Introducing: The Roger Dubuis Hommage La Placide  — A 28-Piece Limited-Edition Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar

It certainly seems like 2025 is the year of anniversaries. Big names are celebrating many centuries of watchmaking, and many brands, young and old, are releasing exceptional commemorative creations. Some are intricate masterpieces that express their maker’s savoir-faire, while others represent an evolution of a historical benchmark creation. The Roger Dubuis Hommage La Placide is both. The 28-piece limited-edition biretrograde perpetual calendar is a complicated watch featuring a restored and updated movement and QP module, representing a reinterpretation of a watch that put the brand on the map 29 years ago. Yes, 29, not 30. The brand was founded in 1995, and the first Hommage with a QP complication debuted a year later in 1996.

You might wonder why Roger Dubuis didn’t use the name “Hommage Biretrograde Perpetual Calendar,” but went with “Hommage La Placide” instead. It adds to the mystery, sure, but it also forgoes mentioning the biretrograde indication that caused a shiver in the watch community three decades ago. It’s the way the brand, which also produced a watch that tells the story of Merlin and the Lady of the Lake, operates. La Placide is not a mythical wizard, though, but Roger Dubuis’s nickname. He earned it as a young Boy Scout due to his calm and gentle nature and continued to use it throughout his life. Since we’re on the topic of names, the first Hommage was a tribute to the people who inspired and educated the watchmaker Roger Dubuis. This Hommage is a celebration of that watchmaker himself; thus, in a way, it’s a double homage, making it all very meta.

Introducing the Roger Dubuis Hommage La Placide

Raise your hand if you thought about a re-edition or reinterpretation of a biretrograde QP after seeing the surprising 40mm Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar? I’m now typing with one hand…because I did. The Hommage La Placide is everything I hoped for. Whereas the Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar showcases the characteristic notched bezel and triple lugs of that collection, the Hommage La Placide features a more traditional case, reminiscent of the original. Interestingly, the pink gold 38mm case was crafted in the Roger Dubuis manufacture, marking a first for the brand. What’s inside the case is even more interesting.

When 14 + 72 = caliber 1472

Inside the 38mm case (the original size) with an 11mm thickness beats the Roger Dubuis caliber 1472. This is an automatic movement consisting of a base (caliber RD14) and a module (RD72). To power the tribute watch, “RD” opted for a historical approach, reviving its original RD14 calibers — the brand’s first in-house automatic movements, introduced in 2004. Each caliber underwent a meticulous restoration process, from comprehensive diagnostics to rigorous quality control, to restore every component to near-original condition.

Interestingly, the RD14 features a swan-neck regulator, a sign of traditional watchmaking known for its precision adjustment and refined finishing. The caliber also retains RD’s original in-house balance spring. This innovation from the early 2000s earned the brand its status as an official manufacture. Apart from restoration, the brand also enhanced the RD14’s performance by completely recalibrating the gear train, with the wheel axes repositioned for improved efficiency.

Restoring and recalculating

The restored RD14 base is paired with the RD72 perpetual calendar module. First introduced in 1999, the RD72 was one of Mr. Roger Dubuis’s favorites, combining indications for the day, date, month, leap year, and moon phases. To facilitate the mechanical marriage, RD remanufactured the mainplate, large bridge, and nearly half of all components — including levers, springs, wheels, and pinions — entirely in-house. A refined dual-star mechanism, using wheels with 12 and 48 teeth, displays the month and leap year on a single counter.

The brand had only combined the RD14 movement with an RD72 module once before, resulting in the caliber 1472. Now, this 307-component movement features a new 18K pink gold rotor and 15 traditional decoration techniques, including Geneva stripes, circular graining, mirror polishing, and perlage. As you would expect from an homage to Roger Dubuis, a watchmaker who graduated from a watchmaking school with a Poinçon de Genève-grade school watch already in his portfolio, the Hommage La Placide bears the Genevan hallmark.

More mother-of-pearl? Yes, please!

Just like in the Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar, mother-of-pearl makes its way to the dial again. Previous creations showcased the use of the soft, shimmering material. “MOP” softly shimmers in a modest, you could say, placid way. The biretrograde display, however, is much more outspoken. Due to the positioning of the two large hands, as well as the bold typography, the scales widen toward the perimeter and taper toward the center, remaining true to the original design. The layout produces an elliptical geometry that guides the eye naturally across the dial.

The structure itself consists of five distinct layers. The outer flange features polished angles, circular brushing, and incorporated transferred numerals, along with a minute track. The iridescent mother-of-pearl calendar segments form the second layer, displaying transferred inscriptions and hand-beveled edges. The main dial, in lacquered “Leman Blue,” pays homage to Lake Geneva. It features applied hour markers, transferred text, and lunar-month indications, all aligned to maintain visual balance and functional clarity. The mother-of-pearl sub-dials contain a broader, concentric-grained finish. Their design is balanced, which is a good thing, as the dial is a spectacular example of visual complexity. The moonphase layer in blue aventurine evokes the night sky with a subtle metallic shimmer. Two curved 18K yellow gold moons traverse its surface.

Price and final thoughts

The Excalibur Biretrograde Calendar was promising, and the Hommage La Placide delivers. It shows the timeless qualities of the original creation in a technical and, dare I say, even visually updated manner. The watch balances outspoken colors and features with original and soft details — the mother-of-pearl details are almost endearing. The layered dial follows the layout of the original and then plays with depth. By the way, even the original clasp is back. This is a homage deserving of a standing ovation. It also clearly illustrates Roger Dubuis’s qualities and capabilities. The Hommage La Placide combines technical expertise, traditional craftsmanship, and aesthetic discipline in a unified, uplifted design.

The watch also sparks the imagination. What else from the brand’s early years could be reinterpreted in the same glorious way? Well, I’m sure collectors would welcome a tribute to the Hommage Chronographs with open arms. A Sympathie with a biretrograde QP would also surely be a hit. Something else popped into my mind — a watch with a triretrograde calendar, which Roger Dubuis patented in 2000. But that’s for later. Let’s first enjoy a very distinct and successful tribute watch.

For those interested in buying one of 28 Hommage La Placide watches, the price is €115,000 before taxes. If you’re curious, head over to a Roger Dubuis boutique. And if you do so with a vintage Hommage watch, you will receive a complimentary Hommage strap for it.