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| Bovet Récital 20 Astérium (Photo by Marc Gysin) |
Bovet 1822, the independent watch brand that combines highly complex mechanical movements with high art and craft techniques, introduced three new watches for the new year. Each one adheres to the heritage of the brand while looking to the future.
The watch brand does nearly all of the work in-house. This includes its skeletonized and highly decorative movements, which are also known for their accuracy, reliability and innovation. And the finishes on the dials, movements and cases, which cover a range of decorative arts, from miniature paintings to advance lacquer techniques to delicate gold leaf work.
In addition, many of their watches are not only reversible but can easily be converted to a pocket watch, a table clock, or even a bejeweled pendant for women, through the company’s “Amadeo” system.
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| The back of the Bovet Récital 20 Astérium (Photo by Marc Gysin) |
Bovet Récital 20 Astérium
One of this watch’s main complications is a 10-day flying tourbillon and its main artistic contribution is a night sky annual calendar with astronomical functions. Another complication of note is the equation of time function, which measures the difference between “apparent” or “true” solar time (that of nature) and “mean” solar time, created by man to bring a consistent measurement of time despite the natural variations of the Earth’s rotation and relation to the Sun.
The largest sub-dial at 12 o’clock is a blue sapphire dome with a sky map that includes stars and constellations visible from the Earth that are laser-engraved and coated in Super-LumiNova. For an even more realistic view of the night sky, the highest stars are depicted at the top of the dome while the lowest stars nearer the horizon appear on the periphery of the display aperture.
A sidereal calendar depicts the true duration of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun of 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 9.77 seconds, (or 365.25 days). Indicators on both sides of the watch, in addition to the complications already mentioned, include a 24 hour disk; retrograde minutes; moon phase indicator; a season, solstice and equinox indicator; and an astrological zodiac indicator. It is powered by the caliber 17DM02-SKY hand-wound movement with a 10-day power reserve.
Bovet Virtuoso VIII 10-Day Flying Tourbillon Big Date
This 44mm watch is available in red or white gold, or in platinum. At 10 o’clock is the power reserve indicator and at 2 o’clock is the big date complication. At 6 o’clock is the double face flying tourbillon with titanium bridges shaped to resemble wings. It is powered by the 17BM03-GD hand-wound caliber with a 10-day power reserve. The innovative movement earned three patents. It is limited to 80 pieces.
Bovet Récital 19 Miss Dimier
The streamlined elliptical steel case of this watch has a bezel set with 52 round diamonds. The blue dial is divided into two zones. The center of the dial is satin-brushed with circular lines, then coated with a PVD treatment. A transparent lacquer is then applied using traditional methods in successive coats. In contrast, the external part of the dial is directly lacquered in opaque blue. Twelve round diamonds serve as hour markers. The unusual shape of the hands form a heart each time they come together. It is powered by the 11DA17 automatic movement with a three-day power reserve.
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