As part of its SIHH debut, luxury watchmaker Bovet has unveiled the Tourbillon Amadéo Fleurier Virtuoso IX – a timepiece featuring the brand’s signature convertible case concept and a movement with an innovative winding mechanism.
Bovet first introduced its ingenious convertible system in 2010 and it has been a constant feature on some of its timepieces since. The system allows the timepiece to transform from a reversible wristwatch into a pocket watch, a pendant watch or a table clock without the use of any tools. The Virtuoso IX is housed in a 46.30-mm diameter case and is fitted with a secret opening mechanism. The caseback can be opened by applying pressure to the crown. The case is available in a choice of metals – white gold, red gold, or platinum. The case is 16 mm thick and is water-resistant to 30 meters.
The watch has two faces, one houses a blue flinqué enamel dial and the other has hand-engraved blued bridges. Both watch faces exhibit a patented double face tourbillon. The blue enamel is applied on a hand-guilloche patterned dial, eight layers of translucent lacquer are applied to the dial before the surface is polished. The hour hand is offset at 2 o’clock. A second ‘24-hour’ hour hand is positioned at 10 o’clock to display a second time zone. The central minutes hand is thus shared by both the local and home time zone hands.
The time zone is adjusted by two correctors placed on the side of the case, these correctors can take into account the differences between daylight savings time and standard time in the time zones displayed. Bovet’s big date indication does not separate the tens from the units thus minimizing the space required for this display on the bottom right of the dial. A power reserve indicator is placed at 8 o’clock, mirroring the big date indicator and bringing a much-need sense of balance to the dial.
Flip the watch over to view the second watch face. There is no dial here, just openwork bridges that pay homage to the architecture of 19th century Bovet movements. Featuring a sparkling bris de verre (the French description of the texture of broken glass) motif on its surface, the bridges are engraved, chamfered and coated with a blue CVD (chemical vapor deposit) treatment. On this face, however, the hours and minutes are centered.
The second watch face has a circular opening at 12 o’clock that reveals Bovet’s double patented spherical differential winding system. Since the hand-winding Caliber 17BM04-DFR has a 10-day power reserve, it would take some time to fully wind the mainspring. The differential spherical system helps reduce this time by halving the number of turns of the crown required to fully wind the timepiece without increasing the torque of the winding mechanism. Bovet holds a patent for the three-dimensional toothing with multiple gearing of this movement. The 2.5 Hz movement features a patented 1-minute double facing tourbillon to ensure accuracy. In this unique movement construction, the tourbillon’s fixed point is at the center of its axis.
The watch comes with a matching (white or red gold or platinum) chain, and a black alligator leather strap with a matching buckle. The watch is priced at CHF230,000.
