To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Roger Dubuis unveils the timepiece Hommage Noche Tranquila Sukoon Al-Layl, which completes the trilogy of La Placide. This globally unique piece was first showcased at the Dubai Watch Week, featuring a design inspired by the calm of desert nights, paying tribute to the astronomical complications that founder Roger Dubuis once mastered. Its name derives from the Arabic word Sukoon (tranquility) and La Noche (night), reflecting the gentle and serene side of this master’s personality.
The watch features a platinum case with a diameter of 38 mm and a thickness of 11 mm, complemented by a bezel, a case back, and a crown, all crafted from platinum. The stellar blue calfskin strap is stitched with platinum threads, and the buckle is made from platinum, featuring the brand’s first-generation logo engraved on it. As for the dial, it is composed of five layers, representing an extension of the creative style seen in the early works of Roger Dubuis. The edges are made of polished mother-of-pearl, inlaid with polished metal scale markers, and the calendar display area also utilizes mother-of-pearl, finished with a handcrafted beveled frame.
The main dial is adorned with a wavy guilloché pattern, drawing inspiration from the brand’s early designs and mimicking the natural textures shaped by the wind on sand dunes. The watch’s surface has been coated with a deep Astral Blue enamel, creating a visual effect that shifts with the light. Time is indicated through the hour and minute hands, crafted from 18K white gold, while the double jump function employs yellow enameled brass hands, helping to reduce inertia and enhance the stability of the jump. On the dial, there are four hour markers in Arabic numerals, reflecting a cultural background oriented towards the Middle East.
The bottom layer showcases the lunar phases, set against a blue and golden stone background, adorned with two small 18K crescent moons—the only golden elements in the entire piece—paying homage to the brand’s early perpetual calendar creations. The materials and craftsmanship are layered in a rich texture, allowing the dial to display a three-dimensional visual effect with rhythm and depth, while maintaining the brand’s signature language that merges complex functions with a dramatic aesthetic.
When it comes to movement, the Hommage Tranquility Night is powered by the automatic caliber RD1472, certified by the Geneva Seal, which is the common standard for each piece from the brand. This movement combines the base caliber RD14, developed in-house by Roger Dubuis in 2004, and the perpetual calendar module RD72, released in 1999. During its creation, structural adjustments were made, including recalibrating the position of the wheel axes, optimizing energy transmission efficiency and the gear angle. The bridge design retains the style of pocket watches, featuring a swan neck adjustment and traditional-type bridges. The rotor showcases a fresh design in an 18K rose gold version, adorned through 15 different finishing processes.
The RD72 module is the result of a collaboration between Roger Dubuis and Jean-Marc Wiederrecht, showcasing its innovative double-retrograde system that indicates the day of the week and the date, setting it apart from the traditional perpetual calendar layout featuring four discs. The month display and the leap year indicator feature a coaxial design, allowing both to be showcased within the same circular window through dual hands, all in a compact and minimalist style. As the brand no longer has the original parts of the module in stock, this time the base plate, main bridge, and about half of the components, including levers, springs, and gears, need to be reproduced, all crafted in-house by the brand.
The completion of HommageNoche de tranquilidad is not just a wristwatch; it’s a testament to the seamless blend of tradition and innovation. It embodies Roger Dubuis’s respect for classical watchmaking from its beginnings, combined with the dramatic tension of modern design and a deep mechanical exploration, allowing the echoes of the visionary spirit left by its founder to resonate in the contemporary world of horology as late as 2025. Reference price: HKD 1,150,000.
