To mark this month’s official opening of the first Roger Dubuis boutique in the United States, the Geneva-based brand plans to dedicate this year’s vintage restoration project, or Hommage Millésime, to the boutique, which is located at 545 Madison Avenue near 55th Street in New York.
Those familiar with the brand may know that the vintage restoration project kicked off earlier this year with a stunning 60mm pocket watch dedicated to the opening of the Roger Dubuis boutique in Geneva. Each year company founder and watchmaker Roger Dubuis will choose a particular vintage movement blank for the company to restore. The common theme of these restoration pieces is that each will bear the Poinçon de Genève (Geneva Seal) and will feature a perpetual calendar, either on its own or alongside a minute repeater, tourbillon or chronograph.
All the restorations are based on movement blanks from Mr. Roger Dubuis’ own collection. They are each restored and upgraded using only authentic artistic crafts and techniques. If any parts are missing or damaged, the replacements are only made by hand and according to the original construction (which sometimes requires creating a few missing parts). Furthermore, Roger Dubuis upgrades the pieces to comply with the requirements of the Poinçon de Genève—a standard met by all Roger Dubuis timepieces.
The unique piece destined to reach the New York boutique in just a few months is a bi-retrograde perpetual calendar flyback chronograph that also features a minute repeater. Full technical details are still forthcoming, but from its spectacular dial one can see the retrograde hands, blued chronograph hands and multiple subdials that mark many of Roger Dubuis’ early designs. The monopusher chronograph alone is a difficult complication for any watchmaker to realize, but to combine it with this watch’s calendar and chiming functions is truly impressive.
We’ll have more details soon about the watch and about the original caliber Roger Dubuis restored and updated to make this New York Boutique special piece. It will be priced at about $1 million, which is a bit more than the $892,500 price tag of the Geneva Hommage Millésime pocket watch.
We recommend a visit to the Roger Dubuis boutique to see its newly showcased collection of Roger Dubuis Excalibur, Hommage and Velvet watches. And as a bonus, peek into the boutique’s back right showcase to see one of the few Excalibur Knights of the Round Table II watches on display in the United States– at least until Roger Dubuis opens its second U.S. boutique, slated for next spring in Beverly Hills.
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