Among the many perks of attending Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024 is seeing and experiencing ultra-high-end concept watches taking shape. Over the years, there have been many epic encounters, and some letdowns, too, but there is nothing that could take away from the magic of the moment when we ask for a concept watch and the answer is: “Oh, yes, we have that one, too!” For a decade and counting, Roger Dubuis has been a brand we have grown to count on delivering its zaniest, most complicated, or most spectacular new watch that previously we had only seen on computer renders. 2024 was another year to deliver on our expectations as we got to go hands-on with the Roger Dubuis Orbis In Machina watch that we first covered — with renders — here.
Let’s jump right into it, quite literally: The Roger Dubuis Orbis In Machina (meaning “World in the Machine” in Latin) is powered by the manufacture’s RD115, a caliber that is the size of a Datejust 36. No kidding, this 277-part movement is 16 ligne wide, which is ancient watchmaker-speak for 36 millimeters, and is 12.2mm thick, which is actually a few tenths more than a cased-up Datejust 36 with 100 meters of water resistance.
First, let us address the height. Clearly, the Roger Dubuis Orbis In Machina is a watch equipped with a central flying tourbillon. Sure, a flying tourbillon is called as such because it has no bridge securing it from above, making for a relatively thin way of installing a tourbillon. Things change, however, if a watchmaker decides to place the escapement and its rotating cage right into the center of attention by elevating it above the plane of the movement — which, as you can see, is what Roger Dubuis has done here. They also know how to install it within the constraints of a movement, just check out Ariel’s review of this rather spectacular Excalibur Flying Tourbillon watch.
This being Roger Dubuis, the list of mechanical complexities must, of course, continue. Although the Orbis in Machina is a time-only watch, meaning you don’t get a chronograph or even a basic date indication, the hours and minutes and their respective displays make up for those as they are presented and spaced out in a way that requires a lot of, well, space. Just take a closer look at the image above, and you will discover the numerous concentric rings and discs, as well as some of the openworked pillars that hold them in their position. The hours and minutes are displayed by two-pronged hands — extending the fantasy theme, especially the larger hour hand reminds me of the Gauss Cannon from Doom (2016) — while the minutes are indicated by an arrow fitted to the one-minute flying toubillon.
Hidden deep inside the bowels of the Roger Dubuis Orbis in Machina, you will find an additional ring. It sits below the flange ring (with the large and apparently lumed hour markers) and next to the previously discussed golden central section. This gray ring carries one of the numerous Poinçon de Genève (you can learn more about that here) markings and below that a small metal piece that reveals the letter “S.” This is the function selector’s indicator: Press on the button disguised at 2 o’clock to dictate whether turning the crown winds the watch or sets the hands. An unusual, although not too rare feature that adds to the whimsy of the RD115.
There is a subjectively cool and spectacular element to the “World in the Machine,” too. The picture above is decidedly dark and is almost exactly as it was captured by my camera at Watches & Wonders. If you flashed it up on a non-watch-savvy person’s screen for a moment and asked what it was, I bet many would think it was a prop from a medieval-themed fantasy series, movie, or book. Every last bit and the way they interact and correlate mimics, in my mind, a non-functional or computer-rendered prop from one of those aforementioned fantasy-based settings — and yet it is not that, but a working watch. For this sort of money, this is the level of entertainment I, for one, expect — and truckloads of it is delivered here.
Flip the massive (claimed 45mm wide, but actually much larger-wearing) and massively heavy 18k pink gold case around, and you will find a caseback that is anything but average. If you have ever seen a bank vault door’s mechanisms revealed, the RD115 is reminiscent of one of those. And if not that, then still certainly not a regular hand-wound watch movement. Given the function selector feature and its pusher mechanism, the rocker-type keyless works of the RD115 also appear drastically different from most other watch movements, with a sliding cam reminiscent of chronograph components also present for good measure.
On the wrist, the Roger Dubuis Orbis in Machina is an empowering, if not overpowering watch. Like all other similarly styled watches from the brand, the three-pronged lugs make the claimed 45mm wide case wear much, much larger than virtually any other 45mm wide watch out there. In addition, the squared-off case profile, polished surfaces, and beefed-up strap all rush in with more volume and spectacle. There is no two ways around it, the Orbis in Machina makes you look like you were wearing some rare medieval artifact that must have a stone fortress somewhere in Scotland (or the Vatican) with a wall cavity that accommodates this three-pronged ticking piece to open a hidden door, reveal a yet-more-ancient keepsake, or whatever.
In essence, despite having the tourbillon at the center of attention, and the bonkers RD115 movement revealed in all its Geneva Hallmark-certified glory on the back, it really is hard not to be smitten by the fantastic nature of this watch. Limited to just 88 pieces, the Roger Dubuis Orbis in Machina watch is priced at $225,000 USD — and, sure, you could argue that for so much money one should not have to use their imagination, but does it really hurt if you do? Well, even if you don’t want to, you have one of the more spectacular time displays and caseback views all to yourself. You can learn more at the brand’s website.
