Roger Dubuis Adds Two Bi-retrograde Excalibur Models

Roger Dubuiss expands its Excalibur collection with two bi-retrograde models: the sporty Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar Cosmic Blue and a rose-gold perpetual calendar with astronomical moon phase.

Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar Cosmic Blue

The new Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar in Cosmic Blue combines the Maison's sporty identity with classic Geneva watchmaking, an automatic calendar movement, and the unmistakable bi-retrograde display that has been one of Roger Dubuis' defining features for decades. With its 40-millimeter stainless steel case, deep blue dial, and automatic caliber RD840, it is more than a new color variation.

Bi-retrograde Display as a Trademark

The bi-retrograde display is closely linked with the name Roger Dubuis. As early as 1989, the founder patented his own version of this mechanism. Together with Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, he revised the classic retrograde principle to make it both more efficient and visually more striking. The goal was a design that combined technical sophistication with clarity while also creating an emotional impact.

The key improvements lay in two aspects: first, the use of coil springs instead of flat springs, positioned directly on the hand gears rather than on the rack; second, a redesigned cam. These changes simplified assembly, improved functional reliability, and ensured a more precise, stable, and easier-to-read display. In the new Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar, this principle lives on in typical Roger Dubuis fashion. The skeletonized, angled hands move across elliptical scales for the day and date before snapping back to their original position at the end of each cycle.

Cosmic Blue as a Stage

The new model is dedicated entirely to “Cosmic Blue,” a signature color from Roger Dubuis, meant to capture the moment between daylight and nightly depth. Depending on the lighting, it shifts between cooler, darker, and more vibrant tones. The dial is built in multiple layers and consists of seven levels. This stratification visually distinguishes the various displays from each other. Rhodium-plated hour indices with white Super-LumiNova ensure good legibility and create bright accents. The ecliptic counters feature a sunburst finish and rhodium plating, while the central plate has a circular finish and is also executed in Cosmic Blue. Additional details include the small seconds at 6 o'clock and the bi-retrograde emblem at 12 o'clock, both with an azuré finish and beveled angles.

Geneva Seal and Open Mechanics

The automatic caliber RD840 offers a power reserve of 60 hours and is visible through the sapphire crystal case back. Particularly important is the certification by the Poinçon de Genève. This Geneva Seal not only confirms the movement's origin but also stands for particularly high standards of construction, execution, and finishing. In the case of the RD840, this is evident in the numerous hand-applied decorations that elevate the movement to the level of Haute Horlogerie. A total of 14 finishing techniques are used, including anglage, mattifying, circular graining, Geneva stripes, perlage, mirror polishing, and worked tooth flanks.

Sporty-elegant

The case of the new model is made of 316L stainless steel. The combination of polished, blasted, and satin-finished surfaces creates a contrast between technical sharpness and luxurious presence. The material gives the watch everyday robustness without diminishing the fine craftsmanship. The timepiece is completed by a multi-link stainless steel bracelet that combines comfort and classic sports-watch aesthetics. Additionally, Roger Dubuis provides a blue rubber strap with a stainless steel triple-folding clasp.

__

With the Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar Cosmic Blue, Roger Dubuis achieves a particularly harmonious synthesis of brand identity, technical substance, and visual expressiveness. The watch thrives on its emblematic bi-retrograde display, the spatial impact of the dial, and the finishing quality of a true Geneva manufacture movement. It is not the most overtly expressive model in the portfolio, but precisely for that reason, it is one of the most interesting: a characterful, technically serious, and simultaneously exceptionally wearable Excalibur.

Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar

With the new Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar, Roger Dubuis takes its iconic bi-retrograde family in a technically much more demanding direction. While the Cosmic Blue model presents day and date in a sporty-elegant frame, this new version combines the characteristic retrograde choreography with one of the most traditional grand complications of watchmaking: the perpetual calendar.

Perpetual Calendar as a Signature Complication

The perpetual calendar is one of the great complications of classical watchmaking. Its task is to accurately account for different month lengths and leap years, thus maintaining its displays precisely for decades. For the manufacture, this complication is closely tied to the personality of the founder. Roger Dubuis was regarded as a watchmaker who combined patient construction, technical sophistication, and aesthetic clarity. The perpetual calendar embodies this claim in a special way. The new Excalibur arranges day and date on elliptical retrograde scales. As with the classic bi-retrograde display, the hands glide over their paths and jump back to their starting position at the end of the cycle. The calendar mechanism is thus not only displayed but also made somewhat experiential.

The New Caliber RD850

The new automatic manufacture caliber RD850 works inside. It consists of 435 components and offers a power reserve of 60 hours. The movement marks an advanced generation of Roger Dubuis' bi-retrograde perpetual calendars and shows how the Maison further refines historical signatures technically. A particularly practical innovation is the integrated month corrector. It allows the month display to be adjusted directly and with ease. Compared to earlier constructions, this makes the adjustment significantly easier, faster, and at the same time more gentle on the mechanics. Particularly in a caliber architecture of such complexity, this is an important functional detail, as it noticeably improves everyday handling. Like the RD840, this movement also bears the Poinçon de Genève.

Astronomical Moon Phase with Long-term Precision

A significant extension compared to previous bi-retrograde calendars is the astronomical moon phase display at six o'clock. It is constructed to depict the synodic lunar month of 29 days, 12 hours, and 45 minutes with particular precision. As a result, the display remains accurate for around 122 years before requiring correction by a single day. Compared to conventional moon phase displays, which usually use an approximate 29.5-day cycle and therefore require correction after only two to three years, this is a significant technical improvement. The design of the moon phase is also elaborately executed. The main disc is made of aventurine and features a convex moon made of 18-carat rose gold, which is laser-engraved to create additional depth and structure.

Dial in Nine Levels

The new launch features an open, multi-layered dial with a total of nine levels. Roger Dubuis calls the color scheme "Astral Blue" — a tone inspired by the vastness and depth of the universe. This blue is combined with various materials and surfaces to create a nuanced play of light. Key elements include a double-structured flange with wide azurage, ecliptic counters made of Astral Blue mother-of-pearl with polished angles, a month disc also in Astral Blue mother-of-pearl, and the moon phase display. The main plate is brushed and gray-coated, while the open caliber architecture reveals the retrograde bridges. These bridges are of particular interest from a horological perspective. Roger Dubuis explicitly highlights their interior angle polishing, one of the most demanding traditional finishes of all. Such interior angles are not machine-made but only achieved through patient handcraft with special tools. Overall, the caliber RD850 features nineteen different finishes. The watch is thus not only a functionally complex calendar but also a craft-oriented statement of modern Geneva Haute Horlogerie. The 40-millimeter rose gold case gives the timepiece a much more elegant, classic appearance than the stainless steel model in Cosmic Blue. It is worn on an Astral Blue calf leather strap.

__

With the Excalibur Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar, Roger Dubuis demonstrates how confidently the Maison can transport its historical bi-retrograde signature into the realm of grand calendar complications. The new RD850 combines practical improvements, astronomical precision, and exceptional finishing with a clearly recognizable design identity. The reference thus clearly shows that the manufacture masters not only expressive watchmaking but also the quiet, demanding tones of high calendar watches.

To learn more, visit Roger Dubuis, here.