Jason Sarkoyan: Roger Dubuis Manufacture Visit in Geneva

By Jason Sarkoyan | October 21, 2013

As my Swiss journey continued, my good friend Eduard (Instagram @mrwatchguide) and I spent a few days roaming around Geneva, talking watches 24/7. I guess you could say we are watch geeks! So as the days went by quickly in the city of time, we got ready for our visit to the Roger Dubuis manufacture.

Let me tell you something about Roger Dubuis – they have the one of the coolest and most organized manufactures I have ever seen. Although Roger Dubuis is owned by the Richemont Group, you don’t get the vibe when you walk through the manufacture that they are owned by a huge luxury conglomerate. In fact, over the past few months Roger Dubuis have treated me like a king; they never cut corners when it comes to the client or a friend of the brand. They have shown true passion for watchmaking and for their clients. Anyways, enough about the client relations!

Let’s get back to the real business of fine watchmaking. Roger Dubuis has a particular way of doing things in Switzerland that I have yet to see from other brands. Dubuis shares such a high passion for the art of watchmaking that he makes sure every single watch goes through the test for the Poinçon de Genève seal. The Poinçon de Genève is a seal that any watch company can obtain, if – and only if – they are able to meet Geneva’s strict standards of quality. (To briefly summarize what is required to meet the Poinçon de Genève standards; the manufacture must hand finish each part of the watch, with the utmost respect and attention to detail.) Roger Dubuis makes sure that every single component, from start to finish, is hand assembled and produced. This leaves no room for shortcuts – everything is done with precision.

A quick true fact directly from Roger Dubuis states, “Only 0.0008% of all 30 million watches produced a year in total from all the brands are stamped with the Poinçon de Genève”. Knowing that fact, and seeing it for myself during my visit, I saw how the Poinçon de Genève shows the true craftsmanship and passion behind the brand. May I add that Roger Dubuis alone basically accounts for that 0.0008%, along with just a handful of other watches from other brands. Quality, precision, and creativity is what Roger Dubuis stands for. To put things in total perspective – if you are thinking about buying a Roger Dubuis for yourself, I don’t think you should have any doubts. The coolest and sharpest model I personally think they have is a tie between the Excalibur and the La Monégasque. The beauty behind those two models is absolutely breathtaking. By far the Excalibur and the La Monégasque are iconic pieces in the Swiss watch market right now.

To be completely honest with you guys, Roger Dubuis is probably amongst the finest watch companies in the world. In my personal opinion, the brand ranks up there with Christophe Claret, F.P. Journe, and Urwerk. There is this vibe that the manufacture gives you when you walk through it; as though you were in medieval days when craftsmanship was the priority. The life that each watch brings is completely unique from one another. For example, the the Excalibur watch shows its strength in design and its strength mechanically as a beautiful yet modern medieval-theme watch. The La Monégasque shows its ultimate style in an Art Deco sort of theme with gorgeous mechanics and avant-garde design. Seeing these two models on my wrist is like gold in my hands. In other words, it’s pretty much breathtaking to be in the presence of these two powerful watches.

As far as I can see and from my experience, I truly believe Roger Dubuis is on a golden path to amazing success in the future. I hope my photos will give readers some cool insight on the brand’s philosophy, style, creativity and work pushing the envelope to be the best.

Stay tuned next week to see Part 3 of my trip to Geneva. I will be sharing some cool pictures and info about Christophe Claret’s amazing manufacture, and his philosophy as the Godfather of watchmaking in our modern time.