BOVET Récitals Collection
It was in 1822 that the company BOVET was registered in London; soon after, faced with the rapid expansion of the business, the company transferred the centre of its manufacture to Fleurier. From then, BOVET watches are characterised by exceptional level of decorations, while Edouard BOVET is recognised as the founder of the transparent case-back. It was in 2001 that Pascal Raffy became the unique owner of BOVET. This year, the maison has once again unveiled stunning horological complications. Read on for a detailed look…
BOVET Récital 26 Brainstorm Chapter One
The Récital 26 Brainstorm Chapter One features a Sapphire ‘writing slope’ case, flying tourbillon, three-dimensional moon phase, big date, and a 10 day-power reserve. The middle and glass of the Brainstorm form a single element that features the collection’s inclined case. The back consists of a bezel – with a sapphire glass that reveals back of the movement – and four horns machine-cut from grade 5 titanium. The movement is fastened in the back rather than inside the middle as done earlier in the Tourbillon Ottantasei in 2016.
The movement is regulated by the patented double face flying tourbillon, which now features a variable inertia balance for even greater chronometry through a traditional hairspring. This new calibre draws its energy from a single barrel that guarantees 10 days’ power reserve. The increased power reserve is based on the idea of saving energy rather than adding it; the doubly patented spherical differential winding system halves the number of turns of the crown required to wind the timepiece completely.
Brainstorm displays the hours and minutes offset at 12 o’clock. As it is the highest section under the case’s pronounced dome, an index screwed onto the carriage wheel along with two of the carriage bridge’s arms follow one another 120° apart, crossing the graduated seconds sector in a main dial milling. The power reserve is displayed via a printed cam that shows the energy available through a crescent-shaped indicator placed at 4 o’clock. Positioned symmetrically at 8 o’clock, a big date appears in a circular aperture. The entire mechanism is revealed through the sapphire units disc. At 12 o’clock arises a three-dimensional moon phase, whose dome’s camber counters the curves of the dial. The lunar dome’s surface is engraved, and the lower sections filled with Superluminova. Brainstorm comes with a choice of two dials: a blue quartz dome that reveals the movement’s different layers. In the second dial, the space between the blades of the concave helix showcases the movement. This machined aluminium dial has been decorated by expert dial artisans. Customised dial options are also available. The Brainstorm is a limited edition, restricted to 60 movements.
BOVET Récital 21 Perpetual Calendar with Retrograde Date
In the Récital 21, the minute and hour hands are located in the centre of the timepiece, providing more space in the periphery for the perpetual calendar. The calendar is shown by a retrograde index that rotates around the hours and minutes; the discs display the days and months in vertical apertures at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock respectively, while the leap year cycle is displayed in a circular aperture at 3 o’clock. The seconds hand, offset at 9 o’clock, brings harmony to the entire design by completing the indications visible to the wearer. For improved reliability and longevity, the watchmakers have developed a mechanism that slows down the indicator during its retrograde jump, a dramatic visual effect that can best be appreciated on the first day of the month.
On the movement side, the patented double coaxial seconds mechanism is seen, as well as the power reserve indicator, which, when fully wound, displays a five-day power supply. This guaranteed performance comes from a unique barrel, which is optimised by the balance spring, entirely designed and manufactured in the BOVET 1822 workshops. The frequency with which the different indications will need to be adjusted has also been drastically reduced. There are dedicated correctors for the days, date, and month functions-simultaneously. So, if the time needs to be adjusted after it has been stopped for several days, this unique corrector has to be activated until the correct date is shown.
The central dial and the seconds dial feature the iconic blue circular brushed finish, while the unique volume of the “writing slope” case has been utilised to make the seconds hand sweep under the hours and minutes dial, a cleverly choreographed and truly noble expression of time. The peripheral surface of the calendar indicator is rhodium plated and the collector can choose between a circular Côtes de Genève motif or the Fleurisanne motif. The Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Récital 21 is available in platinum and red gold.
BOVET Récital 23 Moon phase
In the Récital 23, BOVET introduces four complications developed specifically to be housed within the “writing slope” case. The Récital 23 is the first BOVET women’s timepiece to feature the “writing slope” case, designed here for the first time in an oval shape that is 43 mm high and 28.7 mm wide. Hours and minutes occupy an off-centre dial at 6 o’clock, while a deeply poetic three-dimensional moon phase is displayed on the upper section of the timepiece. The Récital 23 is driven by a self-winding mechanical movement. Its oscillating weight in 22-ct gold is finely hand-engraved with the Fleurisanne motif. Its oscillations power two barrels whose energy guarantees 62 hours of power reserve. The module, entirely developed and manufactured in BOVET 1822’s workshops, makes it possible to offset the time display and add the moon phase indicator.
The moon phase indicator is presented in the form of a hemispherical dome. The dome’s surface is engraved to evoke the lunar surface and filled with luminescent material. This feat is all the more remarkable due to the indicator’s camber. It is read via a three-dimensional circular aperture that singlehandedly requires over a day’s work to be manufactured and decorated. The precision mechanism used to drive the moon phase requires correction only once every 122 years. A push button has been incorporated into the cabochon of the crown so as to be able to adjust the moon phase easily, without using any tool.
For its debut, the Récital 23 will be available in white gold, red gold, or titanium. The gold cases may be decorated with a bezel set with round diamonds, or baguette-cut diamonds, or be entirely paved with round diamonds. BOVET presents a choice of two dials; irrespective of the case’s material, either a dial of blue aventurine glass or black Tahitian mother-of-pearl adorned with a delicate guilloché motif can be chosen. Elegant hour and minute hands gracefully glide over each dial. Every hour, when the hour and minute hands overlap, their atypical designs forms the shape of a heart, outlined in negative space.
