Implementation of cooperations — “Together we are stronger”

Roger Dubuis was founded in 1995 by Roger Dubuis and Carlos Dias. Dubuis was a master watchmaker, Dias a Portuguese designer — an extroverted entrepreneur with a flair for grand gestures. Dias was a great watch collector and enthusiastic designer, an aesthete with an unmistakable style.

I met the then junior Guiseppe Santoni in Porto Rotondo at the Yacht Club — during a product presentation of Panerai. Guiseppe told me about his preference for luxury watches. So I brought Carlos and Guiseppe together, and together we developed a limited series of shoes and watch straps. Carlos was paid with Santoni shoes, Guiseppe with Roger Dubuis watches. Both were happy. A few years later, George Kern copied this idea for IWC.

Dias shaped the brand until Richemont joined in 2008, after which the manufactory transformed from the baroque Dias style to today’s hyper-expressive Excalibur style. The brand lost its soul and identity as a result.

After leaving Roger Dubuis, Carlos Dias acquired the Portuguese winery Quinta da Pedra Alta — the only vineyard in the Douro with three granite Marcos Pombalinos, awarded to the best land during the delimitation of the port region in 1761. He wants to produce Portuguese Grand Crus that can compete with the famous nectars of Bordeaux and Burgundy.

At the Monaco Yacht Show — Tourbillon Magazine was a sponsor — I met Carlos Dias again. I learned a lot from working with Carlos, and he also learned a lot from me. Life is always a give and take.