Roger Dubuis

The early releases of the Geneva watch brand Roger Dubuis, founded in 1995, are attracting more and more attention from experts and the collector community. The brand was created by its founders to produce high-quality wristwatches in the tradition of Geneva watchmaking, which is most convincingly embodied by the old Patek Philippe watches, and this applies not only to the appearance of the watches, but also to the high-quality execution of the calibers. The founders had good reasons for choosing this starting point. Mr. Roger Dubuis worked for 14 years in the high complications workshops at Patek Philippe and therefore knew the most attractive aspects of the great brand’s heritage, which were not always and not fully realized in the current Patek Philippe collection. Carlos Diaz, the second founder of the Roger Dubuis brand, also had experience in dealing with the historical design heritage, key elements of which were stylistically implemented in watches from the Franck Muller brand, for which Carlos Diaz worked before joining the Roger Dubuis project.The present example, a very rare, fine and early limited edition white gold wristwatch with perpetual calendar and chronograph, belongs to the heritage of the early Roger Dubuis with a classic round design case, a decorative mother-of-pearl dial and a high-quality hand-wound caliber RD5632, which is hallmarked with the Poinçon de Genève and having passed the chronometric certification in Besançon, i.e., it is a chronometer, i.e. in terms of level, caliber and performance it was similar to a perpetual calendar and chronograph Patek Phillippe Ref. 3970 and 3971.Notable for the early Hommage collection timepiece is the distinctive design of the 12-sided screw-down caseback, engraved with the brand name “Roger Dubuis horloger genevois” and a garland motif, while the round sapphire window bears the brand's laser-engraved RD monogram. These are the characteristic features of the second-generation Hommage models (Mk2). 

This Hommage Bi-Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Chronograph belongs to the brand's early period, the most promising and attractive for collectors. This is because the watches of the early period were produced in very small numbers, usually in a limited edition of 28 pieces (like this watch) and with a case made of precious metal, mainly rose gold or white gold. Furthermore, the early period watches are most influenced by the style, the sense of tradition and the high level of craftsmanship that Mr. Roger Dubuis brought to the brand and which enabled it to quickly gain popularity and prestige among collectors. The present Hommage Bi-Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Chronograph has all these precious qualities.