News
Introducing the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Twofold
News
Introducing the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Twofold
Kicking 2020 off, the brand has chosen to debut the Excalibur Twofold, which is made from yet another unusual material, simply referred to as Mineral Composite Fiber in the watch’s technical specifications. But what is this Mineral Composite Fiber?
“From there we place the material into a mold, where it is shaped using the Sheet Molding Composite (SMC) method. Off to the milling machine, then to obtain the raw case. The method used for the Excalibur Twofold is very similar, except that in this case the raw materials are sheets of quartz and yet another epoxy. We load a coloring agent into the epoxy itself that gives the resulting material its pristine white color.”
“We spent two years trying to find an appropriate epoxy from the many varieties that already exist in various industries. But none where suitable. In the end, we had to resort to working with a partner to formulate an epoxy that is now a development of our own.”
Therein we have number one of three world premieres contained within the Excalibur Twofold that Roger Dubuis can make claim to. What’s number two then?
Explains Bruttin, “For the movement itself we have put Super-LumiNova on the angles of the movement’s bridges. Normally in order to apply Super-LumiNova we need a contained space within which the material can be held when applied.
World premiere number three is a little unexpected, but Bruttin explains that it’s to do with the strap where the brand has for the first time incorporated Super-LumiNova into the material of the strap. Says Bruttin, “we’re using a specific Super-LumiNova here, which we put directly into the rubber of the strap before molding it.” All of this and still the watch manages Roger Dubuis’s mandate for every watch bearing the Geneva seal.
So, in closing, we asked Bruttin if it might be possible to actually form the whole movement of the watch in Mineral Composite Fiber, much like they’ve accomplished for the Excalibur Spider – Carbon³ flying tourbillon. To which he laughed out loud and said, “it certainly has all of the physical qualities necessary for us to make our delicate Excalibur movements.”
Guess it’s not hard to imagine then what is already cooking in Bruttin’s head.
Movement
Hand wound RD01SQ Calibre; hours, minutes; double tourbillon; 50-hour power reserve
Case
45mm in Mineral Composite Fiber with titanium case back; water resistant to 30m
Strap
Rubber with camo pattern on top treated with Super-Luminova
Limited edition of 8 pieces[/td_block_text_with_title]