Bovet, 200 Years Of Historical past And Many Extra To Come

There aren’t so many watchmakers which are in a position to have a good time their 200^th anniversary. So is Bovet. Among the many totally different occasions organized to mark this milestone anniversary, MONOCHROME was honoured to be invited to spend a day at Bovet’s headquarters, the Motiers Citadel. There, we had been in a position to uncover their brand-new museum, to attend masterclasses – watchmaking, engraving and miniature portray – and to fulfill Pascal Raffy, CEO and proprietor of the Maison in addition to his daughter Audrey who joined the corporate a couple of months in the past.

Bovet was based in 1822, only a few years after the Bovet brothers left their hometown of Fleurier. Edouard Bovet had headed to China the place he was in a position to promote 4 of his mechanical timekeeping devices for CHF 10,000 every. He got here again from China satisfied of the power and alternative within the Asian market, and collectively along with his brothers, he shaped the Bovet manufacture, specializing in extremely adorned and chronometrically superior pocket timepieces. Very quickly, the model would meet formidable success in Imperial China and past, to the purpose that many different watchmakers quickly started to mimic the Bovet designs…

2 hundred years later, Bovet nonetheless manufactures timepieces standing out with a particular fashion that references its historical past. These watches are manufactured in two totally different areas, in Tramelan (the place components and actions are crafted) and in Motiers. The model develops and produces its watches in-house with a uncommon stage of vertical integration, specifically for a corporation of that measurement. Bovet produces in-house most of its parts together with circumstances, dials, and actions. The model even manufactures hairsprings and stability wheels internally, which stays a rarity within the trade. 

That is the results of the imaginative and prescient of 1 man, Pascal Raffy, who since 2001 has invested persistently within the manufacturing and within the crafts which are key to creating these watches. His thought is that of an organization with a holistic method to watchmaking, of skilled craftsmanship fueled by an ethic of no compromise. Since 2006, no fewer than 16 patents have been registered by Bovet. And in 2018, the impartial watchmaker obtained an trade accolade and was awarded the Aiguille d’Or on the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve, the Oscars of Watchmaking, for the Récital 22 Grand Récital.

As defined by Pascal Raffy, “What’s necessary for Bovet is high quality, not amount. The thought is to maintain pushing the boundaries, cultivating our mastery of conventional crafts and nourishing our technical experience. When visiting our workshops, you uncover humanity, sincerity, and shared values… altogether we attempt for excellence. This isn’t by probability that the collections are referred to as Récital.”

When asking Audrey Raffy what’s the principal problem for the model, she advises “There are such a lot of challenges. The best way I see it’s the innovation half: all the time bringing one thing new, all the time doing one thing that’s not a duplicate of another person, that’s not a repetition of what now we have been doing. One thing that’s not on the floor however one thing with worth and character.”

If Bovet timepieces are exhibited in a number of the most well-known museums across the globe – The British Museum in London, the Forbidden Metropolis in Beijing, the Moma in New York, the Nationwide Palace in Taipei, the Patek Philippe Museum, the MIH (Worldwide Watch Museum) in La Chaux-de-fonds to call a couple of – the model has simply inaugurated its personal Museum in Motiers. Previous masterpieces and up to date milestone timepieces of the model are actually collectively on show, inviting the customer on a voyage by means of two centuries of horological artwork. A number of historic paperwork and over 50 timepieces encompassing the complete lifespan of Bovet’s manufacturing are uncovered.

Final however not least, the occasion was additionally the chance to find a number of the watches offered earlier this 12 months by the model, notably the Virtuoso V and Virtuoso VII salmon dial restricted editions.

Bovet Virtuoso V Salmon Dial

Combining leaping hours and retrograde minutes on one facet with an off-centre impartial hours/minutes dial paired with energy reserve indication on the opposite facet, the Virtuoso V is now out there within the Amadeo case in grade 5 titanium for the primary time (the again of the case, which is a part of the Amadeo system, is in metal, as soldering titanium to titanium is not possible). Due to the patented Amadeo system, the watch converts from a wristwatch to a pocket watch or a desk clock, with out the necessity for instruments. The elegant salmon lacquer dial is crafted in-house.

Fast Info: convertible Amadeo titanium case – 43.50mm – lacquered salmon dials – water-resistant to 30 meters – in-house hand-wound motion – 21,600vph – 5-day energy reserve – hours/minutes, small seconds, energy reserve indication on one facet – leaping hours and retrograde minutes on the opposite – alligator strap – chain

Bovet Virtuoso VII Salmon Dial

One other titanium case & salmon lacquer dial mixture launched in 2022, the Virtuoso VII includes a perpetual calendar with retrograde date indication on one face and off-centre hours and minutes indication on the opposite. Similar to for the Virtuoso V, the patented Amadeo system lets you convert your timepiece from a wristwatch to a pocket watch or to a desk clock.

Fast Info: convertible Amadeo titanium case – 43.30mm – lacquered salmon dials – water-resistant to 30 meters – in-house hand-wound motion – 21,600vph – 5-day energy reserve – hours/minutes, coaxial seconds, energy reserve indication on one facet – retrograde perpetual calendar coaxial seconds on the opposite – alligator strap – chain

For extra data, please go to www.bovet.com.