The bold watchmaker launches a high-octane partnership with world-renowned Italdesign, resulting in the Excalibur Spider Single Tourbillon.

Roger Dubuis has been “daring to be different” since 1995, and the brand has developed a strong reputation of fine watchmaking expressed in very powerful forms. Another form of mechanical power – the automotive kind – has been on display at the Geneva Motor Show this week. And Roger Dubuis took the chance to present its new partnership with Italdesign.

For those uninitiated, Italdesign was founded about 50 years ago and it has been creating cutting-edge prototype showcars ever since. This represents the second partnership between the Swiss watchmaker and an Italian manufacture in short succession. Fans will already be aware of the brand’s alliance with iconic Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli, which was announced a mere months ago at SIHH 2017.

This new partnership will be marked by the launch of an 8 piece limited edition of the Excalibur Spider Single Tourbillon. The new watch is a force to be reckoned with, in a stunning combination of carbon and ceramic with a sleek and futuristic style. This applies both to the watch and to Italdesign cars themselves.

“The Excalibur Spider Italdesign Edition is the perfect embodiment of this shared conviction and we look forward to reaching new pinnacles of shared design and engineering achievement in the future.”
 Jean-Marc Pontroué, CEO, Roger Dubuis

The Excalibur Spider Italdesign Edition carries many of the signature features of Roger Dubuis skeleton timepieces. That includes a star shaped design and a tourbillon carriage in the shape of a Celtic cross.

The hand-wound Calibre RD505SQ also has excellent finishing and boasts a flying tourbillon at 7.30. The powerful engine is encased in a 45 mm multi-layer carbon package and features a ceramic bezel decorated with red liquid ceramic and black lacquer, sealed by a titanium DLC case back.

The boutique-exclusive watch also gives a nod to the classic Italian colourway, with the green, white and red of the Italian flag on the dial and the same stitching on the black rubber strap. We also get red-tipped skeleton hands and a red rubber vulcanised titanium crown.

The release of the high-octane watch coincides with that of the Italdesign Hypercar at the Geneva International Motor Show. And the car is even more rare than the watch; with its carbon fibre body and aluminium and carbon fibre chassis, the hypercar will be produced only in five examples.