For a number of years now, the Excalibur collection has been Roger Dubuis’s most popular family of high-end timepieces. Named after the famed sword of Arthurian legend, what has typified all Roger Dubuis Excalibur watches is a notched bezel design and round case with an extra “third lug” protruding into the bracelet or strap. Other than that, the Excalibur collection of watches has been executed in a vivid array of styles including a wild assortment of dials, movements, materials, and colors. Currently, Roger Dubuis only makes watches with skeletonized dials (and subsequent movements), but if you look at the brand’s back catalog you will see many more demurely dressed versions of the Excalibur. That said, this relatively lavish all-titanium version of the Excalibur (the non-tourbillon, “Monobalancier” version, that is), represents one of the current entry points into the brand at this time. Today, I’d like to review two relatively similar Roger Dubuis Excalibur Titanium watches: the reference DBEX0956 Excalibur Monobalancier (automatic micro-rotor) Titanium, and the reference DBEX1112 Excalibur Monotourbillon Titanium. Both feature the same case and bracelet but have different Geneva Seal-certified mechanical movements.

Roger Dubuis makes its movements in-house and is extremely proud of not only the engineering effort, but also the finishing and decoration of its mechanisms. This can be very challenging to understand or visualize in marketing images, where all surfacing treatments are made to look amazing. In-hand though, the attention to detail and beauty of a truly hand-finished and meticulously polished movement is very apparent. It also helps that Roger Dubuis uses a totally glare-free AR-coated domed sapphire crystal over the dial. The easiest way to cheapen/spoil the look of an otherwise amazing movement is to have a poor crystal experience, which sadly is a problem in a number of other watches. Roger Dubuis, however, has put in the extra attention to make sure your eyes see the movement in its full glory thanks to using the correct sapphire crystal component. Small details like this make a big impact and are what you should be seeking when spending top dollar on a luxury Swiss timepiece.

I really can’t emphasize enough how beauty and detailing are a strong selling point of the movements in these two similar watches. Roger Dubuis hopes that by giving both of these movements a prestigious Seal of Geneva emblem (and, of course, certification), consumers will appreciate the positioning of these calibers. Unfortunately, too few customers have any real idea of what the Poinçon de Genève really means in practice and execution. Back in 2016, aBlogtoWatch visited Roger Dubuis and discussed in detail what it means for a watch to bear the prestigious Seal of Geneva mark. In short, it certifies that a watch movement was made within the canton of Geneva, it conforms to certain performance specifications, and bears a certain level of hand-finishing and decoration. Whether or not you know or care about the Seal of Geneva, its benefits are apparent when gazing into the dial of one of these Roger Dubuis Excalibur watches.

Current Roger Dubuis design practices celebrate a meeting point between classic and modern. These watches are produced in a traditional manner, but the company has taken a distinctly contemporary approach to visual design, which is best illustrated in the movement architecture and style. While both the RD720SQ (micro-rotor automatic) and RD512 (manually-wound flying tourbillon) caliber movements are different, they share similarities in the gray NAC-coating on the bridges, the overall three-dimensional skeletonized bridge architecture, the prominent “star” bridgework that emanates from the mainspring barrel pinion, and a focus on large levels of hand-finishing and ultra-precise machined detailing. The style isn’t for everyone, but these are really cool movements, visually satisfying when viewed from most angles.

Let’s go over the different movements in some detail. Roger Dubuis uses the “Monobalancier” and “Monotourbillon” names to refer to the fact that these watches have single balance wheels. This is to help distinguish them from other Roger Dubuis watches that have two (or more) balance wheels, such as the famed double-tourbillons (many of which appear in the Excalibur timepiece collection). The “Monobalancier” term used to refer to the micro-rotor automatics is perhaps the most confusing for those who aren’t familiar with the brand’s product naming practices. I agree that, while the name sounds cool, it might have been a bit clearer to simply refer to the watch as the “Excalibur Micro-Rotor Titanium.” The movement inside the Monobalancier is the Roger Dubuis caliber RD720SQ, and in addition to being pretty, it is a good performer. The movement operates at 4Hz (28,800 bph) with a power reserve of 72 hours and is comprised of 178 parts. Part of the Geneva Seal requirements is that the movements be accurate and have excellent timing results. To help accomplish this, Roger Dubuis uses two small features that are important to point out in this article. Those two components are a diamond-coated silicon escapement wheel, as well as the pallet stones that interact with the balance wheel.

This is a slightly different approach from companies that use normal silicon as a material for hairsprings. Roger Dubuis’ approach to the use of silicon is more about reducing friction in the regular operation of mechanical movements. This not only allows for an increased power reserve but also better accuracy over time, as the kinetic output from the unwinding mainspring changes depending on how tightly wound it is. The use of diamond-coated silicon is rare in the industry, given how expensive it can be to make. Watchmaker Ulysse Nardin produces diamond-coated silicon using the tradename Diamonsil (which might actually be what Roger Dubuis uses). Even Ulysse Nardin tends to use Diamonsil only in its most high-end watches. Why coat silicon with diamond? To make it stronger and more resistant over time. Silicon is an amazing material, but it is also brittle. It can break in situations where metal does not, and there is no ability to repair silicon parts (you simply need to replace them). Coating silicon with diamond material increases the strength of the component and does not negatively affect its mechanical performance. Roger Dubuis mentions the use of diamond-coated silicon in the caliber RD720SQ almost as a passing note, but it is an important part of what makes this Roger Dubuis micro-rotor automatic different from the competition.

The Excalibur Monobalancier Titanium dial keeps things simple by offering just the time with minutes and hours. The dial feels classier without a seconds indicator, even though such functionality is typically appreciated by users. Between the spinning automatic rotor and the operating regulation system, there is more than enough movement on the dial as it is without the presence of a seconds hand. One final remark on the automatic winding system: The micro-rotor is among the coolest-looking on the market, and it also turns with impressive efficiency. Sometimes, these rotors appear to stutter a bit as they move, because their mass is barely enough to move the winding system. Here, however, we see a very well-lubricated low-friction connection that allows the micro-rotor to move smoothly and elegantly as it automatically winds the movement.

At a glance, these two watches look very similar, but the tourbillon version costs more than double the price of the micro-rotor automatic and is part of a limited edition of 28 pieces. Inside the Excalibur Monotourbillon Titanium is the caliber RD512 manually wound movement. It features a stunningly beautiful flying tourbillon with a cage made of titanium and chrome cobalt. This movement also bears the Seal of Geneva and is comprised of carefully finished parts. The tourbillon operates at 3Hz, and the watchvhas a power reserve of 72 hours. This is one of the nicest-looking skeletonized tourbillon movements on the market with (in my opinion) Roger Dubuis’ finishing easily beating several others on the market, especially when it comes to more modern-looking mechanisms.

Despite the monochromatic gray tones of the overall watch and dial, legibility is still pretty good. The hands might look like extensions of the bridges on the movements, but they are properly sized, attractive looking, and follow a minute/hour track around the periphery of the open-worked movement and watch face. These are actually quite expensive hands to make. The nicely polished and finely detailed titanium cases are 42mm wide, about 12mm thick, and have a roughly 52mm lug-to-lug distance. The cases are water resistant to 100 meters, and have a sapphire crystal as the caseback window. I find the Excalibur Titanium case to be comfortable not only ergonomically but also because of the lightness of the titanium material. The only downside is that titanium scratches easily, so you need to baby these timepieces a bit and treat them more like jewelry than sports watches.

Roger Dubuis uses a proprietary tool-less bracelet detachment system that works pretty well. The brand needed to develop its own system to accommodate the unique third lug structure. Under the bracelet is a small lever that you can depress to remove the bracelet. The watch doesn’t come with an extra strap (as far as I know), but I can easily see owners of either the Excalibur Monobalancier or Monotourbillon opting for a strap to wear at least some of the time. One good reason is that the look and feel of Excalibur cases really are different on a bracelet versus the strap.

The titanium bracelet is comfortable and well-made, closing with a discreet butterfly-style deployant. My only issue with the bracelet is that I feel like it would benefit from a bit more Excalibur design DNA. For example, could those notched edges find a way onto the sides of the bracelet links? I feel as though Roger Dubuis could get a bit wilder with the bracelet design, especially since the Excalibur case and movements are so much more avant-garde by comparison. Imagine, for instance, some of the design of the detailed crown being carried over into the bracelet.

One of the reasons people like gray watches is that they are so fashionably versatile. Gray might have a demure appearance on its own, but it pairs well with pretty much any color you might wear. That versatility is important because a watch like the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monobalancier or Monotourbillon is intended for daily or near-daily wear. It is certainly comfortable light enough, and the presentation of the movement and dial are welcome experiences for the eye on a regular basis. Inexpensive, they are not, coming from an accomplished Geneva firm such as Roger Dubuis. Price for the reference DBEX0956 Roger Dubuis Monobalancier Titanium watch is $66,500 USD, and the price for the limited edition of 28 pieces reference DBEX1112 Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monotourbillon Titanium watch is $151,000 USD (both prices do not include applicable taxes). Learn more at the Roger Dubuis website.