Manufacturer of fine hand-crafted Swiss timepieces BOVET 1822 is showcasing three timepieces from its new 2019 collection at the Qatar Show from 20th-25th February 2019. Presented for the first time in the Middle East with partners Blue Salon is the Virtuoso IX, the Récital 21 and the Récital 26 Brainstorm® Chapter One.
These new timepieces, along with several others, were launched to the world at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in Geneva in January. The collection is varied and perfectly representative of BOVET owner Mr. Raffy’s passion for technical excellence and the decorative arts, with the introduction of several high complications and pioneering use of materials for both men and women.
The Virtuoso IX has a 46.3 mm Fleurier Amadéo® convertible case. A true icon of the Maison, the Amadéo® system allows the timepiece to be transformed into a reversible wristwatch, a pocket watch, or a table clock without the use of any tools. It features a blue flinqué dial on which is a centred minute hand, hours offset at 2 o’clock and a second time zone displayed at 10 o’clock supplemented by a 24-city disc; both time zones share the central minute hand. There is a big date, and the power reserve indicator sits at 8 o’clock.
On the reverse face of the Virtuoso IX, the hours and minutes are centered and the chiselled openwork bridges evoke the traditional architecture of 19th century BOVET movements. The Virtuoso IX has a 10-day power reserve and is available in white gold, red gold and platinum.
The Récital 21 is a retrograde perpetual calendar housed in the “writing slope” case with an inclined bezel. Hours and minutes are displayed in the centre of the dial with the patented coaxial seconds at 9 o’clock. The perpetual calendar is displayed with the day at 12 o’clock, the retrograde date around hours and minutes, the month at 6 o’clock and leap year cycle at 3 o’clock. The peripheral surface of the calendar indicator is rhodium plated with a circular “Côtes de Genève” motif hand-engraved by the Maison’s artist-engravers.
On the reverse side is the patented double coaxial seconds and the 5-day power reserve indicator. The Récital 21 has a 5-day power reserve and is available in red gold or titanium.
The Récital 26 Brainstorm® Chapter One presents a host of innovations and perfectly showcases the endless timekeeping possibilities allowed by the new "writing slope" case. With its case crafted in sapphire – a near impossible technical feat with the writing slope shape – the Récital 26 has a generous 47.80 mm diameter and features the patented flying double face tourbillon. Hours and minutes are centred in the middle on a tri-dimensional propeller dial, and nestled within this dial, is a three-dimensional moon phase with an engraved surface and lower sections filled with Superluminova®. The 10-day power reserve indicator is at 3 o’clock, and a big date at 8 o’clock. The movement, entirely developed and manufactured in-house, reveals a stepped architecture with a succession of inclined planes following the case inclination.
Like the Virtuoso IX, the Récital 26 features the double patented spherical differential winding system that halves the number of turns of the crown required to wind the timepiece to generate the huge 10-day power reserve from a single barrel.
For almost two centuries now, and as highlighted by the Virtuoso IX, the Récital 21 and the Récital 26, the House of Bovet has created unique timepiece that push the limits of haute horlogerie. Artisans and the technical teams are united in their passion for fine watchmaking and devoted to writing BOVET’s uncompromising future of excellence.