Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Flyback: The Fusion of High-Performance Watchmaking and Automotive Art
Every August, the sunny town of Monterey, California, becomes the stage for one of the world’s most prestigious automotive gatherings: Monterey Car Week. This event isn’t just a magnet for wealthy collectors, car enthusiasts, and aficionados; it has grown into a celebration where luxury lifestyle, mechanical artistry, and high-performance engineering intersect. From exhibitions of pre-war classics to the unveiling of cutting-edge hypercars, the week-long event touches virtually every facet of automotive culture.
In recent years, however, Monterey Car Week has also evolved into a key moment for high-end watchmaking. Supercars and luxury timepieces share a natural synergy, both embodying extreme craftsmanship, unique design, and unparalleled performance. Collectors and enthusiasts are increasingly drawn to this intersection, where horology meets automotive excellence, creating a space that celebrates mechanical ingenuity in multiple forms.
It is within this environment that Swiss watchmaker Roger Dubuis, a long-time collaborator with Lamborghini, chose to launch its latest creation: the limited-edition Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph. This new iteration brings fresh colors and materials to the series, highlighting the brand’s avant-garde approach to modern haute horology and reinforcing the connection between high-performance automobiles and extraordinary timepieces.
The design of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph remains as audacious and aggressive as ever. Its substantial 45mm diameter and 17.1mm thickness ensure it makes an immediate visual impact, designed not for subtlety but for bold statement-making. The series’ signature three-lug case structure has become a defining element of the Excalibur family. In this latest edition, the combination of pink gold and black DLC-coated titanium accents enhances both luxury and legibility. Extensive skeletonization transforms the watch into a mechanical sculpture, with hollowed-out lugs, case sides, and even pushers creating a complex latticework. This intricate architecture not only reduces weight but allows the wearer to appreciate the watch’s mechanical depth from every angle. The use of pink gold adds a sense of warmth and dimensionality, while the black DLC titanium offers striking contrast, making the layered structures immediately distinguishable. The bezel, finished with radial brushing in pink gold, highlights the series’ iconic crenellated design, while black-filled numerals and engraved details reinforce the sporty and powerful aesthetic. Through the sapphire display caseback, wearers can admire the watch’s intricate movement from the rear; although it lacks the immediate visual drama of the dial side, the racing wheel-inspired rotor commands attention. Remarkably, despite its radical design, the watch maintains 100 meters of water resistance, making it suitable for daily wear and even light sports activities.
The dial itself is where the Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph truly captivates. For this edition, Roger Dubuis employs a black-and-gold palette, pairing skeletonized black hands with pink gold bridges to enhance readability compared to previous models. The dial balances complexity with visual clarity, with each functional element framed by raised, brushed bridges that create a sense of harmony. At 12 o’clock, twin mainspring barrels provide substantial power reserve, while the chronograph minute display at 3 o’clock uses a rotating disc format reminiscent of Lamborghini dashboards, merging functionality with futuristic aesthetics. The column wheel and skeletonized date at 6 o’clock add depth and layering, and the tilted balance wheel at 9 o’clock, inclined at a 12-degree angle, functions similarly to a tourbillon, enhancing timekeeping precision. Despite the dial’s technical intricacy, symmetry and proportion guide the eye, ensuring a visual balance that is both dynamic and elegant.
At the heart of the watch lies Roger Dubuis’ in-house RD780SQ automatic flyback chronograph movement. Technically, it boasts a 71-hour power reserve and a 28,800 vph beat rate, featuring an innovative braking system integrated with a vertical clutch to ensure precise and smooth chronograph operation. The flyback function allows timing without stopping, a feature particularly suited to a racing environment, perfectly aligning with the brand’s collaboration with Lamborghini. Finishing is equally meticulous: every component meets the stringent Geneva Seal standards, employing 16 distinct finishing techniques ranging from brushing and polishing to anglage and perlage. While the rotor—styled like a racing wheel—is the most eye-catching element from the back, the bridges below it are also sculpted with angular brushing, reflecting the brand’s signature flair. This combination of high performance and artisanal finishing makes the RD780SQ both a technical marvel and an object of collectible artistry.
To complement the watch, Roger Dubuis fitted a black rubber strap with three-dimensional sculpting, featuring raised ridges and recessed triangular textures that echo the three-lug case structure. The strap not only enhances the watch’s visual cohesion but ensures comfort and durability for extended wear. The deployant clasp mirrors this sculptural approach, combining security with aesthetic elegance.
Monterey Car Week is not just an automotive showcase; it is a celebration of luxury lifestyle. Supercars and high-end watches share intrinsic similarities: extreme mechanical complexity, a pursuit of peak performance, and sculptural, artistic design. The long-standing partnership between Roger Dubuis and Lamborghini is rooted in this shared philosophy. From the Huracán to the Aventador, and through countless limited-edition supercars, this cross-industry synergy is evident. The Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph extends this philosophy to the wrist. At the show, one can admire a multi-million-dollar hypercar and simultaneously experience the mechanical drama of this golden, skeletonized chronograph, witnessing the fusion of performance and art firsthand. For collectors, the limited run of 88 pieces enhances its rarity and investment potential.
Roger Dubuis positions itself as a vanguard of modern watchmaking, producing timepieces that transcend mere utility to become symbols of identity and taste. The Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph, priced at $135,000, is far beyond reach for most consumers, yet for high-net-worth collectors with supercars and art collections, it represents a natural extension of lifestyle. This watch is more than a timekeeper; it is a symbol alongside hypercars and collectible art. Its value lies not only in materials and mechanics but also in cultural significance. It embodies mechanical artistry, individual expression, and a devotion to an extreme lifestyle. Among global elite circles, such limited pieces are not only functional instruments but also social connectors, marking shared values and status.
Strategically, releasing this watch during Monterey Car Week was an astute move. The event draws exactly the brand’s target demographic: collectors who own supercars, appreciate luxury, and seek peak experiences. Observing the roar of engines, feeling the curvature of automotive design, and simultaneously experiencing the tactile presence of a mechanical chronograph creates an unmatched multisensory resonance. Like a Lamborghini, which transcends basic transportation to become mobile art, the Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph surpasses its timekeeping function to become a lifestyle statement, a fusion of power, speed, and refinement.
With the unfolding of Monterey Car Week 2025, the Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph in its striking pink gold and black colorway steals the spotlight. It excels visually, functionally, and technically, combining skeletonization with complex mechanical architecture to offer both a high-performance tool watch and a kinetic sculpture. Paired with Lamborghini’s DNA of performance and daring design, it is the dream object for both automotive and horological enthusiasts. Limited to only 88 pieces, it remains a coveted prize, while for onlookers, it is a spectacle of engineering and aesthetics. This timepiece is not merely a watch; it represents a lifestyle, a symphony of mechanical artistry and peak performance, much like the hypercars it complements at Monterey Car Week. Its existence challenges conventions of luxury, performance, and beauty, redefining what a wristwatch can signify in the contemporary world.
In conclusion, the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph is more than just a chronograph—it is an artistic, mechanical, and cultural statement. Its bold design, innovative movement, meticulous finishing, and cross-industry resonance with Lamborghini position it as a pinnacle of modern haute horology. It is a limited-edition masterpiece that embodies the thrill of speed, the precision of Swiss watchmaking, and the artful elegance of mechanical sculpture, offering collectors a tangible piece of luxury and performance that transcends time itself.