Roger Dubuis had submitted four timepieces to the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève 2013 but the Excalibur Quatuor only has gone through the pre-selections. The Hommage Tourbillon Volant (Men's Complication Watches category), The Velvet Haute Joaillerie (Jewellery Watch) and the Excalibur Table Ronde (Artistic Crafts Watch) have been less successful.
Net surfers can take part in the Prix du Public by voting for their favourite watches. To vote for Roger Dubuis Excalibur Quatuor, click here.
The Excalibur Quatuor is the world’s first silicon watch incorporating four sprung balances.
Since the start of this century, silicon has been used to produce technical components that increase the precision of watch movements. The Excalibur Quatuor is the first-ever watch with a case entirely produced in silicon.
Silicon has been chosen for its uniquely low weight(it is half the weight of titanium) and its incomparable hardness (it has a similar atomic structure to diamond). Its deep grey colour adds to the exclusivity of this iconic watch.
The calibre RD101 and its 590 components houses not just one but four sprung balances. The precision of a movement is affected by the gravity of the Earth as the watch constantly changes position with the motion of the wrist. The tourbillon has provided a partial answer to this problem but the Excalibur Quatuor offers a new solution. The four carefully positioned sprung balances work in pairs to compensate immediately for the rate variations caused by the changes in position. What the tourbillon achieves during the course of a minute, the Excalibur Quatuor achieves instantly. Thanks to its four sprung balances, the watch operates at the exceptional requency of 16 Hz.
The watch also offers a completely new way of indicating the power reserve. While a double display showing the crescent of the moon turns at the same speed as the barrels - 4.5 revolutions per day- the needle also turns, but more slowly. As the power reserve reduces, the hand follows the barrels’ rate of discharge, positioning itself precisely on the two moon crescents to indicate the power still in reserve.
Futhermore, the Excalibur Quatuor includes five differentials. Three of them link the balances in the gear train, one on the centre-wheel and the two others on the third wheel, providing an average of the positions for uncompromising accuracy. The fourth differential controls the power-reserve display, while the fifth connects the rewinding stem to the two parallel barrels.
The bridges and plates have been refined to the absolute limit in a contemporary version of the traditional art of skeletonising.
The Excalibur Quatuor Silicon is available in three highly exclusive pieces. A total of 88 pieces of the Excalibur Quatuor in pink gold will also be produced.