ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Quick Take
Bovet has just announced one of the most complicated and elaborate watches it's ever made, and it's also one of the most complex watches we've seen thus far this year. A combination tourbillon, perpetual calendar, and tellurium, the Récital 22 Grand Récital, in its complexity and artistry, represents the summary of one man's obsessions in watchmaking and in watch design.
Initial Thoughts
Pascal Raffy is one of the few individuals in modern watchmaking who is in a position, as owner of a single brand, to more or less do what he wants, and this is Raffy at his idiosyncratic best. The Récital 22 Grand Récital (and no, that's not a typo, the watch is so nice they Recital'd it twice) is a watch that it's impossible to imagine coming from anyone else. The design is classic Bovet: unapologetically ornate, reveling in its own complexity, and in its combination of generally baroque sensibility and high complexity, looking like something that wouldn't have been out of place on the main navigation control panel of Captain Nemo's Nautilus. The comparison is apropos in more ways than one; like Nemo, Raffy has preferred to remain somewhat reclusive, and his watches – at least in the more well-traveled parts of the watch-spotting world – are as elusive as the submarine of Jules Verne's pirate-scientist.
It's the sort of watch whose size tends to make watch writers reflexively haul out the word "beast," but despite its size (46.30mm x 19.60mm) the first impression one has is not of massiveness, but rather, of an overwhelming visual intricacy. Functionally, there is a great deal going on here. The watch is constructed around a tellurium – that's a type of astronomical model that shows the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, with the display centered on the Earth. By convention, the view of the Earth is usually from a vantage point above the North Pole. The hemisphere representing the Earth rotates once every 24 hours; at local noon, the Earth's axis, the owner's location, the number 12, and the tourbillon cage representing the Sun are aligned (hours are indicated by a fixed pointer at 6:00 on the Earth). A spherical representation of the Moon orbits the Earth in one synodic month (29.53 days) and the moonphase indication can be read off the moonphase ring encircling the Earth-Moon display (the phase adjacent to the Moon on the ring, shows the moonphase; the display is accurate to one day's error in 122 years, which has become something of a standard for precision in modern high-end moonphase watches).
ADVERTISEMENT
To the right is a retrograde power reserve indication, and to the left, a retrograde minutes display. There's a semicircular, partial seconds track adjacent to the one minute tourbillon cage, and below the retrograde minutes arc is a magnifying glass, allowing you to read the date.
Even the back of the Récital 22 Grand Récital is more complex than the dial side of many complicated watches.
The back has a full perpetual calendar display – there are indications for the day of the week, the month, and the date, which is displayed on a moving retrograde disk (which is controlled by a patented rack system; there are a total of five patents held by Bovet for various elements of the Récital 22 Grand Récital). There is also a Leap Year indication, and an hour of the day indication. The back of the movement (caliber 17DM03-TEL; the TEL stands for tellurium) is engraved with the words, "Pour servir ponctuels gentilshommes," (to serve a punctual gentleman) and "Faictes de mains de maistres," (made by masterful hands). A final line of text reads, "Ce par quoy attestons longue valeur," – "and thus (we) attest long-lasting value."
All of the indications can be re-set, if necessary, by a pusher at 12:00 on the case, which simultaneously advances the Moon, Earth, date, and day of the week one day per push.
The Earth hemisphere is quite a production – there's the hand-painted representation of the Earth itself, of course, but there are also several layers of transparent laquer, and then painted clouds, which appear to float above the Earth's surface thanks to the clear coats in between. Luminous material has also been mixed with the pigments, so the whole thing glows in the dark, and the side of the Moon that faces the Sun has gotten the lume treatment as well (as have the words, "Grand Recital" on the very unlikely chance that you might forget what watch you're looking at in the dark).
This is a limited edition – no surprises there, given it's such a complex and labor-intensive watch; a total of sixty will be made, and they're available in either 18k red gold, or platinum. This sort of over-the-top and highly personal design, combined with great mechanical complexity, is quite a bit rarer in contemporary watchmaking than it used to be and while of course this is a niche-market product in every way imaginable, it's still quite a breath of fresh air. A rare animal – like a white Siberian tiger, something virtually none of us will ever possess, but also something we can be glad is out there.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Basics
Brand: Bovet
Model: Récital 22 Grand Récital
Diameter: 46.30mm
Thickness: 19.60mm
Case Material: 18k red gold, or platinum
Lume: like you wouldn't believe
Water Resistance: Not available, but let's face it, if you're swimming with this on you ought to have your head examined
Strap/Bracelet: full grain alligator
The Movement
Caliber: 17DM03-TEL
Functions: perpetual calendar with retrograde disk; world time via tellurium display; partial seconds arc with one minute flying tourbillon; retrograde minute and power reserve displays
Power Reserve: 9 days
Winding: manual
Frequency: 18,000 vph
Additional Details: 5 patents pending, including one for the rack mechanism for the perpetual date disk.
Pricing & Availability
Price: Red gold, $469,800; platinum, $502,200.
Availability: Made to order; custom engraving options available as well
Limited Edition: yes, 60 watches total world wide.
For more info on the Récital 22 Grand Récital, visit Bovet.com.
Top Discussions
Breaking News Patek Philippe's Ref. 5711 Nautilus Is Back As A Unique Piece For Charity
Found Three Of The Best Tourbillon Wristwatches Ever Made, For Sale This Week
Photo Report A Visit To Nomos Glashütte