If the waterproofing is limited, it is probably because of a surprising and innovative aesthetical choice: the watch is covered with a large sapphire that must be 43mm across, and fastened by tiny screws.
The non-reflective treatment is excellent and only the black internal bezel produces a slightly blue shimmering, which is superb incidentally, as you can see on the photos. Visually it is rather innovative, seen from sideways as well as from the front. Compared to the previous diver from RD, the case got skinnier, but it also became more complex, regarding the dial as well as the design of the middles. As a result, the general look and feel of the watch is quite technical, very cold, bordering on certain Cyberpunk creations from the independent watchmaking.
Regarding the dial, the Cotes de Genève of the Railroad create a convincing contrast with the perlage of the RD680 caliber’s plate. The 12 and 6 numbers, set directly on the plate, strongly enhance the volume effect and emphasize the depth of the hollowed out dial.
If the look of the watch is super modern, the RD680 caliber is super classic, a pure product from the integrated Roger Dubuis factory.
It is already present in the catalog of La Monegasque series; it is a magnificent chronograph movement with micro-rotor, stamped with the “Poincon de Genève”. It is 31mm in diameter and 6.3 in thickness, and is set at 21,600v/h with a 60-hour Power-reserve.
Beyond the obvious quality of its bevelings and its finishes overall, it is a very demonstrative caliber due to its layered architecture. Moreover, this layout gives a lot of consistency to the watch, which is in 3D on its head and tails, a rare feature.
One could be surprised by such Cyberpunk, technological and uncompromising aesthetical choices.
Logically, such a high-end chronograph caliber should be fitted in quite classic cases, like a Nautilus from Patek (although it was a UHO at the time of its launch).
However, considering the RD new lines overall, La Monegasque is already a very « Sports-chic » model.
Hence, creating a watch too classic would have been redundant and not very exclusive.
The creative team from Roger Dubuis chose to go into Sports-Geek (© pifpaf), assuming that the postmodern adventure takes place in Fargo-North Dakota as well as on a yacht in Barbados. The result is a watch that is the synthesis of certain marked trends in watchmaking, from Richard Mille to Hautlence or, of course, Blancpain Carrousel 1 minute.
But this Pulsion Chrono is far more than a well-understood synthesis. First of all it is a realistic watch, in terms of size, price-quality ratio (35k CHF), realistic because of its high quality, but also because it can be worn everyday, or even because it is relatively discrete, so much so it is the antithesis of a certain hackneyed tawdriness.
Some will justifiably continue to regret the « Bulletins d’Observatoire » series, since the CEO and the creative team of Roger Dubuis took a disconcerting parti-pris: that of fitting watches with contemporary designs with calibers featuring a level of finishes worthy of the classic high-end watchmaking (well, the one that is not sullied).
But upon further analysis, the interesting point in this approach is to offer watch lovers and collectors worldwide a less exclusive access to the excellence of Helvetian watchmaking.
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