If there were a theme that one could use to describe the activities of watch brand, Roger Dubuis in 2017, one would be hard-pressed to deny that, that word is — “motorsport”.

Indeed, we began 2017 with the announcement of the brand’s partnership with premium tire maker, Pirelli, with two new watches, the Excalibur Spider Pirelli – Automatic Skeleton and the Excalibur Spider Pirelli with Double Flying Tourbillon Limited Edition, both coming with rubber straps made from race-winning Pirelli tires.

While this was something unique and thoroughly original in conception and execution, it was but the opening act in an automotive themed year that would lead on to something even more significant later on.

Right now, we have at this point barely absorbed and assimilated the new state of affairs for the brand and its very exciting 5-year partnership with famed Italian supercar maker, Lamborghini that was announced in September 2017, and very quickly onward from that, we are looking to SIHH 2018 for even more from Roger Dubuis.

Of course, they’ll be no prizes for guessing what the brand will present to the public in Geneva next year, for the automotive themed story that we have seen so far is only in the early stages. Apart from the partnership with Pirelli, what we see in that with Lamborghini can only be described, in my opinion, as one of the most synchronous matches between an automotive and a watch brand ever, both in character and brand DNA.

Following on from what we have already seen so far from Roger Dubuis this year, what we have in the run up to SIHH 2018 are two new watches that are extensions to well received launches of 2017.

The first watch is an all-new version of the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Aventador S, this time in a more luxurious and elegant implementation with a rose gold bezel as compared to the current versions in orange and yellow that were decidedly more sporty. The case is the same as the one of the Excalibur Aventador S in Yellow, made with multi-layered carbon with titanium container, while the strap is Alcantara leather like the one seen on the Excalibur Aventador S in Orange. This new rose gold version is limited to 28 pieces.

The second watch is a new version of the Excalibur Spider Pirelli – Automatic Skeleton, coming in a different color variation to the one in blue from 2017. This time, the accents are in black and white, recalling the tarmac upon which Pirelli tires perform and excel. As before, as well of course, this watch comes with rubber straps made from race-winning tires and will be limited to 88 pieces.

In many ways, these two watches will set up our expectations for what Roger Dubuis will bring to SIHH next year and with the brand propensity for presenting a new booth design to match the content of their watches, a highlight to look forward to, there is a strong possibility that what we will find will have a strong automotive flavor.