite paying visual and technical homage to enduring classicism.
I believe Roger Dubuis has targeted those who were once done with classic-looking wristwatches, while capturing a younger yet high-spending audience who equally value traditional execution and daring attire.
And that’s where Roger Dubuis’s approach to watchmaking comes closer to Indie watchmaking than its peers within the same luxury group.
(Photo credit: Horbiter®)
In this article:
Calendar
A feature that shows the day of the month and, in some cases, the day of the week. Some calendar watches show the date on sub-dials, while others display the…
Perpetual Calendar
The perpetual calendar is a complication that adjusts the watch's calendar for varying months and leap years. This cycle will end in 2100, and the wearer should apply the first manual correction.
Date
It indicates the date of the month. There are different types of display: via a window or a pointer, where an additional hand is usually placed centrally or on a…
Complication
The addition of any mechanical complication to a movement that usually displays the time.
Day-date
A watch that indicates the day of the week and the date.
Case
It encases the mechanical movement and is crafted in one or more parts. It can also be a single piece, as with some professional diving watches, or made of unconventional…
Power Reserve
A mechanical watch feature displays, on the dial or the case back, the remaining power in a watch movement, showing the length of time until the timepiece must be rewound.
Calibre
A calibre is the type of watch movement encased in an assigned timepiece. Its name is usually associated with the manufacturer's name and a standard code, e.g., ETA 2824.
Skeletonised, seven layers, adopting "Astral Blue" mother of pearl, aventurine quartz for the moon phase, satin finish and PVD treatment, rose gold deposition
Calibre
RD850, perpetual calendar with retrograde date and day display, 16 decorations, 4Hz, 60 hours of power reserve
