A fundamental asset to continuity is to go with what you know, and few people know the elite Swiss watch brand, Roger Dubuis, better than its newly minted CEO David Chaumet. One of the few people to have worked with the famously disruptive company’s two founders—Carlos Dias and the eponymous watchmaker Mr Dubuis—he has taken the reins as the company turns 30 with the goal to lead it into the future by reconnecting it with its roots…
ESQ: Does returning back to Roger Dubuis feel like something of a homecoming?
Maybe a little bit. I had previously worked here for 11 years, so I already have a deep understanding of the company’s DNA. But as someone who has a personal connection with both of the maison’s founders, I have am also a direct link to the roots of the company and what Mr Dubuis wanted to achieve when he founded it 30 years ago.
ESQ: Okay, so how do you explain Roger Dubuis to someone who doesn’t know the brand?
We create high watchmaking timepieces with an emphasis on expressive design. Our Maison was born in the mid ’90 by two men who were passionate about traditional Genevan watchmaking, the art of complications, and pushing the boundaries of watch design. Those values guide us today in everything we create: we build our movements in-house, committed to both performance and craftsmanship while designing watches with a distinct, daring touch.
ESQ: What piece in the current lineup best embodies what Roger Dubuis is all about?
Most definitely the Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar that we presented at Watches and Wonders in Geneva. The timepiece was created to celebrate our 30th Anniversary and encapsulate what Roger Dubuis is about. It is a calendar complication, with a biretrograde display—a reference to the love for complications Mr. Roger Dubuis had, and to the retrograde system he co-patented in the ’80s.
ESQ: It’s fair to say that Roger Dubuis is not going to be anyone’s introduction to the watch world…
Yes, that is fair to say, but also you would be mistaken to think that our customers are a stereotype of old watch collectors. Yes, there are a lot of watch aficionados, and people who can afford the price point, but we have been getting some great interest with the ‘new gen’—18 to 25 year olds—who are becoming super passionate about discovering the world of watchmaking.
ESQ: What do you think draws people into the Roger Dubuis brand?
The fact that we offer a different way of doing high watchmaking. Our clients are passionate about the technicality and complexity of watchmaking, while looking for more expressive timepieces. It is the wish for something different that draws you to Roger Dubuis.
ESQ: What novelties are you most excited about for 2025?
I am excited about what timepieces like the Excalibur Grande Complication and the
Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar represent, and the possibilities they open for us. For example, the Excalibur Grande Complication holds our second in-house Grande Complication calibre, gathering a perpetual calendar, a minute repeater, and a tourbillon.
Each one of these complications had a special meaning for Mr. Roger Dubuis. He loved the perpetual calendar and minute repeater because they are extremely difficult to make, and as a patient master watchmaker, he always enjoyed the challenge of building complicated movements. The watch also includes a biretrograde display for the day and the date, a system that adds extra complexity to the movement. We were able to create a very technical timepiece, following the codes of traditional Geneva watchmaking, and filled with Roger Dubuis expressivity.