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What We Love
Bovet is a watchmaker straight out of a Swiss fairytale. Independent, the company is based out of a literal castle – Le Château de Môtiers – that once belonged to the original Bovet family and overlooks the small town of Môtiers in Neuchâtel. The watches produced by the firm since its rebirth in the late 1990s are a fascinating combination of artisanal handcraft and sophisticated old-world aesthetics that catch your eye from across the room.
Bovet's watches are a rare breed among independents today for their exceptional quality and equally exceptional price tag. But they're still sorely underrated among most watch lovers, a fact I contribute to their historic name and almost theatrical approach to watch design.
The company produces its own hairsprings, using a proprietary alloy, and crafts every detail of its watches in-house, save for elements such as rubies, mainsprings, crystals, and straps. This level of dedication to vertical manufacturing is, as we all know, exceptionally rare in the Swiss watch industry, which is the main reason I always keep an eye out for new releases from Bovet, the other being the company's wildly art-forward approach. And last week, Bovet dropped a small selection of pieces that further develop its Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two platform, first seen in 2020, through the creative application of colored Super-LumiNova and black DLC.
Surrounding the central pinion are three separate annular displays that include a power reserve indication, a home for the brand signature and big date, and then the one-minute, double-sided flying tourbillon that includes a seconds register on the perimeter of the aperture. Other technical details of note in the Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two include the use of a cabochon in the crown that operates as a rapid date corrector and the patented spherical differential winding – visible at 12 o'clock – that halves the amount of turns of the crown to wind the watch, all without harming the gear train.
The Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two is, first and foremost, a highly complicated piece of mechanical engineering. Hand-wound and intricately decorated, the caliber 17BM06-GD inside offers 10 days of power reserve out of a single mainspring barrel, runs in 2.5 Hz, and combines a flying tourbillon and big date indication with a central hour and minute display.
The Virtuoso VIII collection has existed for some time now, but it was updated last year with a more streamlined, casual look and feel – if a Bovet could have such a thing. It was the request of a collector who owned an original version of the watch, which has an elaborate hand-decorated and engraved movement, and desired a less ornamental iteration for daily wear. Bovet addressed the solicitation with the Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two in 2020, and the new Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two "Reimagined" takes that original collector's request and turns it around into one of the most modern and visually stimulating Bovet releases I've ever seen.
The company's trademark canted "Writing Slope" case, with crown at 12 o'clock, is crafted out of black-DLC coated titanium, a surprising twist for a firm most associated with precious metals. The entire top surface of the two horizontal sub-dials and the seconds track around the tourbillon cage have been drenched in a veneer of highlighter-colored Super-LumiNova. The available color options are where things get really interesting, distinguishing the Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two from all previous editions.
Limited to eight pieces each, the various Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two models being produced in the "Reimagined" run include dials in bright salmon and sky blue to start, with the potential for future colors down the road.
What We Know
Well, if it's not clear yet, know that I hold a soft spot in my heart for Bovet's distinctive approach to watchmaking. There's a saying around the watch media that once you've visited one watch factory, you've visited them all. And there is some truth to that – there's only so many ways to rearrange CNC machines in a compelling manner. But I was fortunate enough to visit Le Château de Môtiers in the spring of 2019, and it was unlike any other watchmaker I had ever visited, previously. Operating out of the home of the original Bovet family (the company also operates a second facility in Tremelan, Dimier 1783 Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie, that was purchased in 2006), there was a warmth to Bovet's operation that caught my attention and hasn't left yet.
Bovet's watches have typically been influenced by the historic pocket watches the company created in the early to mid-1800s, which were always on the elaborate side, decoratively speaking. Bovet also has historically enjoyed a very close relationship with the Chinese market. When I visited Bovet, I was told a story of how, in the early 19th century, founder Edouard Bovet trekked to China without knowing a soul in the country. In his possession were four pocket watches that he was able to sell for in the excess of what would today be equivalent to $1 million each. As a result, Bovet was able to strike up a relationship producing pocket watches for Chinese nobility. Eventually, the name Bovet became synonymous with the idea of a "watch" for many people in the country, similar to how Kleenex is used interchangeably with "tissue" today.
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When I look over the Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two "Reimagined" models, I not only see an impressive display of watchmaking that's authentic to the company's values. I also see a way to relate to today's well-heeled collector set, whether that's in China or beyond. That might be an obvious statement, given each watch's price – an eye-watering $230,000 – but I think it's a fascinating step forward in evolving one of the most quietly interesting watch companies working today.
The Basics
Brand: Bovet 1822
Model: Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two "Reimagined"
Reference Number: Sky Blue, T10GD042; Salmon, T10GD051
Diameter: 44mm
Case Material: Black DLC-coated titanium
Dial Color: Skeletonized, with Super-LumiNova coated dials in Sky Blue or Salmon
Indexes: N/A
Lume: Yes, SuperLumiNova – and a whole lot of it!
Water Resistance: 30 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Black/blue full-skin alligator leather
The Movement
Caliber: Bovet caliber 17BM06-GD
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, large date, one-minute flying tourbillon, power reserve display
Power Reserve: 10 days
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 2 Hz; 18,000 vph
Chronometer Certified: N/A
Additional Details: Rapid date correction through crown cabochon; spherical differential winding system; blackened Côtes de Genève on bridges and plates
Pricing & Availability
Price: $230,000
Limited Edition: Yes, eight pieces in each dial color variant.
For more, click here.
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For more information about Bovet watches, visit bovet.com.
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