Roger Dubuis Hommage Hand-Guilloché Double Flying Tourbillon

The new Roger Dubuis watches lived up to the fabulous stand created for SIHH 2014 (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie)—or perhaps it was the other way around…

With the Hommage collection, the brand demonstrates its attachment to watchmaking tradition through a splendid line-up: Hommage Automatique, Hommage Tourbillon Volant Tribute to Mr Roger Dubuis, Hommage Chronographe and the one we will focus on here, the Hommage Double Tourbillon Volant, hand-guilloché.

Beyond its superb flying tourbillons (tourbillons without upper bridges, supported only from below) at 4 and 8 o’clock, the dial is dazzling—in the best possible sense—thanks to its hand guilloché, which requires no fewer than four passes to achieve this depth.

In fact, there is no dial in the strict sense of the word, since the guilloché is executed directly on the mainplate, with its rays converging towards the centre of the watch.

The large Roman numerals are applied to the guilloché mainplate rather than being “milled” into it, so as not to risk scratching the guilloché, which requires so much work.

The particularly raised flange completes this irresistible sense of depth in the watch.

The brand-new movement RD100 is made up of 452 hand-finished components, delivers a 50-hour power reserve, and has earned the coveted Poinçon de Genève. It is also hand-guilloché with “Côtes de Genève” on the caseback.

The case, in pink or white gold, comes in a generous 45 mm diameter. As you can see in the photo, it doesn’t look quite so imposing on a “normal, rather slim” wrist like mine.

The only slight downside: the hands are not very legible in the pink-gold version. We would have liked to see a version with blued hands.

Price: around CHF 200,000 (€163,000)