Roger Dubuis Orbis in Machina CMT
The watch incorporates the manually wound Calibre RD115, notable for its use of advanced materials and innovative design to enhance performance and aesthetic appeal. Share
Since 1995, Roger Dubuis’s obsession with “designing the future” has led the brand to challenge the rules of traditional watchmaking with creativity, radical know-how and innovation. Sharing a continuation of this journey at the Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024, they introduced the Orbis in Machina—a model that balances contrasts and creates harmony. It offers a dual view of Roger Dubuis’s emblematic tourbillon craftsmanship, combining heritage with advanced engineering and illustrating the connection between different eras of watchmaking. This piece tells a story from front to back, highlighting traditional arts alongside contemporary design. The name “Orbis in Machina” reflects the rotating nature of the tourbillon and the orbital layout of the watch’s display, embodying a blend of movement and mechanical creativity.
Roger Dubuis has been associated with exceptional tourbillon mechanisms for over two decades, developing distinctive in-house tourbillon movements. The manually wound Calibre RD115, encased in the Orbis In Machina, is a recent significant achievement, consisting of 283 components and 29 jewels. This Flying Tourbillon continues a tradition established in 2003, more complex in its construction yet more visually impressive. Mr. Roger Dubuis valued incorporating historical influences into contemporary designs, a philosophy that continues with the watch’s selection bolt, inspired by traditional “Ébauche” components of refined watchmaking.
This allows the placement of the winding and setting mechanism at the bottom of the movement, freeing up space above for the hour hand. Material innovations include anti-magnetic titanium for the lower tourbillon cage—half the weight of stainless steel—and mirror-polished Cobalt Chrome for the upper cage, reducing the tourbillon’s weight by 16% and enhancing the power reserve to 72 hours.
This latest model features the tourbillon centrally, providing a new opportunity to innovate in design—emphasizing circular shapes and depth. Unlike the traditional Roger Dubuis positioning at 7 o’clock, the flying tourbillon is centrally placed, highlighting a beautiful symmetry. The design has been streamlined and compacted with a new patent-pending planetary system, creating more space and introducing a fresh aesthetic compared to traditional tourbillons.
The Central Monotourbillon poses unique challenges, such as innovating the hand display and rearranging the movement’s components around the tourbillon. Roger Dubuis has adeptly met these challenges. The 45mm watch starts from the centre, extending outward in a display of aesthetic clarity with alternating concentric circles in pink gold and gray indicating time intervals, offering a reinterpretation of the skeleton style that emphasizes the central tourbillon.
The watch features 3D discs for the minute and hour indicators, set against double-sided, sharply designed open-worked flying hands mounted on ball bearings. This display utilizes a newly developed patent-pending mechanism allowing for stable time setting. The design extends to the flange, displaying hour markers on its perimeter, with each element set at varying heights to create a multi-dimensional appearance and revealing the skeletonized calibre underneath, showcasing the high level of craftsmanship Roger Dubuis maintains. Roger Dubuis was an early adopter of transparent case backs in all its watches, providing a clear view into the intricate mechanical processes within and highlighting the meticulous craftsmanship required for each component. This feature adheres to the Poinçon de Genève certification, demanding that every component’s surface be hand-decorated to the highest standards.
The sapphire crystal on the Orbis in Machina serves as a portal to the excellence of Geneva fine watchmaking, offering a detailed and richly decorated view that appeals directly to enthusiasts, showcasing elaborate detailing and employing 19 specific finishing techniques including perlage, Côte de Genève, and snailing. The Orbis in Machina, with its 18K pink gold case and bezel and black leather strap with a quick-release system, is a masterpiece of both aesthetics and performance. It marks Roger Dubuis’s first Central Tourbillon within the main collection, limited to 88 pieces.
