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Roger Dubuis

Founded in 1995 in Geneva — today a manufacture of the Richemont group, based in Meyrin (Geneva)

Brand History

Roger Dubuis (1938–2017) begins his career in the late 1950s at Longines, mostly handling repairs, before spending about fourteen years in the grand complications workshop at Patek Philippe. In 1980 he leaves the manufacture to open his own restoration workshop for collectors and auction houses. In the late 1980s he works with complications watchmaker Jean-Marc Wiederrecht on developing a double-retrograde perpetual calendar module for Harry Winston, presented at Baselworld in 1989.

In 1995, at age 57, Roger Dubuis founds his own manufacture in Geneva together with Portuguese entrepreneur Carlos Dias, who handles the commercial side while Dubuis focuses on technical excellence; the company is initially registered as SOGEM SA and becomes "Manufacture Roger Dubuis SA" in 1999. In 1996 the first two collections debut, Sympathie and Hommage, both awarded the Geneva Seal. Between 2001 and 2002 the manufacture moves to its new integrated headquarters in Meyrin, and in 2005 the Excalibur collection is born, which would go on to become the brand's flagship line.

In the early 2000s production grows rapidly, reaching peaks of around 25,000 watches a year, but Roger Dubuis leaves day-to-day operations in 2003, keeping only a minority stake. Under Carlos Dias's leadership expansion becomes aggressive, with almost thirty calibers developed in-house and heavy debt; in 2008, on the eve of the financial crisis, Dias sells his majority stake to the Richemont group, which reaches full ownership of the brand in 2016. Production has since stabilized at a few thousand pieces a year, with a positioning increasingly oriented toward skeletonized and avant-garde watches; David Chaumet has been the brand's CEO since June 2024, and in 2025 Roger Dubuis celebrated its thirtieth anniversary.

What Sets It Apart

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The Geneva Seal on nearly the whole output

Almost every watch from the brand carries the Geneva quality mark, which imposes strict finishing and architectural requirements not only on the movement but on the whole case.

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Skeletonization as a stylistic signature

Openworked bridges and plates, often shaped like stars or heraldic elements, have become the brand's most recognizable trait since the 2000s.

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In-house developed movements

From double flying tourbillons to four-balance calibers, the Meyrin manufacture designs and produces most of its own calibers in-house, including fine-watchmaking complications.