Velvet Secret Heart

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.

Velvet Secret Heart

Subtle hints of a richly complex interior

The magnetic Velvet Secret Heart woman is in!nitely intense, compelling… In a word, irresistible. She is keenly aware that the most effective form of in"uence is wielded not by shows of strength, but instead by the natural allure of selfcon !dence grounded in self-knowledge and inner qualities.
Exactly like its owner who wields her in"uence by not wearing her heart on her sleeve, the Velvet Secret Heart conceals its inner complexities beneath a beguiling exterior that only hints at the mechanical heart beating inside.
Two rows of sparkling brilliant-cut diamonds frame the bezel and the inner bezel ring, surrounding two arcs of a circle bearing the Arabic date numerals that in turn frame radiating Roman numerals and the classic tonneau-shaped centre of the Velvet… Their pure white sparkle is echoed by the numerous pristine white dial accents, including 6 and 12 o’clock numerals, hourmarkers, date indicator transfers, transferred inscriptions and even the delicate white gold !let surrounding the barrel-shaped centre.
This beguiling timepiece boldly proclaims the fact that this is a Diva who likes to do things differently and who revels in paradoxes.
Almost like a Russian doll, or like swathes of velvety fabric with a sparkling trim, the successive semi-circles can be ‘read’ both as opening up towards the exterior, or as gently guiding the gaze towards the heart of its true nature: the central tonneau shape that creates the inimitable trompe l’oeil effect.
Except in this instance, this creation harbours a second, ‘secret’ heart that remains truly hidden, in an ultimate touch of feminine coquetry. Amid several fascinating plays on symmetry accentuating the distinctive charm of this model, the curved layout of the slanting Roman numerals and the extra-large upright XII and VI conjure up visions of a precious vase, brimming with the magic of time.

A double secret

The mechanical self-winding RD821B movement with its double-retrograde date function makes an ideal match for the tonneau shape since it follows the symmetry of the dial and sensually hugs its every curve. This is the first ever complication to enrich the Velvet collection, thus endowing it with a touch of fascinatingly original technicality. The choice of the bi-retrograde display is typical of Roger Dubuis’ penchant for marrying aesthetic and technical aspects of its creations, since the design of the dial and case provide a perfect setting for such an original display.
In this respect, Product Strategy Director Gregory Bruttin provides some fascinating insights into the thinking behind this visually and functionally intriguing creation. “While Roger Dubuis has a history of providing retrograde calendar displays that have become embedded in its DNA and has acquired considerable expertise in this "eld, there were two main reasons behind our decision to use this kind of approach on the Velvet Secret Heart. Firstly, the smaller (36mm) diameter of a ladies’ watch made it even more important to ensure the readability of this indication that is eminently useful in daily life and not merely decorative. And secondly, the choice of a bi-retrograde interpretation provided even more space and enabled us to accentuate the intensely magnetic femininity of the dial by opening up an almost 360° panorama and hiding the hands.”
Right at first glance, the way the numerals descend on either side of the dial – but in ascending order – tells the observer that this is no ordinary watch, just as its wearer is no ordinary woman. There is something clearly preternatural going on here that precludes the presence of classic hands sweeping in a clockwise direction. Driven by the new RD821B calibre, each hand in turn completes its travel down the voluptuous path of time and then jumps back to the start of its journey and disappears entirely as the other one takes over.

Yet these intricacies remain almost entirely invisible, merely hinting at hidden depths discreetly suggested by the dainty crescent tip of the single date gently cupping each date in turn as if to embrace the day... An eminently technical mechanism thereby succeeds in suffusing a romantic glow that draws upon sophisticated technical know-how to stir profound emotions. And the secret heart of the bi-retrograde jumping date regularly skips a beat very much like that of the Diva who will adopt one of these eight boutique-exclusive creations. Each is !tted with an opulent ultramarine blue alligator leather strap perfectly matching the mesmerising shade of the dial and admirably complementing its exquisite femininity.

Supremely ful!lling the desires of a woman who demands a timepiece that is both gorgeous to look at and magni!cently technical, the Velvet Secret Heart biretrograde model exercises a powerful attraction entirely in tune with the magnetic facet of feminine nature. Its intense and compelling technical core capitalises on the strength of secrecy, irresistibly drawing the gaze to its outer beauty and the mind to its intriguing interior.
Roger Dubuis also offers a more low-key, nonlimited Automatic counterpart that features a similar visual appeal but con!nes the setting to the inner bezel ring and foregoes the biretrograde date function.