Introducing the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Knights of the Round Table II – specs & price

The manufacture Roger Dubuis is known to be anti-conformist – a surprising fact given the brand is owned by the large and usually very conservative Richmond Group. The watches made by Dubuis are usually bold, complicated and unique. In 2013, they came with a superb example of their independent spirit, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Automatic Limited Edition – Knights of the Round Table. This year there is new edition reminiscent of the same spirit, and guess what, it’s called the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Knights of the Round Table II.

As we told you with the very first edition of the Excalibur Knights of the Round Table, grabbing back on the past is what Roger Dubuis also did (like many other brands are looking in their own heritage), however they grabbed back quite a bit further than any other brand ever did! For 2015, a new 28-piece edition will be available exclusively from Roger Dubuis boutiques and it features the 12 engraved and sculpted bronze knights positioned around a precious black jade dial.

The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Knights of the Round Table II uses historical clues as an inspiration. But don’t expect to see a vintage re-issue here as the spirit utilized to create the design is far, far older than a 1960s watch. Roger Dubuis named their main collection the Excalibur, a reference to the legendary blade that was supposedly embedded into a rock by Uther Pendragon only to be withdrawn by the true king – in fact, a reference to King Arthur. Alongside the legend that is King Arthur sits another legend: ‘12 Knights took the oath of allegiance to King Arthur, swearing to spare no effort, overcome any obstacle and return triumphant’. It’s these 12 Knights of the Round Table that are again depicted in the second Opus of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur.

The 12 figures representing the legendary Knights of the Round Table with their swords form a circle replacing traditional hour-markers. Each knight is only 6.5 mm tall and unique in its own right, as each consists of a three-dimensional casting in bronze with finely sculpted, hand-finished details, including three-dimensional micro-engraving. Previously, Roger Dubuis used gold to cast and engraved these micro-sculptures (in the context of the Excalibur Automatic Limited Edition – Knights of the Round Table First edition). The use of bronze makes it far harder to engrave but also in doing so adds a unique patina to the details of engraving.