In recent years, in its continued pursuit of “hyper horology”, Roger Dubuis has made some important cobranding relationships in the automotive world. One of them with Pirelli, to make the straps for its flagship watches. To celebrate its 150th anniversary – the company was founded in Milan in 1872 by Giovanni Battista Pirelli – Roger Dubuis has released a limited-edition Excalibur Spider Pirelli Monotourbillon (MT).
With a century and a half of experience Pirelli was, and still is, the leader in the technology and production of tyre and rubber-based manufactured products. The list of accomplishments for the company is second to none in the arena of motor sports and tyre development. In fact, the invention of the “wide radial” in 1974, followed a request from the Lancia rally racing team for a tyre strong enough to withstand the power of the new Stratos. It proved to be a turning point in car racing dynamics.
Pirelli’s invention of the “wide radial” in 1974, followed a request from the Lancia rally racing team for a tyre strong enough to withstand the power of the new Stratos.
As a company, Pirelli is no stranger to being involved in artistic endeavours. From architecture to consumer products and even photography. In the 1950s, Alberto Pirelli commissioned the Pirelli Tower, developed by architect Gio Ponti, with the assistance of Pier Luigi Nervi and Arturo Danusso. The building would become the inspiration for the PanAm Tower in New York. Salvador Dalí was commissioned to produce belt buckles for the company – as gifts for important clients – in 1970. Proving its affinity with the fashion and consumer-design worlds, Pirelli started its own consumer label in 2002: PZero.
Pirelli’s limited edition belt buckle by Salvador Dalí, 1970. © Bonhams
In 1964, Pirelli started their now famous eponymous calendar, that has been a photographic and fashion event ever since and has featured the contributions of many famous photographers over the years such as Helmut Newton, Steve McCurry, Peter Lindbergh, Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Herb Rits and Annie Leibovitz. The “Power is Nothing Without Control” campaign derived from such creative endeavours and was first used in the company’s advertising campaign in 1994 with Annie Leibovitz’ photograph of American athlete Carl Lewis on the sprint starting blocks wearing red stilettos.
Pirelli’s poster advert from the 1994 “Power is Nothing Without Control” campaign, shot by Annie Leibovitz.
As part of the design for the Excalibur Spider Pirelli MT, Roger Dubuis and Pirelli worked together to create exclusive straps made from winning motorsport tyre rubber. They feature inlays with a tread design on the inside of the strap, known as the Pirelli CinturatoTM pattern, as well as the iconic slogan from 1994. The watch itself is made of Roger Dubuis’s own composite material and proprietary movement. Thanks to an innovative quick release system (QRS), the wearer can change the bezel, crown and strap colour in a matter of seconds. The three additional kit colours are Pirelli’s 150th anniversary silver, gold and red.
The underside of the rubber strap for the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Pirelli Monotourbillon featuring the iconic slogan created in 1994.
In keeping with other limited-edition Roger Dubuis watches, that have an association with the automotive world, the case and main plates are made from white Mineral Composite Fibre (MCF). MCF is a proprietary manufacturing process similar to that of Sheet Molding Compound (SMC) but instead of carbon, MCF uses silica which makes the resulting compound (MCF) 13 percent lighter. Furthermore, silica is less reactive than carbon and, as anyone in the semiconductor industry knows, it is highly resistant to heat. MCF’s tensile rigidity, lightness and non-reactive properties make it extremely comfortable to wear, while its strong atomic structure (that it shares with carbon) enables the creation of intricate designs. For the first time in the Excalibur Spider Pirelli collection, the metallic shade of MCF white (derived from raw silica’s natural glint) in the watch was chosen specifically to mark the significance of the Pirelli’s anniversary.
Learn how the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Pirelli Monotourbillon works:
Fittingly, Roger Dubuis launched the new Excalibur Monotourbillon at the Singapore Grand Prix. The skeleton structure reveals the complexity of the movement, including the flying tourbillon, placed at seven o’clock, where the escapement cage makes one rotation every 60 seconds. Also featured is a power reserve indicator, looking uncannily like a car’s fuel gauge, located at nine o’clock. The 45mm diameter MCF case is water resistant to five atmospheres. Despite all the “hyper-technology” within the watch, the movement carries the Poinçon de Genève (Geneva seal), the highest accolade certification reserved for manufacture in the City or Canton of Geneva and awarded to this watch for the traditional finishing and decoration of the mechanical movement.
As a dedicated celebration design, the timepiece includes additional features such as the distinctive Pirelli 150th anniversary logo on the rubber strap which illuminates at night thanks to SuperbiwinovaTM, a flexible luminescent material similar to SuperLuminovaTM. The latter coats the bezel, logo, and hour markers allowing all these elements to also glow in the dark.
With the application of the flexible material SuperbiwinovaTM, the Excalibur Spider Pirelli Monotourbillon becomes the first watch with a luminescent strap.
The new Excalibur Spider Pirelli Monotourbillon is the expression of a combined obsession for excellence and innovation that fuels Pirelli and Roger Dubuis’s race towards hyper performance. Although with only eight available (in the limited edition) exclusively through brand boutiques, you may have to burn some rubber to get to your local dealer in time.
Find out more about the new Excalibur Spider Pirelli Monotourbillon HERE.
Words: Dr Andrew Hildreth
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