At its annual Salon in 2010, BOVET 1822 caused a sensation by unveiling the Amadeo® convertible case concept.
This ingenious system enables a BOVET timepiece to be transformed from a wristwatch to a pocket watch, a pendant watch, a reversed timepiece or a desk clock without the use of a single tool. The event was made even more memorable by the owner Pascal Raffy’s remarkable feat of equipping the entire Fleurier collection with this new case as soon as it was launched.
Five years later, the Amadeo® system still captivates collectors around the world with its unique modularity and unwavering reliability. In addition, it has offered complete legitimacy to the tourbillon-regulated movements produced by the BOVET Manufacture, DIMIER 1738. The tourbillon was invented more than 250 years ago, in the pocket watch era, to counteract the effects of gravity on the operation of a timepiece worn exclusively in a vertical position, which is the case with both pocket watches and desk clocks.
Another crucial stage in BOVET’s development came in 2014 with the launch of the Calibre à Spécialités Horlogères Virtuoso II. This was the first movement not regulated by a tourbillon to be entirely developed and produced by BOVET’s own technicians and watchmakers. Presented in two timepieces from the DIMIER collection, the Récital 12 and the Récital 15, this new caliber was destined for great things as its name suggests. Notably it equips and drives numerous complications as well as the majority of BOVET’s timepieces in the long term, with the obvious exception of those in the Grandes Complications collection. This caliber also stood out for its dual display of hours and minutes on both sides of the movement, together with a seconds carriage. Patent no.0169-DI-CH relating to the aforementioned specialty refers to the double co-axial seconds display mechanism, which indicates the seconds on both sides of the movement whilst sharing the same axis but with opposite directions of rotation. The true legitimacy of this feat emerges when it is coupled with a convertible Amadeo® case.
This year, the Virtuoso II caliber will be extended to all Amadeo® Fleurier Complications collections, offering an array of innovations that will give complete coherence to the BOVET collections. The refined and elegant Monsieur BOVET is thus destined to become a new archetype that is at once classic and timeless. Equipped with this new caliber, the timepieces in this collection will reflect the quintessence of the synergies offered by the Amadeo® system, offering the reversibility of a wristwatch as well as pocket watch and desk clock functions.
Monsieur BOVET will therefore be driven by a hand-wound mechanical movement. Particular attention has been paid to the energy performance of this Virtuoso II caliber, which features a seven-day power reserve and a frequency of 21,600 vph generated by a single barrel. The first of Monsieur BOVET’s faces invites the wearer to marvel at the specific structure and technicality of the Virtuoso II caliber.
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An off-centered dial at 12 o’clock houses the hour and minute hands, and allows the movement’s atypical structure to be admired. The various bridges present voluptuous shapes and the concentric curves of the dial that they seem to embrace. Once again, balance and symmetry bring graceful harmony to the whole timepiece. The seconds carriage at 6 o’clock completes the vertical axis with a triple hand, each arm of which successively traces 120° of the scale on its dial. The center wheel and its bridge, visible at 4 o’clock, mirror the balance spring and balance cock, while the power reserve indicator is nestled at 10 o’clock. The second of Monsieur BOVET’s faces epitomizes pure, timeless classicism. A sumptuous lacquered dial covers the entire surface, leaving just enough space for the seconds carriage, which offers a glimpse of its precise mechanical choreography.
By incorporating the Virtuoso II caliber into his Fleurier collections, Pascal Raffy provides two of the noblest expressions of time to each of the timepieces. With its seven-day power reserve and perfectly balanced presentation of features, Monsieur BOVET heralds the future of the Amadeo® Fleurier Complications collection and of ultra-specific, decidedly useful functions. With this new timepiece and manufactured caliber, BOVET once again confirms its unique identity by offering a classic, functional and timeless timepiece to satisfy even the most demanding of collectors.
(Source: BOVET)
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