You’ll notice the brand’s hallmark triple-lugs which are effective in broadening the case stance, but frankly they’ve never done much for me design-wise. The case is done in white gold with a bezel set with precisely 60 diamonds. This is a very versatile, wearable size and while I would commend Roger Dubuis for eschewing the need to force something like a 45mm case here, the brand has been offering the Excalibur in 42mm for years now (so why do I so frequently hear “too big” as a complaint?).
The 42mm wide and 12.7mm thick case of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Blacklight Monobalancier comes in at just about 49mm lug-to-lug with 50m of water resistance. Additionally balance wheel inertia was doubled and the new escape wheel uses diamond-coated silicon as well as a new lubricant.
There are also improvements to the micro-rotor that offer increased protection against shocks and vibrations micro-rotors are typically more fragile than standard rotors so this was a wise development. The RD720SQ was updated from its previous iteration and has a 72-hour power reserve brought on by new geartrain toothing and an updated escapement as well as an updated 4Hz frequency. This watch comes equipped with the RD720SQ automatic micro-rotor movement which was introduced last year alongside the debut of the “standard” Excalibur Monobalancier. Paired with the star motif and architectural bridges, Roger Dubuis weaves the chaotic into something fun (and still a little chaotic, of course). The hour and minutes hands are done in white gold with a satin finish and have a double-blade forked design up to the tip which is coated in lume. The hour markers alternate between yellow and orange, with a closer inspection showing the angular polished white gold frame around each of the indices. Though what the watch lacks in legibility, it makes up for with excellent finishing. It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that this highly stylized skeletonized dial is not going to be the most legible for, you know, reading the time. The crisscrossing beams sit on the upper layer of the movement which you can see in the graphic below. Look closely and you’ll notice that there is actually chamfering done on these which is another testament to the exceptional attention to detail here. Emanating from the off-center diamond, these metallic orange and yellow beams are coated in UV paint. However, there are improvements and updates to both the movement as well as the “micro-beams” that are actually placed within the movement and glow under UV light. On to the watch at hand this isn’t the first Excalibur Blacklight piece, with a trilogy of an earlier design iteration released about five years ago. So, while Roger Dubuis may not be to everyone’s tastes, there is no arguing that Richemont’s club kid is very serious about watchmaking. According to Roger Dubuis, ensuring that their watches meet the Geneva Seal standards equates to 40% longer production times. Historically, the Geneva Seal was limited to movement finishing, but in 2011 became more stringent in taking movement performance and case finishes into account. Recognized by the horological cognoscenti as being the premier certification in watchmaking, the Geneva Seal has been around for over 135 years. Like every Roger Dubuis watch produced, the Excalibur Blacklight Monobalancier bears the Poinçon de Genève aka the Geneva Seal. I have always had a fondness for Roger Dubuis and here’s why: design is subjective but watchmaking is not. It’s hard not to draw parallels Richard Mille, another brand that embraces brash designs and cutting edge materials. Roger Dubuis refers to the Excalibur Blacklight Monobalancier as “hyper excessive” and I’d have to agree, though I suppose it applies to most of the brand’s offerings. That said, I recently visited their new boutique at South Coast Plaza in Southern California, and in that visit got to check out their latest release, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Blacklight Monobalancier.
You may not love the design, but you have to respect the watchmaking. The second thing is to realize that design language and watchmaking are two separate things that exist independently of each other. This is the first thing one must accept at face value to understand the appeal of Richemont’s most nonconformist brand.
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