47Watch housesProfile details
A modern Geneva business, dated Richemont transactions and one named reference. Manufacturer specifications and the Placide account remain attributed; certification does not create a universal quality ranking. Read dated sources for the precise reference and claim.
- Business established
- 1995 — Roger Dubuis and Carlos Dias established the modern business
- Reference
- RDDBEX0969 — Excalibur Monobalancier Cobalt; manufacturer specification checked 2026-10-05
- Case diameter
- 42 mm — RDDBEX0969 cobalt-chrome case only; manufacturer specification
- Water resistance
- 10 bar — RDDBEX0969 published rating; no permission for an unseen watch
- Movement
- RD720SQ — Automatic movement of RDDBEX0969, with micro-rotor; not every Excalibur
- Power reserve
- 72 hours — RD720SQ stated reserve, not independently measured performance
A modern Geneva house
Roger Dubuis is a modern Geneva house whose traditional credentials came through a living watchmaker rather than the revival of a dormant historical trademark. Roger Dubuis and Carlos Dias established the business in 1995. The early enterprise used the name SOGEM; the maison’s history dates the change to Manufacture Roger Dubuis SA to 1999. Hommage and Sympathie arrived in 1996, establishing two different approaches to case design: the former a tribute to the round watch, the latter a more unconventional outline. The early identity also involved complicated movements behind comparatively closed dials.
Evidence: Roger Dubuis history
Two different ownership transactions
Ownership has a similarly specific chronology. Richemont’s corporate history records the purchase of component-manufacturing operations in 2007, followed by a 60% interest in Manufacture Roger Dubuis in 2008. Those are different transactions, and neither should be compressed into a claim that the entire modern business was purchased in 2007. Richemont continues to list Roger Dubuis among its maisons in the source checked for this profile.
Evidence: Richemont corporate history, Richemont maison profile
Excalibur and openworked architecture
The Excalibur collection and the maison’s first skeleton calibre appeared in 2005. The move brought the mechanism forward as the watch’s visual subject. In an openworked watch, the bridges, empty spaces, wheels and structural supports become the composition ordinarily supplied by a dial. Excalibur’s notched bezel and triple-lug arrangement extend that assertive geometry into the case. Rather than treating technical visibility as an end in itself, the design makes the movement part of an immediately legible silhouette.
Evidence: Roger Dubuis history, Excalibur Monobalancier Cobalt
The RDDBEX0969 reference
A precise reference point is the Excalibur Monobalancier Cobalt, RDDBEX0969. The official specification checked on 5 October 2026 gives a 42 mm cobalt-chrome case, 10-bar water resistance and automatic RD720SQ movement. The calibre runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, has 178 components and offers a stated 72-hour reserve. Its micro-rotor and diamond-coated silicon escapement components show that the exposed architecture is also a platform for contemporary materials. These are manufacturer specifications, not independently measured performance results. The blue movement structure and pale metallic case make the separation between mechanism and enclosure particularly clear.
Evidence: Excalibur Monobalancier Cobalt
The Poinçon de Genève
The Poinçon de Genève adds another layer. Its official institution describes a certification concerned with provenance, workmanship and the complete watch’s reliability; it is not simply an ornamental stamp or a universal ranking of brands. Roger Dubuis connects its finishing and testing discipline to this framework, and the named Cobalt reference is listed as certified. The combination matters editorially: an aggressively modern shape can be assessed alongside inherited Geneva standards without pretending that the two are opposites.
Evidence: Poinçon de Genève, Roger Dubuis certification explanation
A documented human detail
A small, documented human detail is more revealing than an invented legend. The maison recounts that Dubuis’s childhood scout nickname was “Placide”; a later movement-development collaboration used the initials P.M.E. in tribute. This connects the imposing watches to the quiet continuity of a craftsman’s relationships.
Evidence: Roger Dubuis history
Separate structure, enclosure and certification
Describe the case outline, the bridge network and the empty spaces as three different parts of the composition. Then identify what the published specification says about the movement and what the certification account says about the complete watch. Those are related questions with different evidence. A visible mechanism can invite close looking, but its appearance alone cannot establish rate performance, component material or certification. Keep the named reference beside each technical note, and describe the architectural effect without pretending to reconstruct the mechanism.
Evidence: Roger Dubuis history, Excalibur Monobalancier Cobalt, Poinçon de Genève, Roger Dubuis certification explanation
Sources & reading
- Roger Dubuis historyRoger Dubuis · 2026-10-05
Manufacturer history supports the 1995 establishment, 1999 name change, 1996 and 2005 collection/calibre chronology, and the attributed Placide/P.M.E. account. No universal priority or uninterrupted historic-company inference.
- Richemont corporate historyRichemont · 2026-10-05
Richemont's dated corporate history distinguishes component operations purchased in 2007 from a 60% company interest in 2008. It does not disclose a complete current share register.
- Richemont maison profileRichemont · 2026-10-05
Richemont maison listing at the 5 October 2026 source check; supports group inclusion at that snapshot, not exact legal ownership percentages.
- Excalibur Monobalancier CobaltRoger Dubuis · 2026-10-05
Manufacturer specification for Excalibur Monobalancier Cobalt RDDBEX0969 and RD720SQ, reported checked 2026-10-05. Measurements, reserve, component count and certification apply to this reference, not independently tested or universal collection performance.
- Poinçon de GenèvePoinçon de Genève · 2026-10-05
Certification institution's account of the Poinçon de Genève framework. Not a universal brand ranking or image/logo reuse licence.
- Roger Dubuis certification explanationRoger Dubuis · 2026-10-05
Roger Dubuis's own explanation of its certification/finishing/testing framework. Keep named-reference and institutional scopes distinct; no permission to reproduce certification marks or source photography.