It was the brand’s first range. Launched in 1995, Hommage is now the focal point of the Roger Dubuis 2014 collections. The fifth watch line composing the universe of the Geneva-based manufacturer, Hommage clearly expresses its vocation through its name. It is a nod to the best of traditional watchmaking and its deepest roots. With its concave bezel, its satin-brushed, cambered sides and its slim elongated lugs with bevelled edges, it reflects the finest historical workmanship cultivated in Switzerland’s watchmaking valleys. This tradition is duly honoured by the use of finely crafted Manufacture-made movements. Such a perfectionist approach is indeed mandatory, since the entire Roger Dubuis production bears the Poinçon de Genève quality hallmark, a certification attesting to the technical and aesthetic quality of its watches.
Four movements are featured in the 2014 Hommage watches, in addition to the limited-edition Flying Tourbillon Minute Repeater model that led the way in 2013 and represented an extremely promising foretaste of what was to come. It is joined this year by a 42 mm automatic watch and a chronograph in the same size. Available in white or pink gold, with or without gemsetting, they represent the first tier of this range, both equipped with micro-rotor winding mechanisms. There is also a 208-piece limited series named Hommage Tribute to Roger Dubuis after the brand founder himself, whose signature appears on the back of this flying tourbillon watch with a large date and power reserve appearing on a white dial – a colour option rarely taken by the brand. The Hommage collection culminates with the brand’s most iconic movement, the flying double tourbillon, arranged in such a way as to show the power reserve on the back.
The most striking thing about this particular model is its appearance, since in addition to the double impact of the tourbillons, the entire face of the model is exquisitely guilloché-worked – with the dial in fact replaced by pink gold Roman numerals directly applied to the mainplate. The back of the movement has been hand-guilloché using historical machines in a delicate artisan-style process. The aesthetic vocabulary of dial decoration has thus been reversed and applied to the horological matter itself. Although the Automatic and Chronograph models display the same appearance, they do so via a dial as such, guilloché-worked by means of a less hand-crafted procedure. It is a matter of respect the natural hierarchy of calibres, with the double tourbillon naturally ranked at the very top.
Nor are the ladies neglected, since Roger Dubuis has also presented new full-set versions of its Excalibur models, as well as interpretations of its ultimate feminine watch, the Velvet. The Haute Joaillerie variations are enriched with new gemstone combinations. The dials entirely set with baguette-cut diamonds also feature two larger cushion-shaped stones at 6 and 12 o’clock. The latter may be yellow, pink or blue sapphires or emeralds. Roger Dubuis thus continues to shine, whether through the brass of its plates, the gold of its cases or the precious stones of its extensive gemsetting.
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