Quality Time
Bovet’s heavenly luxury watches show the Swiss brand’s attention to detail
New editions reveal the renowned expertise of the award-winning manufacturer
BOVET RECITAL 22 GRAND RECITAL
The magnificent 46.3mm rose-gold Bovet Récital 22 Grand Récital was this year’s winner of the Aiguille d’Or Grand Prix, the coveted prize given to the best overall watch among all categories at the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
The latest editions in the trilogy of celestial timepieces – Récital 18 Shooting Star Tourbillon (2016) and Récital 20 Astérium (2017) – featuring the three heavenly bodies that set the pace of our lives – sun, Earth and moon – which are observed through a nine-day flying tourbillon, tellurium-orrery (a mechanical model of the solar system) and retrograde perpetual calendar. This extremely intricate piece of haute horlogerie, highlights the 196-year-old manufacturer’s mastery of dial design, decorative movements and high-complications, which have been exposed in all their glory inside elaborate skeletonised cases for more than a century.
The flying tourbillon represents the sun with its gold rays, rotating below the hemispherical Earth, which rotates on its own axis and indicates the hours on a 24-hour cycle. The spherical moon orbits Earth according to the exact length of its synodic period (29.53 days). The introduction of a pusher between the upper lugs allows for the convenient, simultaneous adjustment of all the functions by the privileged owner of one of these limited-edition (of 60) Récital 22 Grand Récital, which will set you back about R6,8-million. The double-sided flying tourbillon regulates the complex calibre, which has an impressive power reserve of more than nine days.
BOVET OTTANTASEI TOURBILLON
The worlds of motoring and horology have a long collaborative history, especially when it comes to recording lap times on the racetrack. Anyone who knows a bit about car design would have heard of Pininfarina, the coach builder and car design studio responsible for some of the most iconic marques. In 88 years, the studio has been commissioned to add their unique Italian flare to hundreds of custom, concept and commercial vehicles, which include the Corvette Rondine, Alfa Romeo Spider, Fiat Dino Spider, Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta Lusso, Ferrari 275GTB, Ferrari Testarossa, Volvo C70 and Maserati Quattroporte, to name but a few.