Black Velvet

2016, Year of the Velvet Diva

Roger Dubuis turns the spotlight on women, proudly proclaiming 2016 the Year of the Velvet Diva.
Being a diva in the world of Roger Dubuis is a matter of unrivalled temperament and a multifaceted personality. The peerless complexity of feminine nature endows women with a unique ability to alternately reveal different sides of who they are, and to boldly !aunt a given aspect of their character depending on the situation or their mood.

In a dramatic setting evoking the world’s most glamorous !lm events, the Roger Dubuis World at the SIHH 2016 will provide the perfect stage on which each woman can unleash her inner Diva and experience her very own red carpet moment. Hollywood’s Golden Age gets a new lease on life, while red-carpeted steps create a breathtaking backdrop for this scene evoking today’s starstudded !lm events. Posture and attitude, pose and position steal the show as the contemporary femme fatale – the inspired and inspirational muse, the devastatingly beautiful and captivatingly mysterious Diva – powerfully embodies the Roger Dubuis woman.

Pursuing its self-appointed mission as the ‘jeweller of rare artistic masterpieces’, Roger Dubuis has chosen its charismatic Velvet collection as the ideal medium through which to express its vision of the Diva. Trompe l’oeil cases subtly associating tonneau and circular shapes; !nely decorated lugs including a ‘third’ that becomes a precious link and key decorative element; as well as a split-level dial construction: Velvet is a collection designed for Divas drawn to stunning designs and ultra-feminine materials, as well as a steadily beating mechanical heart.

In 2016, Roger Dubuis unveils !ve collections showcasing !ve feminine facets summed up as a key quality backed by other correlated adjectives conjuring up the nature of the Diva they embody. Velvet Ribbon is sophisticated, elegant and timeless. Blossom Velvet is feline, captivating, possessive, instinctive and mysterious. Black Velvet is conquering, liberated, rebellious, uncompromising and extreme. Velvet Secret Heart is magnetic, compelling and intense. Velvet by Massaro is visionary, revolutionary, creative and eccentric.
While discovering these collections, visitors thus immersed in the uniquely theatrical !lm studio/festival staircase atmosphere of the Roger Dubuis World at the SIHH 2016 will also be able to enjoy a unique Woman’eye’zer’ Velvet Covers installation. This interactive video booth will allow them to star in their very own video clip ‘cover’ of a virtual Velvet magazine. The spirit of this special ‘moment of fame’ epitomizing Andy Warhol’s premonitory statement is further extended through a digital campaign framing the SIHH. It will comprise a series of mini-!lms evoking each the !ve facets in turn through an intensely avant-garde style including the strategic use of neon lighting.

Black Velvet

The touchstone of innovative audacity

The Black Velvet woman is driven by an allconquering spirit. The uncompromising standards of this liberated lady are expressed through a deliberately unconventional approach to life and living. Her resolutely rebellious attitude means she may at times be regarded as extreme, but always as in!nitely intriguing.

The Black Velvet Paraiba makes a dramatic stage entrance with its all-carbon look escorted by vivid "ashes of exotic stones evoking the magic of Brazil on this world première featuring a patented gemsetting technique that ignites the visual power of this daring model featuring a tone-on-tone carbon dial and case.

Two and a half times lighter than titanium, carbon creates an amazingly pleasant feel on the wrist that the wearer will naturally appreciate. But whereas carbon is frequently associated with distinctly sporty or even masculine timepieces and values, Roger Dubuis introduces an iconoclastic and surprisingly feminine rendering of this cutting-edge material. The multi-layered technique used to form the carbon case creates a distinctively mottled, superimposed wave-like effect that is never the same twice depending on how the light plays over it, thus rendering each watch truly unique.

This darkly modern and urban feminine look frames a tone-on-tone carbon dial. The on-trend stealth effect is strikingly offset by white Roman numerals, white gold appliques at 6 and 12 o’clock, as well as by the white Roger Dubuis and Poinçon de Genève inscriptions.

Nonetheless, the most powerful and sparkling contrast de!nitely comes from the turquoise glow of the 66 Paraiba tourmalines adorning the bezel and ‘third-lug’ décor. Not only are these stones extremely rare in themselves, but their singularly vibrant shade sets off the dusky background to perfection.

Further enhancing the glow of this watch, the distinctive blue-green hue is also reflected in the glimmering of the satin-!nish strap secured to the wrist by a DLC-titanium folding clasp. This silky-soft fabric is produced using state-of-the-art technologies making it ideally suited to a modern timepiece.

A patented world première

Alongside this wealth of aesthetic delights, the other groundbreaking feature of this model lies in an association that looks so natural one might almost be tempted to forget it has never been previously achieved. Following on from the world-first gemsetting on rubber named “soft stones in the sky” and introduced at the SIHH 2015, Roger Dubuis proudly introduces the !rst ever timepiece to feature gemset carbon, an unprecedented association that called for a newly evolved technique that has also been duly patented.

In this year that the Manufacture is dedicating to Women, this latest innovation is intended specifically for women although it is bound to intrigue the masculine mind – and eye. One could in some ways view this process as associating two different gems, since diamonds are of course a crystalline form of carbon. The prongs (claws) on this Black Velvet ‘paw’ holding the Paraiba tourmalines are white, thus subtly accentuating the visual impact of the stones.

With this astonishing timepiece, Manufacture Roger Dubuis once again successfully diverts design codes in adopting its own deliberately unconventional approach to watchmaking.

Much like we have seen with ceramic, initially regarded as a more masculine material and now featured in a number of Haute Horlogerie women’s watches, carbon’s apparently masculine nature is transformed here in a manner that propels it firmly into an unmistakably feminine mode.

Issued in an 88-piece limited edition, Black Velvet eloquently sums up the incredible audacity of Roger Dubuis and its singleminded commitment to innovation on all levels.

Reliable mechanical timekeeping

Today’s woman expects in!nitely more of her watch than just a pretty face – however original and appealing it may be – and the Black Velvet thus beats to the 28,800 vph tune of a 172-part mechanical self-winding movement. Finely adjusted in five positions and delivering a 48-hour power reserve, Calibre RD821 is adorned with rhodium plating, ‘Côtes de Genève’ decoration and Poinçon de Genève finishes.

The all-carbon fist in this Black Velvet glove packs a powerful aesthetic punch that is liable to prove a knockout and is thus eminently suited to the all-conquering feminine facet it so evocatively channels.