Opposites Attract

The Excalibur Monobalancier Titanium 42mm from Roger Dubuis is a wrist-hugging paradox imbued with watchmaking finesse.

- Haziq Yusof

HEAR THE WORD Excalibur, the name of King Arthur's fabled sword, and images of chivalry, kings, and knights errant immediately flit through the mind. The Arthurian myth—a saga Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the Witcher books, once described as the backbone of all fantasy literature—has been a reservoir of inspiration for many artisans through the centuries.

Yet, the Excalibur Monobalancier Titanium 42mm, the first Excalibur timepiece in a full titanium case and bracelet, seems to eschew any historical sentimentality. If anything, the hyper-modern design of the skeletonised timepiece, characterised by sharp, straight lines, and accentuated by negative space, appears as though it's straight out of a science-fiction film directed by Michael Bay.

This, of course, isn't anything new for Manufacture Roger Dubuis. The avant-garde sensibilities of the watchmaker have been well-documented in recent decades, further reinforced in 2021 when it redesigned its Excalibur line to feature the now-recognisable star-shaped bridge.

The watchmaker's newer timepieces, such as the Hyper Watches Orbis and Excalibur Spider Double Tourbillon, further prove the point and have resulted in fans of its early, classically inclined timepieces like the Hommage and Sympathie lamenting the watchmaker's current unabashed and larger-than-life design codes.