Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The New Colours & Textures Of The Bovet Récital 23
Chiselled and lacquered baby blue and vibrant green dials grace Bovet’s Récital 23 with its characteristic sloping case and domed moon phase indicator.
Bovet towers above conventional watchmakers with its complex in-house movements, dramatically staged complications, and lavish artistic flourishes that give its watches their unique and highly expressive character. The Récital 23, Bovet’s first women’s watch with a ‘writing slope’ case and a three-dimensional moon phase indicator, returns with new textured baby blue and vibrant green dial colours and dazzling diamond-set cases.
The elegant red gold case is oval in shape and has a length of 43mm coupled with a width of 38.7mm; at the thickest point of the case, it reaches a height of 14.4mm. Adding sparkle to the scenery, the bezel is set with 72 brilliant-cut diamonds and the flanks of the case with a further 174 diamonds. Viewed from the side, you can appreciate how the gem-setters have had to decrease the size of the diamonds from the thicker part to the thinner part of the case.
With its unusual sloping profile, the case is thicker at the top and decreases in thickness as it reaches the sub-dial indicating the hours and minutes. Not only does this sloping case structure allow for the incorporation of the 3D moon phase at noon, but it also means that the time function is tilted towards the wearer.
The hemispherical moon phase display performs its cycle at noon and is indicated by the circular aperture whose arms embrace the time sub-dial. According to the press release, this structure alone takes more than a day’s work to produce. The domed indicator is engraved by hand to evoke the lunar surface and is filled with luminescent material emitting a blue and green glow in the dark. Powered by a precision mechanism, the moon phase requires only one correction once every 122 years. To make the function even more practical, Pascal Raffy, the owner of Bovet, has incorporated a push button in the sapphire cabochon of the large onion-shaped crown facilitating the adjustment of the moon phase, a simple way of correcting the current phase without any tools.
In a departure from an earlier version of the Récital 23 with a refined guilloché hour and minute dial, the two new models feature an attractive textured dial. To achieve the swirling raised texture, Bovet’s in-house artisans chisel the plate and then apply layer after layer of lacquer to achieve an irregular surface. Spanning the openworked areas of the dial, the bridges are also chiselled by hand to achieve the swirling frosted-like texture.
Another signature feature of the Récital 23 is how the luminous hands for the hours and minutes form a romantic heart shape when they are close to one another. The ten round indices for the hours are also set with diamonds, as is the centre of the polished star featured on a bridge to the left of the sub-dial.
Brightly polished, the oval caseback has a sapphire crystal window to admire the lavishly engraved 22k gold micro-rotor with hallmark Fleurisanne scrolling. The automatic calibre 11DA17-MP has a frequency of 28,800vph and delivers a power reserve of 62 hours.
A green alligator strap accompanies the vibrant green model, while the baby blue comes with a blue lizard strap, both with an 18k red gold ardillon buckle. The price of the new Bovet Récital 23 models is EUR 120,000 (it can also be ordered with just diamonds in the bezel for EUR 70,000). For more information, please consult bovet.com.
