Introducing: The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monotourbillon Dr. Woo Episode III — Prepare Yourself For An Imaginary Intergalactic Trip
The third time that Dr. Woo, LA-based tattoo artist to the stars, and Genevan watchmaker Roger Dubuis collaborate, it takes on a galactic peace mission. The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monotourbillon Dr. Woo Episode III shows design elements only found in the unimaginable depths of space. After traveling galaxies yet unknown to humankind, the creative expedition resulted in a 28-piece boutique exclusive limited edition. Apart from bearing the Poinçon de Genève, the watch shows Dr. Woo’s recognizable style, including his signature spider, a mysterious language of symbols, and the traveling rocket with a trajectory that follows the star shape of the Excalibur collection.
I can imagine Dr. Woo softly having one of Frank Sinatra’s most famous songs in his head while creating the story and the sketches for the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monotourbillon Dr. Woo Episode III. Maybe he softly sang, “Fly me to the Moon, and let me play among the stars / Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars,” while penning his ideas and then adding improvised lyrics, replacing the planets Ol’ Blue Eyes mentioned with “Tourbillon Galaxy.” We know of that star system, also named Messier 51a, or the Whirlpool Galaxy, because in August 2023, the James Webb Telescope photographed it. Tourbillon Galaxy is an appropriate name for a star system showing striking arms that are, essentially, star-formation factories, creating clusters of new stars. This is a fitting source of inspiration for a space-obsessed tattoo artist and a watchmaker specializing in tourbillons.
Traveling through the intergalactic Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monotourbillon Dr. Woo Episode III on a rocket
Open your mind and start your space travel into the watch. For the creators of this new Roger Dubuis timepiece, the connection between the clockwise turn of the Tourbillon Galaxy and the precise way a tourbillon moves is obvious. Also, the Genevan brand often uses an astral shape in its skeletonized movements. If you’re familiar with having a star in your movement, adding more otherworldly objects and a rocket is a small step. The Rocket Comes in Peace is Dr. Woo’s signature spaceship that already “flew” in the first collaboration timepiece from 2021. This time, the rocket appears on the top surface of the watch’s sapphire dial. It is pink gold metalized on the glass and displays the message “We come in peace” in its trails.
Plunge into the black hole
Near the 10 o’clock position, you will find a laser-engraved depiction of Dr. Woo’s spider filled with black ink, a substance very familiar to the tattoo artist. Now we travel further inside the watch and see three pink gold metalized nebulae appear on the underside of the sapphire dial at 9 o’clock. These illuminated clouds of gas and dust invite you to take a plunge into the “black hole” between 10 and 11 o’clock. You must turn the watch over to fully understand what’s happening here. A spiral-shaped component in stainless steel that represents the entrance to the “black hole” is treated with pink gold. The large laser engraving on the sapphire of a checkerboard spiral pattern “suck” you into the black hole.
Since we’re looking at the case back, we might as well figure out what the writing here says. Close inspection reveals that it reads: “Let’s work together to uncover the mysteries of the cosmos and unlock the secrets of the universe. To whoever finds this message, know that we are seekers of knowledge and explorers of the unknown.”
A galactic movement
The imaginary space journey that is the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monotourbillon Dr. Woo Episode III is powered by exceptional imagination and a mechanical movement. Caliber RD515 is made in the Roger Dubuis atelier in Meyrin. Since this is in the canton of Geneva and the movement can withstand harsh scrutiny, it carries the coveted Poinçon de Genève. The RD515 shows a flying tourbillon disguised as a galaxy at 7 o’clock. It took some tweaking to make the tourbillon look that way and still spin correctly. The upper bridge received a tiny three-arm construction to put the shiny stainless steel spiral on top of it.
The 193-part 3Hz movement, decorated with 16 types of remarkable finishing, will power you through time for 72 hours nonstop. The barrel responsible for this is visible at 1 o’clock. Pink gold transfers on the barrel represent the planets, rings, and nebulae within a distant galaxy. The cosmic scene slowly turns as the barrel unwinds, creating yet another intergalactic mini spectacle.
The Excalibur Monotourbillon Dr. Woo Episode III is a 42mm spacecraft
What material would you choose to construct your spacecraft from? Aluminum with plenty of titanium and carbon fiber components to keep the weight down? Since Roger Dubuis constructed the Excalibur Monotourbillon Dr. Woo Episode III for space travel through the imagination, the brand chose contemporary and functional-looking gray titanium along with warm and lush 18K pink gold to create the best possible visual effect. The titanium 42 × 12.6mm case is water resistant to 100 meters. That’s probably in case of a splashdown here on Earth or another wet planet somewhere out there.
Dr. Woo’s mysterious design language is not functional, but it will give you something to do while hurling through space. You’ll find it laser-engraved around the pink gold bezel and the pink gold U-shaped links of the bracelet. What do these symbols mean? I have no clue; it’s up to the watch’s wearer to decipher them.
Now, regarding the bracelet featuring a Quick Release System, never mind that tool-free way to change the bracelet. You’re not going to do that anyway because, just like the titanium bracelets on the Excalibur Monotourbillon Titanium and Excalibur Monobalancier Titanium, this is the co-star of the show. It perfectly hides the RD-signature third lug and updates the watch’s look because it creates an integrated design. On top of that, the bracelet wears wonderfully. I know this from wearing the previously mentioned titanium creations.
Price and final chapter
Consider that a suborbital flight with Virgin Galactic costs US$600,000, and an orbital flight with SpaceX will run you US$55 million per seat. In that case, paying €186,000 / US$170,500 (ex. taxes) for a fantasy journey into the “Tourbillon Galaxy” on your wrist is not a bad deal. Still, to go on this journey, you need deep pockets and a rich imagination. Having said that, I do prefer fantastic non-fictional storytelling and wild creativity over watches that debut with backup stories claiming all sorts of trivialities that will ultimately prove inaccurate anyway. The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Monotourbillon Dr. Woo Episode III is another story — an entirely made-up story beautifully visualized by the tattoo artist and the watchmaker. Mmm, The Tattoo Artist and the Watchmaker… That sounds like the title of another story.
