So essentially, it’s, in my mind, whatever makes us feel, as opposed to telling us what to think. Loads of stuff fall into this category, even sport! Literature qualifies because the words, such as brush strokes, paint an image in our minds that is different for everybody. A technical manual does nothing but instruct; artwork empowers lateral thought, person emotion, and a unique takeaway. A cool bit which adds just a small bit of technical interest to something that’s otherwise little more than jewelry.So the principal thing you’ll notice when you examine the Bovet Amadeo Fleurier 43 is likely the rather striking image of a horse-mounted, crown-wearing, bow-toting rider of the Apocalypse bedecked in a cloak, galloping more clouds. Right. Standard wrist candy? Not too much. This is something for the connoisseur. I mean, it’s easy to criticism within this view’s lack of mainstream appeal (especially at Bovet’s price bracket), but when you’re just earning one (and this piece is truly exceptional in that sense) you do not need a great deal of people to like it. There are a startling number of people on the planet who have sufficient cash to buy this sort of product, and the chances are at Bovet’s favour that among them will think that it’s the bees knees. And anyhow, art has a bizarre habit of appreciating in value to the strangest reasons.Watches are no different. It was widely derided for its look, but still sold like hot cakes. Nowadays, instead of his departure and his confident place ever, the Hayek Swatch is among the most collectable and sought after. Now, I am not saying this Bovet has exactly the same type of importance to the market, but it might have that sort of emotional appeal to someone with a specific penchant for the dial subject.
Bovet is a brand I always like to watch carefully because they tend to come up with truly interesting new products and often in a quirky way. What do I mean by quirky? Well let’s take their high-end Dimier Recital collection. This year they released a total of four new Recital watches (often it is maybe just one). Those being the Recital 11, 12, 15, and 16. Why no 13 and 14? Well because according to Bovet those are unlucky numbers in one culture or another. Ok then… So, this is the Recital 12 and it uses a new movement concept. It also happens to be the thinnest Recital watch, being 9.10mm thick. Not “ultra-thin” but still really thin given most Bovet Dimier collection watches.
It also has an impressively long and regal sounding name that I happen to be quite amused by. For the most part I will just call this watch the “Recital 12,” but its full name is the “Bovet Récital 12
‘Monsieur DIMIER’ Calibre Virtuoso II Spécialité Horlogère Dimier 1738.” Impressive sounding right? What do they mean by “Monsieur Dimier” exactly? Not really sure. A lot of Bovet design language exists on a plane of existence that I have not yet ascended to. Perhaps someday I will. Until then, I will respect that there are forces at play larger than myself which are both designing and giving titles to these timepieces.
The dial is done in typically Bovet fashion, and that’s to say it is both very classical and elaborate in its own styling. What captures your attention first are the two big sub-dials in 10 and 2 o’clock. The former is a power reserve indicator and the latter holds the big date complication. At 6 o’clock is your dual face flying tourbillon. Bovet also provides a choice of dials and owners are going to be able to choose from black lacquer, ivory, or blue aventurine.The movement inside continues to be designated the 17BM03-GD, and it is lavishly hand-decorated to Bovet’s usual high standards. The plates and bridges are chamfered and polished, the disc plates are sunk and also chamfered, and many bridges have been painstakingly engraved by hand.The flying tourbillon deserves particular mention since the bridges have been made out of titanium to reduce inertia and magnetism. But more importantly, they have been formed to resemble wings and also have been mirror-polished to accomplish maximum sheen.Aside from being beautiful to look at, the movement also has some practical features. The 10-day-long power book means owners need not wind them regularly, but this kind of long power reserve usually requires dull winding as well. Not so in the case of the Bovet Virtuoso VIII 10-Day Flying Tourbillon Big Date, because the winding mechanism includes a spherical differential that halves the numbers of turns required to completely wind the watch. Incredibly, it does so without raising either the friction or induce required.
Not many Bovet watches are on my aesthetic liking, however, the watches themselves do not seem to mind much. That type of confidence makes my respect, and I’d pretty much wear some other Bovet watch simply as a celebration of its ability to successfully be different and interesting. You don’t actually utilize a Bovet as a fashion item or as an accessory. You wear a Bovet because of exactly what it is, and you don’t ask a Bovet to be anything other than what it’s attempting to be. Sometimes, that type of confidence in a product is reassuring since you can’t ever get the feeling what it is you are wearing has an identity crisis.The most enjoyment anyone will escape a Bovet Recital 18 Shooting Star is at just working and looking carefully at the dial. Bovet designed the entire flow and movement to unite together and the details are outstandingly interesting. One detail that is not hard to overlook is the three little wheels which move the globe to the right of the dial. These wheels are produced from synthetic crimson – exactly the same material as observe “jewels.” Neat to check at, they also create a very low friction link so that the world can turn again and again with nominal wear.Another related detail would be the world itself. A mere glimpse might cause you to reasonably presume it’s only a half-globe, however it is not. According to Bovet they were not able to find an present complete map of this world in this shape. So what they needed to do was really commission someone to generate a complete map of the earth on this dome-style half-globe contour – and that is what they did.
The watch itself is a relatively handsome creation that emphasizes mechanical interest as well as Bovet’s more eccentric take on elegance. Complex features are minimized in favor of a more simple movement that is nonetheless pleasant to look at with welcome convenience features. The movement is the Calibre Virtuoso II (13.75-70-A1) and it is a new base movement that does something interesting. The seconds hand pin goes straight through the movement giving it the ability to have a seconds hand on both sides of the dial or offering a view of the seconds hand mechanism from both sides of the movement. In terms of thickness the Virtuoso II is 3.9mm thick. The Recital 13 watch also uses this same base calibre for a similar effect.
In the Recital 12 you can see the seconds hand gear assembly spinning through the rear of the movement. On the dial side the seconds hand has only a partial distinct dial with numerals, but it does have a three-sided blued steel hand so that you can always track the seconds properly. This is part of a trio of circular elements which include a view of the gear train to bottom and above, a view of the balance wheel. Clearly the design of the movement was for it to be viewed and its detailing and symmetry is certainly enjoyable to observe.