If you instinctively understand the reasons why acquiring or even restoring a classic car make perfect sense over buying a brand-new model then this watch might be your horological spirit animal. It is a lovingly restored homage to the past where original parts have been painstakingly brought to life and incorporated into a watch that is both a modern revival and a tribute to the founder himself.

Collectors often note the gulf between a brand’s early spirit and its contemporary offerings – and sometimes quite rightly so. But the Hommage La Placide bridges that divide literally as well philosophically. When the Maison decided to reawaken the RD14 movements, each calibre underwent full diagnostics and restoration, including original in-house balance springs retained for authenticity. These have a special place within the Maison’s heritage, because their in-house production in the early 2000s enabled Roger Dubuis to receive the title of an official manufacture. Meanwhile, missing RD72 components were faithfully recreated in-house: mainplates, bridges, pinions, wheels, and levers.

A Roger Dubuis Bi-Retrograde Calendar Chronograph (ref. H40 560) from the 2000s

To slip the Hommage La Placide onto your wrist is to connect directly with the origins of Roger Dubuis. The watch features original parts from the original Hommage watches created by Roger Dubuis himself in 1996 and in an era when the word ‘heritage is frequently overused, the Roger Dubuis Hommage La Placide has earned the term in the most literal sense.

Mr. Roger Dubuis

Watchmakers pored over the archives, discovering an unmined vein of rose gold courtesy of thirty original RD14 base calibres, first produced in 2004, which have been reincarnated, restored and united with a remanufactured RD72 perpetual-calendar module to create the new RD1472 movement.

View from the caseback, the RD1472 movements

The result is a 38mm pink-gold perpetual calendar watch that is at once an artefact of Roger Dubuis’ earliest independent years and a showcase of the Geneva manufacture’s modern savoir-faire.

Roger Dubuis Hommage La Placide

In 1996, a then-50-year-old Roger Dubuis launched the Hommage collection as a tribute to the masters who shaped his craft. These were the timepieces that first secured his fledgling brand the prestigious Poinçon de Genève seal and gave collectors a glimpse of Geneva’s old-world finishing through the daring, disruptive lens of Dubuis.

The Poinçon de Genève seal

But why ‘La Placide?’ This was actually the childhood nickname of Roger Dubuis. While his watches expressed a rebellious, avant-garde and daring aesthetic, their founder was in reality surprisingly calm and unassuming.

Each of the 28 numbered pieces houses an RD1472 calibre composed of 291 parts (some original, others recreated down to the last micron) and each watch is crowned with a newly created 18 K pink-gold rotor. The movement carries the aforementioned Poinçon de Genève, meeting the modern version of the hallmark’s standards, which now test the entire watch rather than just the movement. This demanded an intricate recalibration of wheel axes and tolerances, resulting in a smoother, more precise gear train. The OG metal and freshly minted pieces might be the horological equivalent of restoring a vintage Ferrari engine, then tuning it to modern track specs.

The 18K pink-gold rotor

Dubuis’ aesthetic has always veered towards depth and dramatics, and the Hommage La Placide continues that tradition with a five-level dial construction. The outer flange, circular-brushed and rhodium-coated, creates a metallic halo. Beneath it, the calendar segments and counters shimmer in mother-of-pearl, while the main plate finished in Leman Blue — a nod to the lake — provides a deep and pleasing visual contrast. The moonphase sits deepest, its blue aventurine disc speckled with curved yellow-gold moons that glow like twin crescents over Vevey at dusk.

The Leman blue main plate, calendar segments and counters shimmer in mother-of-pearl

The domed yellow gold moon and blue aventurine disc on the moonphase

The visual signature is the double retrograde display, a complication Roger Dubuis himself adored. Two hands sweep gracefully across their semi-circular scales, moving back to position in a pleasing mechanical spectacle. Roger Dubuis’ best work was never about flamboyance for its own sake, but about rhythm, control, and delight.

Few manufactures would dare to blend 20-year-old components with newly made ones under the same Geneva Seal scrutiny. Fewer still could achieve it so coherently. This union works and right down to the finishing – 16 distinct hand-decorations in total that further affirm the legacy of the founder. For existing Hommage owners, the Maison’s gesture of offering complimentary servicing underscores the sincerity of this anniversary launch. It’s a nod to the community that supported the brand from its beginning. But for those newly introduced to Roger Dubuis through this watch, this is a gateway drug. The Hommage La Placide is 28 rare opportunities to connect with history. While the chance to get a classic car is much greater, to come into contact with a piece of history that was never produced en masse – well, that’s something that might render even the most calm of collecters a little less ‘placid’ than usual.

Roger Dubuis Hommage La Placide

Tech Specs: Roger Dubuis Hommage La Placide

Movement: Calibre RD1472; automatic self-winding; perpetual calendar with day, date, month, and leap-year indication; bi-retrograde display; 4 Hz (28,800 vph); 48-hour power reserve; 307 components; 33 jewels; 16 finishing techniques; pink-gold rotor; Poinçon de Genève certified
Case: 18 K pink gold; 38 mm; sapphire crystal and open caseback; water-resistant to 30 m
Dial: Five-layer construction: circular-brushed rhodium flange; mother-of-pearl calendar segments and counters; lacquered Leman Blue main plate with applied markers; aventurine moonphase with gold moons
Hands: Hours and minutes in pink gold; retrograde hands in pink-gold-coated brass
Strap: Blue calf leather, quick-release system; pink-gold triple-folding buckle
Available: Limited to 28 pieces; delivered in a dedicated collector’s box with push corrector, magnifier, and dual certificates of authenticity and Poinçon de Genève