The Sympathie S37 perpetual calendar that was a fixture on Mr Dubuis’ wrist, one of the first watches he ever produced Though in later years Mr Dias claimed credit for designing the shape, Mr Dubuis explained that the basic form was proposed by a case maker in the Vallée de Joux, then refined by himself and Mr Dias. 2310 just as in Patek Philippe’s version of the same, except that the Roger Dubuis perpetual calendar was bi-retrograde.Īt the beginning, Roger Dubuis watches came in two styles: Sympathie and Hommage. Shaped like a cushion with sharpened corners, the Sympathie was remarkably different and later became the signature shape of the brand. One of the quintessential Roger Dubuis watches from the period was the chronograph with perpetual calendar, powered by the Lemania cal. The watches were Genevoise watchmaking on steroids. In the 2012 interview, Mr Dubuis explained the original goal was to create complicated and highly finished timepieces in the most refined Geneva style, which actually meant a heavy dose of inspiration from Patek Philippe. The watches were, without exaggeration, both beautiful and interesting. The first Roger Dubuis watches were acclaimed by collectors, because they were channelled the traditional Geneva watchmaking that Patek Philippe personified, while having more stylistic flair. One of the waiters in the cafe was a a Portuguese immigrant to Switzerland who had grand visions of building a watch company, Carlos Dias. It was the first double retrograde perpetual calendar, and Mr Dubuis would later make the same perpetual module the signature complication of his brand.ĭuring the development of the perpetual calendar module, the two watchmakers Wiederrecht and Dubuis would often sit at a cafe in Geneva, sometimes with Mr Wiederrecht’s then girlfriend and now wife, Catherine, discussing their work while having a drink. The pair of talented watchmakers started work on the mechanism in the mid 1980s, and finished it in time for Harry Winston to launch the Bi-Retro Perpetual Calendar wristwatch at Baselworld 1989. Mr Wiederrecht explains that he had been friends with Mr Dubuis for several years by the late 1980s, and together they worked on developing a retrograde perpetual calendar module at the behest of New York jeweller Harry Winston, then still family-owned and run by the founder son’s Ronald Winston. Together they set up Société Genevoise des Montres (SOGEM) in 1995, a striking second act for Mr Dubuis, who was already 57 years old.Īn intriguing perspective on the formation of the Roger Dubuis company comes from Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, the founder of respective complications specialist Agenhor. And then in the early 1990s Mr Dubuis, the modest, subtle watchmaker, met Carlos Dias, who later became the swaggering impresario of the Roger Dubuis brand. According to Mr Dubuis, in the late 1980s he starting working on his first complication, a perpetual calendar module with retrograde displays. This was a particularly formative time according to an interview he gave to your correspondent in 2012, with the quality and finesse of Patek Philippe watches shaping his philosophy of watchmaking.Īfter 14 years at the pedigreed Geneva watchmaker, he left in 1980 to set up a small workshop where he repaired watches and clocks for collectors, auction houses and watch brands. He then moved to Geneva to work for Patek Philippe as a constructor and watchmaker in the high complications workshop. Most of the nine years Mr Dubuis spent at the Saint-Imier watchmaker renowned for its chronographs were in its after-sales department where he worked on repairs. Mr Dubuis began his watchmaking career during the golden age of Swiss watchmaking, starting at Longines in the late 1950s. On October 14, 2017, Mr Roger Dubuis passed away at age 80, according to the company that bears his name. But by then the man with his name on the door was gone, having retired in 2003. At the peak just before the 2008 recession, over 450 employees in its expansive Geneva factory produced some 25,000 watches a year, generating over SFr100m of revenue – with sales having doubled in some of the preceding years. In the early 2000s, one of the hottest watch brands in the world was Roger Dubuis, a company that borrowed some of the best historical ideas in watchmaking and made it sexy for the 21st century. Share Facebook Linkedin Twitter Weibo Instagram
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