Roger Dubuis Brings Merlin’s Shape-Shifting Legend to the Knights of the Round Table

Roger Dubuis has never treated the Knights of the Round Table as a conventional watch line.

The latest Metamorph Merlin edition makes that point with unusual force, moving the Arthurian theatre beyond the dial and onto the case itself.

It’s the final chapter in the brand’s Merlin trilogy, and it focuses on the wizard’s most elusive power, the ability to change form.

At a glance

Arthurian theatre moves onto the case

The Knights of the Round Table collection began in 2013 as a showcase for métiers d’art, placing 12 miniature gold knights around a watch dial rather than relying on traditional numerals.

With Metamorph Merlin, Roger Dubuis has expanded that storytelling surface in a way the collection hasn’t attempted before.

The right flank of the 18k pink gold case is hand-engraved in micro-relief with Merlin shown in both human and stag form, a nod to the wizard’s place in Arthurian legend as a master of disguise.

The opposite side carries further engraving, including knights and a central knight slaying a dragon.

It’s an important shift for the series, because the case is no longer just a precious metal frame around a complex dial.

Here, the case becomes part of the scene, with relief work that rewards the sort of close inspection collectors usually reserve for movement finishing.

Twelve knights around a green enchanted landscape

At the centre of the watch is the familiar but still remarkable circle of 12 solid rose gold knights.

Each figure stands 6mm tall and is individually hand-sculpted, with different facial details, armour and medieval weapons.

King Arthur occupies the noon position, carrying Excalibur and anchoring the composition in the watch’s Arthurian vocabulary.

Instead of a literal round table, the Metamorph Merlin uses a more abstract architectural landscape in green, pink gold and glass.

The colour points to the forest setting tied to Merlin’s transformation into a white stag, while the construction gives the dial the feel of a miniature stage set.

The scenery is built from 57 individual hexagonal blocks in polished pink gold, transparent glass and green CVD-coated glass, joined by green-coated Crystalium flooring inlays.

The varying heights create a jagged, crystalline terrain beneath the knights, giving the watch far more depth than a flat decorative dial could provide.

Openworked pink gold hour and minute hands with green Super-LumiNova inserts display the time without interrupting the miniature scene.

Gold markers sit on the flange behind the knights, keeping the watch just legible enough while allowing the craft elements to dominate.

The Excalibur architecture does the heavy lifting

The watch sits in a 45mm pink gold case, a size that has long been tied to Roger Dubuis’ Excalibur language.

Its 16.87mm thickness is partly explained by the protruding sapphire crystal ring beneath the notched bezel, which opens a lateral view into the dial and the backs of the knights.

That side window matters because this is a watch designed to be read from several angles, not simply from straight above.

A domed sapphire crystal above the dial brings more light into the construction, while the open caseback reveals the automatic movement.

The crown and crown guards continue the medieval theme, with a form inspired by a sword hilt and a green glass ring on the crown.

It’s unmistakably theatrical, but the detail work is disciplined enough to keep the watch from feeling like a prop.

Calibre RD821 and finishing

Inside is the in-house calibre RD821, an automatic movement certified with the Poinçon de Genève.

The calibre runs at 4Hz and offers a 48-hour power reserve, with hours and minutes as its functions.

Roger Dubuis uses a skeletonised 360-degree rotor in gold, shaped with an aesthetic that recalls historic stained-glass windows.

The movement is made from 172 components and finished with 14 distinct in-house decorations developed to meet the Geneva hallmark requirements.

For a watch that leads so heavily with sculpture and myth, the movement credentials keep it firmly in serious high-end watchmaking territory.

Details & Specifications

The Metamorph Merlin is aimed at collectors who want more than a beautifully finished movement or an unusual case shape.

It’s a piece of watchmaking theatre, but one built with enough handcraft, mechanical pedigree and narrative control to make its fantasy feel deliberate rather than decorative.