The Tantalizing Bovet 1822 Virtuoso XI (Live Pics)

The Virtuoso timepieces in the Fleurier collection are worthy of their name as they represent the exceptional craftsmanship and fantastic watchmaking accomplishments introduced over the last years by Bovet. Take a moment to admire Virtuoso V, Virtuoso VII and Virtuoso VIII, extraordinary complicated pieces with imaginative decoration, and pay special attention to the finishing of the movement components. Bovet always made an effort to make watch movements visible so that we could enjoy the beautiful mechanics. This year, surprisingly, for the first time since the House of Bovet was taken over and led by Pascal Raffy, the high-end manufacture presents a fully skeletonised timepiece, the Bovet 1822 Virtuoso XI.

Skeletonisation is a delicate process aimed at demonstrating the inner workings of a watch. But the aesthetics should never compromise the piece’s primary function or reliability. From the beginning, the Bovet 1822 Virtuoso XI was developed with this in mind and used the Virtuoso VIII flying tourbillon movement as a starting point for the open-worked masterpiece. The flying tourbillon calibre was reworked, re-designed and finished for a stunning visual effect, with bridges and plates appearing much thinner than they are. Also, the new movement layout provided enough space to make viewing both sides of the hand-engraved bridges and plates possible. Note the decoration of the minute train bridge – the apogee of artistry and craftsmanship the House of Bovet is famous for.

The hand-wound movement that powers this Bovet 1822 timepiece with exceptional transparency is an object of engineering art, with several solutions to satisfy in-house criteria for precision and reliability. The Bovet 1822 Virtuoso XI movement uses the manufacture’s patented double-side flying tourbillon, with the hairspring and balance made in-house. The watch is wound via the patented spherical differential winding system, which reduces the number of crown turns to achieve the full winding of the mainspring without increasing friction or stressing the gears. A single barrel provides a lengthy 240 hours of power reserve.

The new Virtuoso XI is presented in an 18K white gold “Writing Slope” case with 30m of water resistance. It can be engraved or high-polished at the client’s request, and optionally set with brilliant-white diamonds. The price is to be confirmed; as for availability, the new Bovet 1822 Virtuoso XI will be limited by production. Due to the extensive skeletonisation, hand-engraving, and hand-decoration, with more than 60 artisans working together to create this timepiece, Bovet can only make one or two per month.

For more information, please visit www.bovet.com.