The Roger Dubuis Excalibur The Kabuto Legacy Brings Samurai to the Round Table

Twelve warriors gather around the table once again, but this time, Camelot gives way to Edo Castle. Roger Dubuis has a knack for creating watches that are equal parts human imagination and great craftsmanship, the kind you can spend hours staring at, whether they call upon dragons, knights, or are high complications that look like they belong in a fantasy epic. This saga continues with the new Excalibur The Kabuto Legacy. The watch takes the brand’s long-running Knights of the Round Table concept and heads to 17th-century Japan with it, replacing medieval warriors with 12 micro-sculpted Kabuto helmets inspired by legendary samurai commanders, which are surrounding an abstract Edo Castle on the watch face.

Ever since the first Knights of the Round Table watch debuted in 2013, Roger Dubuis has kept coming back to the idea of 12 figures gathered around a dial. Last year, the Enchanter Merlin edition revisited Arthurian lore, and the new Excalibur Kabuto Legacy keeps that spirit alive. It is history, folklore, and Métiers d’Art rolled into a 45mm pink-gold watch that only a very few collectors will get to wear.

It is an Excalibur, so its round case, fluted bezel, and signature third central lug are all here. The 45mm case is crafted from 18k pink gold and measures 16.87mm thick. Paired with the watch is a blue calfskin strap that keeps the theme going, with stitched leather tiles that resemble traditional samurai armour. It also comes with an additional leather strap. The Excalibur Kabuto Legacy is water-resistant up to 30 metres.

The 12 figures around the dial are famed samurai commanders from early 17th-century Japan, each taking the form of a hand-engraved 18k pink-gold Kabuto. You could spend a lot of time looking at all 12, but a few are really hard to miss: Tokugawa Ieyasu’s helmet with a fern crest, Honda Tadakatsu’s deer antlers, and Date Masamune’s famous crescent moon. At the centre sits an abstract Edo Castle, assembled from 17 elements in pink gold, black PVD, and deep blue CVD, inspired by the indigo dye used on samurai garments and Japanese textiles.

The story continues on the back, with the crests of the 12 samurai commanders laser-engraved on a blue-coated pink-gold ring framing the sapphire display back and its finely finished rotor. For the Sh?gun fans in the room, Roger Dubuis brought in Frederik Cryns, professor of Japanese history and consultant on the Emmy-winning series, to make sure this samurai story is not only good-looking but also gets the history right. Powering the watch is the RD821 calibre, a Poinçon de Genève-certified automatic movement running at 28,800 vibrations/hour and delivering a 48-hour power reserve. The Excalibur Kabuto Legacy is limited to 28 pieces, with the price available upon request – but expect it to be in the CHF 300,000 range.

For more information, please visit rogerdubuis.com.