Roger Dubuis

A visit to Manufacture Roger Dubuis

By Su Jia Xian (SJX)

 

The trajectory Roger Dubuis has taken in its 15 years is remarkable. Founded in 1995 by Carlos Dias, Roger Dubuis started out as a maker of makers in the classic Geneva style – with a twist. Movements were finished to a high degree, consecrated with the Geneva Seal and blessed with an Observatory certificate. Even when the brand used new old stock movements, they were modified for that distinctively elaborate Geneva look with separate cocks for the escape, third and fourth wheel. In fact, the firm was founded as SOGEM, or Société Genevoise des Montres. It was like Patek but cooler – remember the Sympathie double retrograde perpetual calendar?

 

 

Roger Dubuis calibre (left) and the original Cyma movement (right); note the separate cocks and polished steel cap on the escape wheel cock

Photo courtesy of SteveG

 

Roger Dubuis was successful and it grew rapidly. By 2001 it had a shiny new enormous manufacture in Meyrin. Four years later it employed 400 people. That was a consequence of Dias’ ambition – he wanted Roger Dubuis to be entirely vertically integrated. The brand began designing and making its own movements and Roger Dubuis boasted 28 different calibres by 2009. It was quite a feat.

 

But then the brand ran into well publicised problems which were a symptom of its supercharged growth. Quality, reliability and finishing, began to suffer. And so Carlos Dias, who was always a better businessman than manager, sold Roger Dubuis to Richemont in 2008.

 

So what did Richemont buy? Richemont bought a brand, one that is slightly tarnished, but still valuable. Collectors have fond memories of the early Roger Dubuis pieces while later clients continue to appreciate the brand’s flamboyant aesthetic.

 

But Richemont also bought a factory, a brilliant and impressive facility with enormous potential.

 

The Roger Dubuis factory in Meyrin, Geneva, was created almost overnight and is capable of making nearly an entire movement from start to finish. Roger Dubuis is one of the few companies, as well as fellow Richemont firms Lange and Montblanc, which is able to make its own hairsprings.

 

 

A view of the two buildings of Manufacture Roger Dubuis

 

 

The reception area 

 

But movement production is merely an indication of having lots of machines churning out parts. Roger Dubuis not only owns the hardware, but it also owns a vast number of movement designs, created in-house. Though the number of in-house calibres totals over two dozen, it currently produces or intends to manufacture 12 to 15 of them, so as to ensure enough testing is done for perfect reliability.

 

Click here to read my interview with Matthias Schuler, the outgoing CEO of Roger Dubuis.

This message has been edited by SJX on 2010-10-16 23:39:25 This message has been edited by AndrewD on 2010-10-19 12:52:25 This message has been edited by SJX on 2010-10-31 01:09:31

Roger Dubuis is almost wholly self-sufficient in terms of movements. From movement concept to design and production, everything is done at the manufacture.

 

 

 

Several dozen machines sit on the ground level, milling, turning, grinding and drilling the various parts of a movement, right down to the tiniest parts like screws for the tourbillon.

 

Below: A bar fed rotary mill and the balance wheels that emerge

 

 

 

  

 

Roger Dubuis also manufactures hairsprings in-house, using raw materials from a supplier. Unfortunately no photos were permitted of that process.

 

This level of vertical integration is impressive, especially for a company of this size. The amount of money put into building the manufacture must have been Too Much, Much More than anyone can imagine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above: A microscope to check tolerances of parts

 

But when paired with a professionally managed brand, this magnificent facility has tremendous potential. This is especially so given that Roger Dubuis is not just a collection of machines, but also the owner of a tremendous amount of intellectual property in term of movement designs.

This message has been edited by SJX on 2010-10-16 09:36:00

Every Roger Dubuis movement bears the Geneva Seal. A few years ago that did not mean much, for despite having the seal Roger Dubuis watches often suffered from quality control issues. Now that has changed. Under Richemont ownership management has made sure that the spirit, and not just the letter, of the Geneva Seal is adhered to.

 

Fine finishing at Roger Dubuis is performed assembly line style, with each step of finishing being broken down into smaller steps, giving rise to extreme specialisation amongst the craftsmen who do the finishing. A lever for instance, is finished in multiple steps: the faces and various edges are each finished by different craftsmen along the line.

 

 

 

 

Above: Flat polishing a steel part

 

Although parts are worked on in an assembly line style, they are still laboriously finished by hand. Despite their sometimes distracting aesthetics, Roger Dubuis movements are all very well finished, especially compared to its competitors in the segment of oversized, high-end watches.

 

Below: Polishing the teeth of a wheel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a personal observation, though I regard the finishing of Roger Dubuis movements highly, some of the movement parts can be revised to better show off the high level of finish. Certain aspects of a few calibres can be made more elaborate, like the arms of tourbillon cage for instance which can be less flat. No doubt they were designed in this way for efficient manufacturing and assembly but they can be improved.

 

Below: Roger Dubuis Excalibur Double Tourbillon

 

 

 

Below: Bevelling of outer edges; inner edge bevelling is shown further below

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below: Bevelling of inner edges

 

 

 

 

 

This message has been edited by SJX on 2010-10-16 10:12:55

After the parts are finished, those that require plating are sent to another facility for that, before being returned and sent upstairs for assembly. Dials, hands and cases are obtained from suppliers.

 

 

 

 

The assembly area is quiet and well lit with a parquet floor, just like any other assembly workshop in any other manufacture. The decor is unchanged from the time of Carlos Dias.

 

 

 

 

  

 

A good number of the watches being assembled are tourbillons in all shapes and sizes (well, mostly large). The tourbillon, especially the skeleton tourbillon, is Roger Dubuis’ best selling model. Despite its small production I would surmise Roger Dubuis is one of the leading producers of tourbillon movements at the high-end of the market.

 

Below: The various component of a tourbillon and assembled tourbillon regulators on the right

 

 

 

 

Below: A sampling of tourbillon movements from MRD

 

 

 

Some of the recently completed watches were a pair of minute repeaters. Enormous as they are, both sounded quite good, clear and pleasant sounding with sufficient volume.

 

To prevent any repeat of past problems, assembled watches are all tested by the watchmakers themselves for three weeks. Samples of watches are also tested, much more rigorously, by external testing labs (which I expect are owned by sister Richemont brands).

Below: Completed tourbillon watches

This message has been edited by SJX on 2010-10-16 10:07:21

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To clean up the aesthetics of the brand, Richemont hired Lionel Favre, formerly head of design at Chopard (coincidentally Favre’s successor at Chopard is Guy Bove, who was head designer at IWC). Favre has tweaked the look of nearly every single model in the current line-up as well as future models in the pipeline. Some models are barely changed, while others like the Excalibur and Easy Diver are significantly changed, for the better.

 

 

Above: Lionel Favre

 

 

 

His mandate was to retain the overall look of the watches but make them look better. Favre has succeeded; every watch looks cleaner and more sophisticated.  

 

 

Easy Diver chronograph – one of the most important changes to this model is the size of the chronograph subdials and size of the hour indices; the revised version is better proportioned

 

The changes he has wrought are minor but numerous, changing the shapes of numerals, crowns and pushers – everything looks tighter and more sculpted. There is a lot of sharpening of corners and edges on the Excalibur models; these remove a lot of the soft corners of the old models that looked inexpensive. I particularly like the slightly wider bezel with sharper notches of the redesigned Excalibur models.  

 

 

Excalibur Double Tourbillon – dial, hands, bezel, crown and crown guards have all been made more angular – sharper and more refined  

 

 

Excalibur Triple Time Zone – in addition to the improvements similar to that of the Double Tourbillon, this model has a very different dial

 

These changes are minor in themselves but sum them up and these tiny improvements result in a much more attractive whole. Roger Dubuis watches are still big and mostly loud, too big and too loud for some, but there is no doubting they look much better than before, with better attention to detail, especially in the casework.

This message has been edited by SJX on 2010-10-16 10:10:44

What a beautiful manufacture. I think RD makes some of the nicest perpetuals, especially the inline perpetual.
I suppose to each his own but I prefer the older designs.
This message has been edited by damien on 2010-10-18 06:58:08

Part V: The future

 

In three to five years, Roger Dubuis aims to raise its output to a respectable, but still small, 6000 to 9000 pieces annually. Its current production is unknown, but I am sure it is a fraction of 6000. The brand has a sizeable boutique network, an inheritance from Carlos Dias who wanted to take over the world, as well as retailers.

 

There are sceptics, but I am certain Roger Dubuis will be able to achieve those targets, and perhaps better. With the processes and controls imposed at the manufacture by the new management, as well as the better execution of the brand’s strategy and products, Roger Dubuis is slowly realising the potential of its manufacture.

 

Now that Roger Dubuis’ current and future products are up to scratch, its biggest challenge is to deal with the legacy of the brand’s recent past. That will not be easy, but much effort is being put into repairing the brand’s image. Click here to read my interview with Matthias Schuler, the outgoing CEO of Roger Dubuis, and his thoughts on that.

 

I expect interesting things from Roger Dubuis. Maybe even a revival of its iconic early models like the Sympathie. SIHH 2011 will bring good news.

 

- SJX

 

 

This message has been edited by SJX on 2010-10-16 10:14:23

great report mate, any ideas on their current production? are they doing stuff for other richemont companies(one would assume so).

in a floor owned by Cartier and run by Cartier staff who came over from La Chaux-de-Fonds. There is no official statement on this, but I believe the Roger Dubuis part of the factory does work for other Richemont brands also.

And, but this is just personal opinion and backed up by rumour, RD just may reintroduce the Sympathie, but not in its first generation form, in 2011. 

- SJX

This message has been edited by SJX on 2010-10-16 23:38:00

Only a few more months!

While the pieces from Roger Dubuis are not my taste generally, it is good to see new developments taking place.  Style-wise they are a little too in your face for me!  I guess I'm not confident enough a watch wearer for their pieces. 

Cheers,
Daos

 

 Very interesting report ,  im staying tuned for the future of  RD , personally i NEVER liked their recent past .

 

 Faisal

Interesting report, but I still like the old design, especially the Easy diver. Just my 2cent
Thanks for sharing

Best, eddy

Very nice visit and pictures, I am glad to notice that Richemont seems to be a good fit for a brand that always had so much promise.

I'll go on record and say I much prefered the three original Diaz designs from the comparisons you showed here.

I wonder how others will feel and if the new designs really will prove the more popular?

Best,

njo2002

Now we wish the best for the brand future after these difficult times.

Fr.Xavier

Having just returned from visiting another manufacture, I was at least able to recognise a number of the processes required to create and assemble such timpieces. 

 

I just hope RD will produce more smaller diameter watches.  RD can be as good as Patek, may be even better.

Regards

Ling

Thanks SJX both for the photos and the insightful essay. In some was Dias has left a great legacy. Certainly something that can be built upon again.

Do you have any idea what Carlos Dias is doing now?

Let's hope the company continues to make unique quality watches.

Andrew

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... some big, bold wine styles, eye-catching names and labels, and targetted high-end marketing?

He seems like the sort of man who would be successful at marketing anything. I wish him luck.

Andrew