Bovet

Bovet's beginnings can be traced back to 1822, the year in which Swiss watchmaker Édouard Bovet founded the company in London. Until the early 20th century, Bovet focused on the Chinese market. The manufacturer was rewarded for these efforts, as the Cantonese version of the brand name, Bo Wei, was used as a synonym for premium watches for many years.

The Bovet brand has changed hands multiple times. It is currently headed by Pascal Raffy, who took the reins in 2001. Under his direction, the manufacturer specializes in the production of high-quality, complicated watches inspired by the creations of the company's founder.

For example, the Fleurier collection is a nod to the pocket watches from the brand's infancy. The most striking feature of these watches is what has become known as the "Bovet crown." The crown is located above 12 o'clock and is surrounded by an arched crown guard. Another practical feature is the Amadeo System, which makes it easy to replace the bracelet on these watches with a chain and wear them as a pocket watch instead. What's more, the timepieces can also be converted into table clocks. Fleurier watches use high-quality, in-house calibers, which often boast complications such as a retrograde display, world time display, jumping hour, or tourbillon. The movements frequently have elaborate skeletonization and other decorative elements.

Certain watches in the Dimier collection have even more sophisticated calibers, though these watches have their crown at 3 o'clock. The lugs also follow more conventional cues, and the end result is quite a contemporary design.

The Bovet by Pininfarina series is home to exclusive timepieces with ultra-modern designs. The watches are the fruits of a collaboration with the Italian car design firm, Pininfarina. Many of the design elements are reminiscent of the company's sports cars.

Bovet offers a customization service that allows collectors to add personal touches to the watches in their catalog. Bespoke pieces are therefore not hard to come by.

You can buy a watch from Bovet for as little as 1,600 USD. This amount is enough to cover a pre-owned vintage chronograph without accessories. Mint condition women's watches in rose gold, like the Fleurier 32 Auto, will bump starting prices up to around 5,400 USD. If you're interested in a Bovet from the 19Thirty series, expect prices for a new stainless steel model to come in around 14,000 USD. Upgrading to rose gold will set you back just over 16,000 USD.

Complicated watches made of precious metals are significantly more expensive. For example, you'll need to invest around 170,000 USD for an Amadeo Complications in rose gold. One of the most expensive models is the Récital Grand Récital 22 in white gold; prices for new models can reach 510,000 USD.

The Fleurier collection offers an array of artistic timepieces for men and women. As of late 2023, Bovet offers 12 different Fleurier models divided among the Virtuoso, Monsieur Bovet, Orbis Mundi, 19Thirty, and Miss Audrey subcollections.

All Fleurier models share a winding crown integrated into the lug above 12 o'clock. The lug stretches in an arc around the crown and thus also acts as a crown guard. Amadeo watches can be transformed from a wristwatch into a pocket watch or table clock without any additional tools. Simply remove the bracelet via a push-piece system and click in the pocket watch chain. If you want to convert the watch into a table clock, all you need to do is fold out the ring-shaped base from the back of the watch and set it down.

Virtuoso – An Artistic Delight

The Virtuoso series is home to the most impressive models in the Fleurier collection, standing out from the crowd with sophisticated complications and artful craftsmanship. One example is the Virtuoso IV. Bovet designed this rose gold timepiece as a reversible watch, meaning it displays the time on both sides of the case. The dials are located in the upper third of the watch and are held in place by effigies of either horses, elephants, angels, or doves.

While the time is displayed by two hands on the reverse side, the front uses a small window with Arabic numerals to display the hours. It is designed as a jumping hour, meaning it jumps to the next hour once the previous one has elapsed. The minutes are displayed via a retrograde display in an arch at the top of the dial. This hand jumps directly back to the starting position as soon as 60 minutes have elapsed. The minute tourbillon at 6 o'clock doubles as a small seconds display, which you are free to admire thanks to the in-house caliber's elaborate skeletonization.

The two time displays of the Virtuoso IV can be set independently of each other. You therefore have the option of displaying a different time zone on each.

The Bovet Fleurier Virtuoso IV demands around 155,000 USD. The follow-up model, the Virtuoso V, is more affordable at around 87,000 USD, as it comes without the tourbillon and skeletonization.

Orbis Mundi: Watches With World Time Function

Bovet's Fleurier watches with a world time function carry the designation Orbis Mundi (Latin for "the world"). The current version with the caliber 15BM01HU uses an off-center dial to display both the local time and the second time zone. The dial is divided into an outer ring and a central disc. The ring hosts a 12-hour scale and a 24-hour scale. The 12-hour scale shows the local time with hands as normal. However, the 24-hour scale lines up with 24 city names printed on the central disc, each representing a different time zone. This technology lets you keep an eye on all the time zones at once.

A Bovet Fleurier Orbis Mundi from the current collection costs between around 43,000 and 55,000 USD, depending on whether you opt for a titanium or gold model.

19Thirty – Classic Elegance

The 1930s are generally considered to be the decade when wristwatches finally took off, squeezing pocket watches out of the market. The Fleurier 19Thirty collection is strongly inspired by this era, as is evidenced by the focus on classic design elements. The hours and minutes are displayed on an off-center dial at 12 o'clock, while the small seconds take up post in a subdial at 6. The 3 o'clock position is reserved for a power reserve indicator, which lets the wearer know when the seven-day power reserve offered by the manual caliber is nearing its end.

The stainless steel version of the 19Thirty sells for around 14,000 USD, while a gold copy will cost closer to 17,000 USD.

Monsieur Bovet and Miss Audrey

The Miss Audrey collection offers watches marketed toward women, while the Monsieur Bovet timepieces are intended as men's watches. Both lines have a classic design language and can be converted into a pocket watch and table clock with the brand's Amadeo system.

The Monsieur Bovet takes its inspiration from the company's founder, Édouard Bovet. This model is another reversible watch, the front of which features a guilloché, lacquered, or sunburst dial, depending on the version. As for indices, you have the choice between Breguet-style Arabic numerals, Roman numerals, or bar indices, paired with either serpentine or leaf-shaped hands. On the reverse side, you'll find an off-center, miniature version of the main dial, as well as a small seconds and power reserve indicator.

The Monsieur Bovet is available in titanium, rose gold, or white gold. Prices for unworn copies on Chrono24 usually range from 27,000 to 33,000 USD. It is not uncommon for particularly rare versions such as the Monsieur Bovet Turquoise, which is limited to just 80 pieces, to demand double those sums.

The women's watch collection, Bovet Fleurier Miss Audrey, is named after Audrey Raffy, the eldest daughter of company owner Pascal Raffy. All of these watches share a simple two-hand design, a diamond-set bezel, and elegant dials. The dials are mostly monochrome with an elaborate guilloché finish. If you're looking for something more colorful, you might enjoy the Miss Audrey Sweet Art. The dials on these models are made of specially-processed, colored sugar beads.

The 36-mm stainless steel watches are powered by an automatic caliber and run between 7,100 and 10,500 USD.

Older Versions of the Bovet Amadeo Fleurier

In addition to the models found in the current collection, you can also find plenty of older Fleurier versions on Chrono24. Some interesting watches include the Amadeo Fleurier Perpetual Calendar with a perpetual calendar, the Amadeo Fleurier Minute Repeater Tourbillon with a chiming mechanism, and the Amadeo Fleurier Butterfly Tourbillon, where the bridges of the skeletonized caliber are shaped like a butterfly.

The women's version of the Amadeo Fleurier – the version that came before the Miss Audrey – is also worth considering. The artistic dials with miniature hand-painted details are especially striking.

Prices for Fleurier models from previous production runs start at around 13,000 USD for simple editions and run up to 76,000 USD for watches with more intricate complications.

The watches in the Bovet Dimier Récital collection are similar to their cousins in the Fleurier collection. However, there are some important differences, namely traditional lugs and the fact that the crown is at 3 o'clock. In addition, each Dimier Récital uses an in-house caliber with at least one complication.

The watches are available in stainless steel, titanium, rose gold, platinum, and even sapphire crystal. More recent models feature Bovet's "writing slope case." If you look at these watches from the side, you'll see that the crystal slopes from its highest point at 12 o'clock down toward 6 o'clock. The slope is intended to improve readability.

Some notable Dimier Récital models include the Récital 22 Grand Récital, the Récital 17, and the Récital 12 Monsieur Dimier. The first timepiece mentioned uses a hand-painted, three-dimensional globe to display the hours. The globe and its corresponding timescale make a full rotation once every 24 hours. Other special features include a 3D moon phase indicator, retrograde minute display, nine-day power reserve, and perpetual calendar. The perpetual calendar can be found on the back of the watch. Depending on whether you opt for the rose gold or platinum version of the Grand Récital, you will need to invest between 295,000 and 525,000 USD.

The Dimier Récital 17 can display three different time zones simultaneously. The local time is displayed via two central hands, while the other two time zones are read from separate subdials at 3 and 9 o'clock. There is a small window above each subdial showing a city in that time zone. What's more, you'll find a moon phase indicator depicting both the northern and southern hemispheres at 6 o'clock. Flip the case over, and you'll be greeted with a small seconds and power reserve indicator. Prices for this rose gold watch are about 47,000 USD.

If you're in the market for something a tad more streamlined, the Récital 12 Monsieur Dimier might well be what you're looking for. It features an off-center time display at 3 o'clock, a small seconds at 9, and a power reserve indicator at 1. The finely decorated movement is skeletonized, giving the wearer a clear view of the watch's inner workings. The Récital 12 is available in rose or white gold and is listed on Chrono24 for prices starting at around 27,000 USD.

Bovet and Pininfarina, the Italian design studio best known for its work for car manufacturers such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Fiat, GM, Lancia, and Maserati, have had a partnership since 2011. This collaboration has resulted in a number of interesting horological creations, which have been brought together in the Bovet by Pininfarina collection.

The watches are inspired by sports cars, but still have Bovet's DNA. This is recognizable by the crown integrated into the lug above 12 o'clock, one of the watch brand's hallmarks. In keeping with the sporty, modern aesthetic, the timepieces are paired with high-quality and color-coordinated rubber straps.

The chronographs are some of the most interesting models from this crossover, one being the Bovet Sergio Pininfarina Split Second Chronograph. The dial with its asymmetrical 30-minute counter at 12 o'clock, small seconds at 6, and power reserve indicator at 3 are strongly reminiscent of the cockpit of an Italian sports racer. Thanks to the double chronograph function, the watch can record time intervals. Bovet positioned the push-pieces for the chronograph to the left and right of the crown at 11 and 1 o'clock, respectively. Since the Sergio Pininfarina Split Second Chronograph has the Amadeo system, it can be used like a conventional stopwatch. The price of the stainless steel watch is approximately 14,000 USD.