Roger Dubuis Easy Diver: Swim Like a Geneva “Seal” (VIDEO)

Roger Dubuis is a trailblazer. First, he helped to launch the modern Independent Horology movement with the 1995 debut of his eponymous brand. Second, he crashed the high horology black-tie gala with Geneva Seal sports watches like this 1-of-888 limited edition Roger Dubuis Easy Diver.

At 46mm, rendered in stainless steel, and equipped with a unidirectional bezel and a 300m water resistance rating, the Roger Dubuis Easy Diver is ready to rub shoulders with the Rolex Submariner on the ocean floor.

But movement finish worthy of the fabled “Poincon de Geneve” ensures that Roger’s deep diving progeny packs the haute horlogerie chops to do battle with the most discriminating loupes of the most exacting connoisseurs.

Prior to the 2004 debut of Roger Dubuis‘ “SAW” (Sports Activity Watch) line, the idea of a true haut-de-gamme sports watch was more of a theory than reality. Although the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore sometimes skirted this status, that model’s initial solid case back origin design and internal magnetic shielding removed AP’s incentive to traverse the final yard and finish its sporty bruiser to the no-holds-barred standard of something like a display case back “Jumbo” ref. 14802.

Every part of the Easy Diver‘s complex case is redolent of quality. From the screw-retained (the upscale, most robust method) strap to the polished carbon fiber lug accents to the gorgeous brushed accents of the case flanks, the Roger Dubuis Easy Diver proves that a “tool watch” can be a fine watch as well.

After all, why should all dive watches look like relics from the Cousteau family garage sale?

A brilliant black lacquered dial with “geosphere” guilloche pattern matches the meridian/parallel theme of the vulcanized rubber strap. The individual hour indices are equipped with generous dollops of luminova, and the hands at center are illuminated by the rare and exotic red variant of luminova; it’s a sight to behold when daylight fades. Outstanding legibility and the robust unidirectional dive bezel ensure that the immaculately-detailed Roger Dubuis Easy Diver is ready to show Omega who’s the true “master” of the Sea.

Inside the sprawling 46mm steel case, a Roger Dubuis in-house caliber RD14 keeps the beat. Unlike earlier Easy Diver models, which features exquisitely finished Lemania movements, this Roger Dubuis features the later manufacture caliber designed, built, and finished entirely at Roger Dubuis in Geneva. The 48-hour power reserve and robust ceramic-bearing unidirectional winding system energize a mechanism becoming of the Geneva Hallmark

Since the 1880s, the Geneva Hallmark or “Poincon” has stood as the most renewed third-party measure (defined and administered by the City and Canton of Geneva) of finishing quality. Optically smooth “black” polish adorns the traditional “swan’s neck” regulator. Tight overlapping “perlage” blankets the base plate; circular “cotes de Geneve” feature atop the bridges, and each sheer edge is polished to a mirror finish courtesy of traditional “anglage.” Under the loupe, it may as well be one of Vacheron’s finest.

But Vacheron never built a sports watch this big, bold, and unabashedly committed to real-world users. The Roger Dubuis Easy Diver is an offering in earnest to those who want a steel watch on a rubber strap for the beach, the pool, the pool hall… or the ballroom. This Roger Dubuis is tough enough for the former and refined in to the standard of the latter. It’s a no-compromise do-it-all option for the free thinker with an avant garde sensibility.

See this Roger Dubuis Easy Diver an all factory accessories in high-resolution images on our website, www.watchuwant.com