Given the opportunity, a while into our conversation I asked Gregory if he had considered adding a chronograph — not merely because it traditionally goes with the car theme, but because the watch-nerd in me was curious just how far this double-balance movement could be modified. His reply ended up surprising me a little: since Roger Dubuis Sports Activity Watch has several dozen calibers it doesn’t use, which broad range includes several conventional chronograph calibers, he said he would have found it “simple” and “dull” to put a chronograph onto the back of this movement.Sounds just like a bold statement, but I might see his genuine excitement and pride about this jumping seconds, something which has been a first for Roger Dubuis and, again, something that he got to figure out and engineer to this remarkably complex, double-balance movement. He also noted customer feedback concerning the Quatuor, which, although commended (and set-up) to be true, never had a seconds hand — and traditional, sweeping seconds hands aren’t exactly accurate. These pieces of feedback made him want to choose the jumping seconds, so as to ensure that the accuracy of the Duotor movement can be tracked effortlessly — talk about an engineer pleased of his work!Having had the opportunity to briefly play the Excalibur Aventador S, I can, ahead of a hands on article, say it seems leaps and bounds better in every way than it does in the official images. The official renders allow for an okay-ish appreciation of this unusual layout of the movement, but they say nothing about the three-dimensional structure that is so much easier to view in the metal. The several types of Geneva Seal-compliant finishings also add a great deal to what’s a somewhat spectacular design. More about the cool quirks and attributes of the Duotor motion, along with exceptionally detailed macro pictures, to come shortly.
John “Gant” get a break and we talk about my hands-on time with the Devon Tread 2 Steampunk watch. We also discuss Roger Dubuis’ new strange adverting campaign and giveaway, as well as the winners from the 2012 annual Grand Prix D’Horlogerie de Geneve watch awards.
Listen to the HourTime Show Watch Podcast Episode 123 here.
Download the MP3 here.