The Excalibur Bi-Retrograde Calendar by Roger Dubuis

This year, Roger Dubuis celebrates its 30th anniversary, and for the occasion, the company pays tribute to its co-founder’s favourite complication: the bi-retrograde display.

This function, previously featured in the Excalibur Grande Complication alongside a dozen other highly complex mechanisms, takes centre stage once again. The Maison has also introduced a less complicated, more classic edition to further honour the bi-retrograde display.

Also referred to as “the ecliptic counters” by the Maison a nod to their elliptical shape and distinctive role in indicating the months and date the design showcases a symmetrical dial layout. Enhanced by refined detailing, it pays homage to the Maison’s early creations from 1996.

Glossary

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Glossary
Open-work

Open-work

Is a decorative process where a watch is stripped down to expose the intricate internal mechanisms of its movement. This involves reducing the size of the dial or completely removing it, as well as hollowing out the plates, bridges, and other components to reveal the gears, balance wheel, and other parts. Additionally, the watch hands may be designed with a small center portion that secures and moves the hands. Openwork watches showcase the beauty of the mechanical movement, allowing users to see the intricate mechanisms and the interaction of gears and different parts of the watch movement.

The difference between an openwork watch and a skeleton watch:

Both designs showcase the watch movement, but an openwork watch allows users to see most of the movement and its different mechanisms. This is achieved through hollowed-out plates and bridges that highlight the gears, balance wheel, and various delicate parts of the movement. On the other hand, a skeleton watch does not have hollowed-out plates and bridges, which means users cannot see the intricate parts of the movement such as gears and the balance wheel.