In presenting this newly revived Hommage collection dedicated to watchmaking excellence, Roger Dubuis sensed that it was only natural and fitting to pay a special tribute to Mr Roger Dubuis himself, both as founder of the company and as the inventor and creator of the first Hommage model in 1995.
The Hommage Tribute to Mr Roger Dubuis is inspired by a particularly sophisticated model the founder launched in 2003 and features the same combination of functions: the flying tourbillon, a large date display for optimal readability; and an attractive power-reserve segment. The RD540 calibre with its 293 hand-finished components called for a full 750 hours of manufacturing, of which 220 are dedicated to meeting the strict demands of the Poinçon de Genève, followed by four weeks of equally stringent controls.
Slim elongated lugs, a concave bezel, long slender Roman numerals, a fluted crown and a distinctive folding clasp: all the hallmarks of the Hommage collection are there, along with a wealth of subtle touches including ergonomically bevelled lugs for a perfect fit and a broader interhorn space ensuring enhanced stability on the wrist. The pleasing contrasts created by alternating circles – radiating out from a white centre, across the broad pink gold chapter ring with white numerals and the outer white minute track with pink gold markings, right the way through to inimitable stepped concave bezel – offer a seemingly infinite source of visual fascination.
The latter is further accentuated by the eminently legible double large date window at 12 o’clock providing a rectangular pink gold frame for its white numbers; the similarly outlined contours of the power-reserve segment; while even the airy tourbillon at 7 o’clock with its steel and pink gold-toned parts and evocative open spaces is rimmed in the same noble metal. As is often the case with Roger Dubuis watches, geometry and colour thus play their own role in ensuring a unique blend of clarity and aesthetic elegance.
This timepiece honours the founder who has remained a dedicated student of horology and continues to share his knowledge and wisdom with the current generation of watchmakers in the Manufacture bearing his name.
