Roger Dubuis

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Roger Dubuis Hommage Condottieri

A few years ago I came across Steve G's wonderful pictures and discussion of the Condottieri. A little further looking revealed Ornatus Mundi's deeply insightful posting on this site.
I was smitten,,,,,I thought it was a sort of equivalent of a Kari Observatoire but from a completely different type of master.
Personally I don't like the usual Dubuis offerings, I am rather conservative. The Condottieri was altogether another matter. Simple shape, time only, little or no bling. The whole watch depended on the beauty and refinement of the case, dial and mechanism. Nowhere to hide. Nothing to distract attention from the total purist execution. This makes a direct comparison with the acknowledged titans possible. From what I could see Mr Dubuis could stand proud, the Condottieri was clearly a masterpiece.
But how to get one? They are as rare as hens teeth. The hunt started....after endless searching I found one.
Negotiations concluded quite quickly. Unfortunately the seller didn't have the all important certificate which, according to RD, was inseparable from the watch.
Well, in this case it hadn't been but at least there was a blurry photo of it.
The certificate is quite charming and mentions that the man, Roger Dubuis regulated it. Now that's what I call provenance!
Delivery was effected quite quickly and,,,,,oh here we go.....I was underwhelmed. It was clearly exquisite, everything promised but somehow didn't do it for me.
I know I'm fickle but there it was. I tried to get used to it but to no avail. It was too austere and clinical for my taste. I had to admit to myself that I like a little more colour to the palette.
I berated myself..."will you never learn? NEVER buy a watch without seeing it in the metal first".... It seems that I just won't learn! You know some say that the difference between humans and animals is that humans never learn,,,,ever!  In that case I am all too human.
So here I was again.....another wrong step. Time to sell!!
I advertised it on our Collectors Market at the same price I paid and got instant response,,,,wowza!  Not so fast,,,,it was the usual type of lowballer...."it's an okay watch but you're asking waaaay too much yadayadayada"....
Two or three hours later I was contacted by a very astute new collector who quickly offered my asking price, and I accepted. Then it started....I had at least ten other responses but as I had agreed the sale there was only one response. But that was just a taster....I started getting offers above my asking price!! Having agreed the sale all I could do was to say no. But....like wow, man!
And there it ended, for once I hadn't made a loss on one of my many incorrect impulse purchases. A first!
Well.....not quite. At least a year passed and then the gentleman who sold it to me got in contact to tell me about a Pink Gold one that was for sale.
What? Pink Gold?  I thought that they were all in monochrome WG.  Wrong again big boy!! This answered the prayers I didn't know I'd said, a beautiful Condottieri with just a hint of,,,well.....flashiness. I must be shallow, but it certainly ticked my boxes! So, once again dear friends, into the breach! and get another watch without seeing it first.See what I said? I never,ever learn.
Here are some shaky pics I took today....it looks like this might be a real long termer!
If you want to see some reaaly good pics may I suggest Steve G's site or Ornatus Mundi.

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