Skeleton watches were the entirety of the Roger Dubuis offerings at SIHH, encompassing its flagship Excalibur Skeleton Tourbillons, as well as a new, entry-level skeleton automatic.

Roger Dubuis is synonymous with skeleton watches, particularly its open-worked tourbillons with their recognisable star-shaped bridges and skeletons were the focus of the offerings at SIHH 2015. The new line-up started with the Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon at the top of the price spectrum, and ending with the Excalibur Automatic Skeleton, the first skeleton watch from the brand that is not a tourbillon.

[NB: All prices are in Singapore dollars (S$) and include 7% tax. US$1=S$1.35]

Excalibur Spider is a new sub-line of the King Arthur-inspired collection with its distinctive notched bezel and triple lugs. The Excalibur Spider watches have skeletonized cases, hollowed out at the lugs and flanks of the case, making them lighter, a useful feature for a watches that large.

The Excalibur Spider Skeleton Double Flying Tourbillon has a 47 mm case in alternating titanium and black DLC-coated titanium, with striking red aluminum inserts in the case band, crown and dial flange. Despite its size, the weight on the wrist is modest, due to the skeletonized case.

Inside is the RD01SQ movement, an open-worked movement with twin tourbillon regulators. Coated in dark grey ruthenium and finished with perlage (also known as pearling), the bridges and base plate sparkle at certain angles as the perlage catches the light. The barrel bridge is in the form of a five-pointed star, the trademark flourish in Roger Dubuis’ skeleton watches.

Limited to 188 pieces, the Excalibur Spider Skeleton Double Flying Tourbillon is priced at S$395,000.

Similar but less flamboyant is the Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon. The case is also 45 mm and skeletonized, but it’s brushed grey titanium throughout for a more monochromatic look.

The movement is similarly styled, with the star-shaped bridge and pearled ruthenium plates, but with a single tourbillon. This is part of the regular collection, and priced at S$213,000.

Another version of the Excalibur Spider Skeleton Flying Tourbillon is a limited edition of 88 pieces, with 60 baguette-cut diamonds set onto the rubber coating of the titanium bezel – the first time diamonds have been set into rubber.

The rest of the case is finished a matte black DLC coating, giving it slightly more gloss than the matte rubber on the bezel. This will cost S$260,000.

Much more accessible is the Excalibur Automatic Skeleton with the newly developed RD820SQ movement. The most affordable Roger Dubuis skeleton watch to date, this has all the signature design elements of Roger Dubuis skeleton tourbillon watches, including the star-shaped bridge and perlage on the ruthenium-plated plates. Visually it is extremely similar to the skeleton tourbillons, in fact the casual observer would find it hard to separate the two across a room.

This is the first skeletonised, self-winding movement from Roger Dubuis. It’s essentially an inverted movement; all the action on the front with both the micro-rotor and regulator on the dial side.

At 42 mm in diameter and 11.44 mm high, the Excalibur Automatic Skeleton is a manageable size, sliding easily under a cuff, and combines the brand’s signature look with a lower price. The Excalibur Automatic Skeleton starts at S$84,000 for the version in DLC titanium, rising to S$103,000 for the pink gold model. And the pink gold skeleton with a baguette diamond-set bezel is S$148,000.

The rest of our SIHH roundups are right here:

A. Lange & Söhne

Cartier

Greubel Forsey

IWC

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Panerai

Parmigiani

Piaget

Ralph Lauren

Roger Dubuis 

Vacheron Constantin

The line-up presented by Vacheron Constantin at SIHH 2015 embodies a strategy increasingly favoured by many high-end watchmakers, a two-prong approach with complications on the one hand in the form of the Harmony collection, and métier d’art watches on the other with the Mécaniques Gravées decorated with gun engraving.

[NB: All prices are in Singapore dollars (S$) and include 7% tax. US$1=S$1.35]

Comprising seven limited edition timepieces, the Harmony line is inspired by a cushion-shaped case chronograph from 1928. The simplest model in the collection is the Harmony Dual Time. This is equipped with the calibre 2460DT, the twin time zone variant of Vacheron Constantin’s flagship automatic movement.

What distinguishes the movement is the solid gold rotor decorated with a relief, fleurisanne engraving of a floral motif taken from oldest known watch made by Jean-Marc Vacheron, dating from 1755.

The Harmony Dual Time is available in the men’s version, with a 40 mm case in white or pink gold. This is limited to 625 pieces in each metal and priced at S$61,500. It’s also available as a 37 mm ladies’ watch in white gold with a diamond set bezel, limited to 500 pieces with a price tag of S$71,100.

Equipped with a new, in-house chronograph movement, the Harmony Chronograph Calibre 3300 is a chronograph with a pulsometer scale, just like the 1928 watch that inspired the Harmony collection. It’s a single-button, two register chronograph with a power reserve display at six o’clock. And instead of the of the usual 30 minute counter, this can record up to 45 minutes.

The case is 40 mm with a display back that reveals the calibre 3300, a manually-wound movement constructed in the style of a classical, high-end chronograph with a column wheel and horizontal clutch. Notable details include the balance cock engraved with the floral motif common to all the anniversary watches, and the decorative Maltese Cross on the column wheel.

Made in a limited edition of 260 pieces in rose gold, the Harmony Chronograph Claibre 3300 is priced at S$105,600.

Also limited to 260 pieces in rose gold is the Harmony Chronograph Small Model, intended to ladies and set with diamonds on the bezel. This is equipped the calibre 1142, based on the Lemania 2310. Vacheron Constantin has used the movement since the eighties, but it has been significantly improved in 2015, most notably with a free-sprunng, adjustable mass balance. This is priced at S$99,800.

The Harmony Tourbillon Chronograph is powered by the calibre 3200, a variant of the movement in the Harmony Chronograph.

Made in a tiny edition of just 26 pieces, this has a tourbillon regulator in Vacheron Constantin’s typical style, with a Maltese Cross-shaped cage and back polished bridge.

The platinum case is 42 mm in diameter. And the price is S$558,500.

The top of the line model is the Harmony Ultra-Thin Grande Complication Chronograph, a very slim split-seconds chronograph with a peripheral winding mechanism. Like the Harmony Chronograph this is a mono-pusher, with the button in the crown for start and stop, while the split seconds is activated by the button at two o’clock.

Made in a limited edition of 10, this measures just 8.4 mm high, with the movement alone standing 5.2 mm. That is quite an accomplishment; in comparison the Patek Philippe CHR 27 movement found in the references 5959 and 5950 is 5.25 mm high. Split seconds chronographs are best made slim, so that the co-axial pinions of the split seconds hands are shorter, leaving less room for error. Slimness aside, the movement is impressive, both visually and in terms of construction.

Though the calibre 3500 is largely traditional in terms of the chronograph, the winding mechanism is novel. The rotor is mounted around the movement, with a floral engraved oscillating mass set on a large gear that circles the movement, connected to a small gear that winds the mainspring.

Available only at Vacheron Constantin boutiques, the Harmony Ultra-Thin Grande Complication Chronograph is priced at S$518,200.

Vacheron Constantain also introduced two Metier d’Art watches at SIHH, the Mécaniques Gravées, available only at its boutiques. Both are platinum, with the movement engraved with a motif of flowers and acanthus leaves. The first is the 14-Day Tourbillon, a heavily decorated version of Vacheron Constantin’s flagship two-week tourbillon. This has a 41 mm platinu case and a clear sapphire dial, revealing the heavily engraved base plate. The markings for the power reserve at 12 o’clock and seconds are printed on the underside of the sapphire.

The back of the watch is similarly decorated, with even the text on the case back engraved by hand. This costs S$537,400.

The second Mécaniques Gravées watch is the hand-wound, 39 mm Calibre 4400. This has no dial at all, with the engraved base plate being the face of the watch.

The engraving is nearly absolute, with even the keyless works for winding and setting being decorated with the floral motif. This is priced at S$134,400.

The rest of our SIHH roundups are right here:

A. Lange & Söhne

Cartier

Greubel Forsey

IWC

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Panerai

Parmigiani

Piaget

Ralph Lauren

Roger Dubuis 

Vacheron Constantin