To make clear, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Blacklight Trilogy is “lit” within the sense of the trendy phrase that Roger Dubuis’s goal demographic will definitely perceive. By that, I imply it’s fairly cool — even whether it is, in truth, not for some Tremendous-LumiNova, however somewhat some exterior UV gentle supply that the watches start to offer away the rationale they’re referred to as “Blacklight.”
Apparently, Roger Dubuis doesn’t say all that a lot in regards to the expertise it utilized. The purpose is that — opposite to what one would possibly consider upon first sight — it has left the trademark 166-component Roger Dubuis RD820SQ skeletonized caliber intact and added an online of specifically produced crystals above, in addition to beneath it. Paying homage to neon gentle tubes however not really able to emitting gentle by itself, this decor is “made potential by a expertise used for the primary time within the Haute Horlogerie trade.”
Roger Dubuis goes on to name it “an revolutionary expertise utilizing micro-structures fabricated from lab-grown sapphire an identical to that utilized in watchmaking jewels.” It being “an identical” form of contradicts the “used for the primary time within the Haute Horlogerie trade” phase — however let’s not nit-pick and simply settle for that one way or the other these buildings differ from the equally “grown” sapphire crystals and synthetic motion jewels. Sharing extra data on how and why they glow definitely would have been useful, as watch-lovers — regardless of how wealthy — have, for some time, been wanting to have the ability to find out about their subsequent costly buy. You see, over the now 30-year renaissance of the luxurious watch trade, these consumers have confronted (and doubtless skilled) a bunch of instances through which their egos and/or wallets obtained burned — and so, regardless of what some wish to consider it, the market of HNIW prospects is extra educated and extra suspicious than it has ever been. Subsequently, to supply some additional particulars in your cool new expertise would most likely enhance potential consumers’ confidence, versus maintain it again.
The tubes definitely look cool of their blue, pink, or white translucence; to see the enamel on a wheel or a jewel inside a bridge by way of these coloured arms is a enjoyable expertise — after you have a loupe or some respectable high quality macro gear, that’s. What I, as a watch-lover, recognize much more, although, is the (not inherently apparent) method Roger Dubuis performed with the pre-existing tiers and layers of its RD820SQ caliber and added these coloured bridges not merely over them, however somewhat into them. They’ve been cleverly woven by way of the pre-existing caliber’s web-like construction. A straightforward place to identify this occurring is up by the 12 o’clock mark the place one of many longest bridges goes beneath the arms, then instantly by way of the spherical body of the micro-rotor, over the oscillating weight, and finally into the flange ring underneath the Roger Dubuis textual content.
Within the off probability that the aforementioned goal demographic couldn’t fairly see its personal reflection within the product, Roger Dubuis debuted the Excalibur Blacklight Trilogy assortment of three watches with a video that, to me at the least, strongly resembled the membership scene of Unhealthy Boys II (2003), the place the digicam — in some very cleverly achieved, seemingly uncut footage — flies from the skies into and thru the air flow system of a constructing after which into and thru an early 2000’s membership stuffed with UV lights and different not-safe-for-work kinds of appendages. I needed to embed the video to point out the resemblance, however this isn’t 2003 anymore.
I fairly just like the idea behind these three watches, even when I do know completely nicely that it received’t flip the world of watches (and even that of Roger Dubuis) inside out and the other way up. We have now to acknowledge that it wasn’t the purpose of the train, anyway. Two issues I miss are a correct clarification of the expertise used — both within the press launch or on the product’s official web site — and that these bridges have been crafted from some even cooler materials: one thing that would emit gentle by itself, negating the necessity for having to go to an early 2000s membership with an abundance of UV lights in it. Like Tremendous-LumiNova paint or lengthy tritium tubes — as for the latter, I do know that there’s a authorized restrict to how a lot tritium could be in a single watch, however wow, would which have been enjoyable.
Anyhow, I recognize Roger Dubuis doing one thing playful and l’artwork pour l’artwork like this — as a lot because it pains me to say it, the final three to 4 years have actually introduced upon us a drought of comparable spirited workout routines. I’d like to see Roger Dubuis stay the model that brings some stability to the sport and strengthen its inherent talents which have traditionally allowed it to do exactly that.
Restricted to 88, 88, and 28 items (black, blue, pink, respectively) and introduced in 42mm-wide instances in black DLC titanium, 18ok white gold, and 18ok pink gold, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Blacklight in black will price 80,000 CHF; the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Blacklight in blue will price 95,000 CHF; whereas the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Blacklight in pink will price 100,000 CHF (all earlier than tax). You may study extra about these “lit” Roger Dubuis watches on the producer’s web site.
