I have had my ups and downs with Roger Dubuis. There were watches that I liked very much and then there were some other watches that I absolutely disliked. There were times when I shrank from their unapologetic drive for excess and other times when I admired their energy and their youthful enthusiasm.

One thing is certain – I was never indifferent towards Roger Dubuis.

And now I think they just may have launched a watch that I like and respect very much. The new Excalibur Double Flying Tourbillon may, at first sight, seem quite counterintuitive for a brand such as Roger Dubuis. This is not, apparently, a very spectacular launch, a flashy new model. Oh, no. It is a watch that is completely reworked and updated and perfected in terms of caliber, but, on the outside, everything kind of looks the same.

I think I read the press release twice, just to make sure. And then, during the very exclusive press conference that I had the privilege to attend last Friday, I spoke to Sadry Keiser, International Marketing Director for Roger Dubuis, just to make sure again.

So here you have it – the goal of this wonderful new piece was not to make the headlines for a new, Sci-Fi looking design or anything else along these lines, but to optimize each of the watch components.

The result? We have a startingly spectacular watch, one that looks very much the same like the previous models, but at the same time is entirely new.

To me, this sounds like evolution, like maturity, like the will to build something for many ages to come. It sounds like the painfully few brands that have been taking this path. A certain road to long-lasting success, albeit a very difficult commitment, as consistency and the desire to build are quite hard to maintain for a very long time.

“This is not a small evolution,” Sadry Keiser told me when I asked him why they chose to kick off the year with a “same, same but different” model. “The look is the same, but everything is, in fact, changed. We did a great job linking the past and the future of Roger Dubuis. We are obsessed with mastering these complications, but also to open the doors to something more modern. And we need to have continuity.”

As I understood from the press conference, Roger Dubuis is planning several encores for this operation, planning to upgrade some other ranges.

The Maison has reinvented its signature double tourbillon – the weight of the tourbillons has been reduced through the selective use of anti-magnetic materials: titanium and mirror-polished cobalt chrome. The power reserve was upped to 72 hours. Both tourbillons feature the new cut-tip take on the distinctive fluted pattern also appearing on other elements such as the star, flange, hours-wheel bar, bezel and crown. The Roger Dubuis star was released from its functional role within the movement base, now levitating above the barrel.

There are 8 pieces available in pink gold and another 8 in white gold, at a retail price of 285,500 euros. A very impressive rose gold and diamonds version is available, also in 8 pieces, for the price of 615,500 euros.

In a nutshell, this is the perfect watch to start a year that we all need to be the year of rebirth, of starting over, of moving ahead with our lessons well-learned.