SpotlightBrace Yourselves For Bovet’s First-Ever Bracelet Timepiece: The Dimier Récital 12
For the first time in the brand's history of more than two centuries, Bovet have released a bracelet-clad timepiece, with an agenda to present avid collectors with their most wearable 'everyday' watch yet
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The Bovet Récital 12, with its titanium bracelet, marks a new chapter for this legendary watchmaking brand founded in 1822.
Unabashedly ultra-luxurious, ultra-exclusive, guardians of the extravagant, exemplifying haute horlogerie… These are a few ways in which you could define the brand, at least to the layperson. According to the brand, the request for an ‘everyday’ watch with a bracelet has been sung by collectors for years, and the brand have finally delivered in a fashion that you’d likely expect from them: an ergonomic, gorgeously finished, comfortable piece of haute horology.
Focusing On What Wraps The Récital 12 Around Your Wrist: The Titanium Bracelet
Bovet, as a whole, are known as a brand that thrive on their exclusivity and exquisite limited editions. In effect, creating a demand. This time around, however, they very actively sought out the demand and decided to supply.
“We have had many collectors from all over the world asking for a metal bracelet,” explains owner Pascal Raffy. “I’m very detail-oriented when it comes to comfort and design, so I knew if we did a bracelet, it would have to be as close to perfect as possible.”
The bracelet in question is rendered in titanium–in fact, all of the watch is rendered in titanium. Only recently has Bovet started to make titanium timepieces within its arsenal, and it was the obvious choice to make a timepiece with a bracelet, seeing how they were quite keen on near perfection.
Resistant to corrosion and scratches, hypoallergenic, extremely light yet strong, titanium was perhaps the best choice. Here’s the long of it: it’s an ‘alpha-beta’ alloy which contains 90 percent titanium, six percent aluminium, and four percent vanadium, which offers an excellent combination of high strength, low density, and good corrosion resistance.
There was no margin for error for a brand like Bovet, and at least on paper, they seemed to have gotten it right. The folding clasp incorporates an expansion mechanism, which allows for up to 3mm of adjustability.
The bracelet features a combination of polished and matt-brushed surfaces, while the most interesting part of the bracelet is perhaps the ‘V’ of Bovet that seems to taper down the bracelet, almost giving it a thinning effect. Where the folding clasp comes together, the tips of the V form an infinity symbol.
The Actual Watch Itself: The Récital 12
Only Bovet could get us to focus more on what wraps the actual watch around your wrist instead of the actual timepiece. This version of the Récital 12 is a bit smaller than the ones we’ve seen in the past, sized at 40mm. The watch is available in three colours: dark blue, emerald green, and turquoise.
The design codes are similar to the Récital 12s of the past, with the hours and minutes displayed at three o’clock, a three-pronged small-seconds indicator positioned at nine o’clock, and the power reserve indicator sitting just above the dial.
With Bovet, there’s a lot of ‘we’re doing this because we can‘, which is sort of what appears to be the case when you admire their out-of-this-world finishing and decoration. The circular Geneva stripes, blued screws, and the gorgeous guilloche pattern on the dial are all excellently finessed.
The caseback shows us a look at the brand-new manual-winding movement with an inverted baseplate, making it so that the balance wheel is visible from the dial side. The 13BMDR12C2 calibre (yes, that’s the name) can hold a power reserve of seven days, which, along with the power reserve indicator, gives more practicality than one would expect from a typical hand-wound movement.
Grade-5 titanium is used to construct the timepiece to make sure that it’s light. The ergonomic, thin design of the case–clocking in at 9.8mm in thickness–won’t feel too chunky, and the comfort pusher allowing adjustment of the bracelet’s length adds the final touch of comfort. Overall, Bovet set out to create an everyday haute horology timepiece, and the details all point in the that direction.
