By Harlan Chapman-Green
Sometimes you step back and think that something just really works well, I mean, when you appreciate it in its entirety it really comes together well. The Mona Lisa for example, by far the most famous and theoretically most valuable painting ever. The Jaguar E-Type would be another one, described by Enzo Ferrari as “the most beautiful car in the world”, this car is now legendary and potentially worth millions. Roger Dubuis’ new partnership with Lamborghini is now a great example too and a little unexpected, but on further thought definitely a plus for both companies involved.
Think about it, Roger Dubuis makes some of the greatest watches around, they are super cutting edge, very rare and cool to own. All things that Lamborghinis are too, with the added engine noise though. You could say it was destiny that these two companies would come together, we’d all agree. I personally like the aggressive styling of Roger Dubuis timepieces, though I don’t like the price tags involved at least their performance on the secondary market is poor meaning those of us which are more, shall we say, ‘un-monied’ can look forward to these watches a well.
Though, perhaps not these exact watches that Roger Dubuis is unveiling alongside its tie in to Lamborghini. That may or may not be due to the fact that they both have two balances in them, both the balances are set at an angle to mimic the V layout of the cylinders in a Lamborghini. But, it’s more than just showing off as they do actually have a function. The balances are set to run at different paces, they are then connected by a differential and a remontoire to the hands, meaning the hands will jump as the remontoire spring releases (see the JLC Geophysics True Seconds for an interesting example). Because of those slightly different operating speeds it is more likely to eliminate timing errors and will make the watch more accurate. The ninety degrees of rotation on the balances also means the watch is better equipped to resist the effects of gravity.
Roger Dubuis has already done more to celebrate its partnership with Lamborghini than Blancpain did all the time it was with them (come on, seriously). The two versions both feature a black carbon case with a carbon movement and coloured accents. One is the orange of the Aventador that’s limited to 8 pieces while the other is in the more bright yellow as featured on the Huracan, the latter being my favourite, it’s limited to 88 examples. Interestingly, the cases have two different manufacturing techniques to them as well. The yellow version has a case made of layered carbon, while the much more exclusive piece has a case made of the special C-SMC carbon fibre that Lamborghini uses in its sports cars. With prices of $194,500 for the yellow and $216,000 for the orange these are nearly as expensive as the cars themselves, but they look super cool.
For more info, please visit rogerdubuis.com
