Light It Up With Lume: Roger Dubuis’ Era Of Light And Colour Begins
5 min read
When it comes to Roger Dubuis and their collection of eclectic watches, less is never more. This larger-than-life Swiss watch brand has been at the forefront of extravagance combined with expert watchmaking since its inception in 1995. Better known for their architectural skeletonized movements, Roger Dubuis strikes a fine balance between meticulous watchmaking with avant-garde design. However, in recent years, the serial innovator has been exploring uncharted territories with a unique form of hyper-horology expressed via a unique glow and we are here for it.
It’s LIT!
The Swiss watch brand started its era of light and color with the release of the Excalibur Backlight Trilogy in 2019. The collection featured three new models housing an artistic version of the popular RD820SQ caliber. This meant the movement was decorated with a new technology that involved adding micro-structures made of lab-grown sapphire to the movement. These offered an inherent ability to glow under UV light, hence revealing a motif that showcased as if the case was floating at night. The trilogy was available in limited pink gold, white gold, and black DLC titanium editions. With this timepiece, the brand chose not to go down the traditional way of using Super-LumiNova but took the help of external UV light to light up its watches, hence the name “Backlight”.
The bold and beautiful Excalibur Twofold released in 2020 narrated a different story. The all-white timepiece featured a patented process that lights up every angle of the upper plate of the movement with the help of luminescence which lasted 60% longer than usual. And it did not stop there. The luminescence, based on a world-first technology named “LumiSuperBiwiNova™”, also extended to the strap which glowed in the dark like a nocturnal signature.
With these examples and many more like the Excalibur Single Flying Tourbillon Glow Me Up and the Excalibur Gully Monotourbillon, it is safe to say that the excessive (in a good way) brand made sure it lit up their customers' wrists leaving no stone unturned in terms of innovation and experimentation.
Aglow With Luminescent Extravagance
More recently, Richemont’s wild child has unleashed the full power of colorful luminescence with many “hyper-luminescent, hyper-colorful, and hyper-performing” timepieces. These include the Excalibur Blacklight Monobalancier (MB) and Excalibur Blacklight Spin-Stone™ Monobalancier, both released early this year.
Pegged as the brightest expressions of the Maison to date, the Excalibur Blacklight Monobalancier (MB) offers awe-inducing vibrancy when under UV light. The timepiece is a personification of the intricate art of luminescence which has been developed and perfected by skilled watchmakers for many years. The timepiece features metal micro-beams that take up the shape of the brand’s signature star. This tri-dimensional star is steeped in bright colors of yellow and orange during the day which turn luminescent and glow neon under UV light. Furthermore, sitting at the heart of the star is a precious and vividly fluorescent diamond that opens up the timepiece to a completely new dimension.
With the Excalibur Blacklight Spin-Stone™ Monobalancier, Roger Dubuis welcomes its most colorful and luminous expression ever. The timepiece features an interesting bezel equipped with spinels coated with Super-LumiNova™ in shades of red and blue. Each spinel, also known as Spin-Stones™ (the world’s first stone-cut patent pending), is synthetically grown and offers a uniform gradation of colors that blend perfectly with the open dial housing the signature Roger Dubuis star in the same color shades. It is important to note that whether it is day, night, or under UV light, the monochromatic look of the watch is always shining in full color.
Offering a modern and iridescent opportunity for the fans of Roger Dubuis, these new and old luminescent timepieces offer new heights of expression, advanced mechanics, and a new facet of Hyper Horology™ and as we mentioned before, we are here for it!
