Bovet 1822 Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two Reimagined
The Bovet 1822 Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two Reimagined shares some elements with one of the Maison’s 2020 novelties, the Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two. However, this latest model wholeheartedly embraces modernity with its titanium black DLC case and its eye-catching Super-LumiNova dials.
Recently, I was thumbing through a sumptuous Bovet brochure from 2012. Between the hardback covers, numerous glossy pages took their turn to showcase the Maison’s many models. Artistic crafts and high complications vied with one another, successfully arresting my attention. Every page conspired to seduce. With the exception of the contemporary Pininfarina creations, the featured designs tended to be classically styled. Moreover, every reference was evidently imbued with flawless craftsmanship making them worthy of the epithet ‘Haute Horlogerie’.
Today, Bovet still offers timepieces that exhibit a traditional mien, but the prestigious marque now produces several models that embrace modern design. Indeed, Bovet has repeatedly shown it has a penchant for vivid colours and unusual dial topography. It seems that the brand has an overriding desire to engage with younger clients. In recent times, Bovet has presented a watch housed in a sapphire case that resembles a sloping writing desk. This avant-garde exterior exudes an extraordinary air of modernity. However, purists can relax, these neoteric creations may embrace cutting edge design and technology but the firm’s no-compromise finishing remains very much in evidence.
In 2020, the brand from Môtiers released the Bovet 1822 Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two. This high-end timepiece is beautifully engineered and endowed with an impressive complement of functions. Indeed, beyond the display of hours and minutes, the model features a flying tourbillon with running seconds and a big date. It also includes a power reserve indicator. The two upper dials are dressed in blue aventurine glass and part of the keyless works is visible in the northern reaches of the dialscape. Furthermore, the model features the brand’s ingenious Amadeo system, allowing the owner to convert the wristwatch into a table clock, pocket watch or necklace pendant. The overall composition looks highly original but notably classical.
Bovet has now revisited the aforementioned novelty from last year and infused it with a high quotient of modernity. The Bovet 1822 Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two Reimagined shares the same ‘writing slope case’ as the classically styled 2020 model, however, the housing of this latest model eschews noble metal in favour of titanium and ‘brilliant black’ DLC. With this single change, the timepiece looks overtly modern and sporty.
Where the previously mentioned 2020 release was equipped with two aventurine dials, this new model features two dials liberally coated in Super-LumiNova. This is not merely a soupçon of lume applied to the indices or hands. On the contrary, these dials look like they have been bathed in Super-LumiNova for an extended period before coming out to play. And they certainly do ‘play’, emitting vibrant hues that cannot be ignored. Bovet offers the dials in a choice of yellow, blue, salmon, turquoise, green and violet. Each of these dial options is limited to just eight pieces.
Since it was founded in 1822, Bovet has indulged well heeled aficionados with exquisitely styled timepieces endowed with mechanical excellence and peerless artisanal craftsmanship. However, what the Bovet 1822 Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two Reimagined demonstrates, along with some of the firm’s other contemporary creations, is that the Maison is also keen to engage with new audiences with a marvellous selection of bold, eye-catching timepieces.
The brand’s press release
When the Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two tourbillon was introduced last year, it was hailed as an incredible expression of artisanal watchmaking, decorative arts, mechanical ingenuity, and innovation.
This year, the House of BOVET is excited to introduce a new aesthetic that brings this traditional expression of high watchmaking squarely into the 21st century, with titanium cases in brilliant black Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) and Super-LumiNova dials.
Placed side-by-side with the original, the newest Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two is a completely new timepiece, modern and sporty, while still maintaining its high watchmaking excellence. This is a theme moving forward for the House of BOVET – using interesting materials, colours, treatments, and displays that modernize these intricate timepieces, while still emphasizing the artisanal nature of the Maison’s in-house production.
Speaking of in-house production, BOVET 1822’s processes greatly benefited from the incredible three-year collaboration with Rolls-Royce that resulted in the stunning pair of bespoke timepieces and the mounting system in the dashboard of the Boat Tail. Like participation in Formula 1 provides a trickle-down of technology into an automaker’s passenger cars, the intense research, development, and testing (including crash testing) of the Boat Tail timepieces resulted in engineering and production gains that have impacted every aspect of BOVET’s manufacture. Every single collection has benefitted from this exchange of engineering and technology, including the brand Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two.
The Super-LumiNova coated dials, not just indices or markings but the entire dial surface, are available in Yellow, Blue, Salmon, Turquoise, Green, and Violet. Each colour is limited to eight (8) timepieces. Once charged, these dials really pop, showcasing the luminosity in a unique way. You will be surprised and delighted the first time you see these timepieces when they transition from the light into the dark. Now you can see BOVET in a completely different light – the glow of Super-LumiNova.
Over the past few years, the House of BOVET has been integrating Super-LumiNova into its timepieces in unique ways – in the lunar surface of the moon phase, on the sunshine dials of various collections – but this is the first time that Super-LumiNova has been applied so strongly onto the dials, a true statement of modernity.
The Grade 5 titanium cases of these new Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two timepieces have been treated with brilliant black DLC, creating a “dark side” that contrasts beautifully with the bright and vibrant dial colors.
The Details
The new Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two includes everything else that made this introduction special – the patented flying tourbillon with ten days of power reserve, the patented accelerated rewinding system, the writing slope case and sapphire crystal aperture, the fine movement decoration, the big date display, and the two dials forming a horizontal number eight, which in numerology and in multiple cultures symbolizes luck, perfection, and infinity.
For exceptional legibility, the seconds’ display is carefully designed to be displayed by a Super-LumiNova-coated sub-dial. The arrow of the index hangs over the surface of the delicate circular dial showing the 60 seconds. The easy, precise readability offered by this display, even in the dark, is remarkable. To achieve this, the seconds’ dial must be affixed to the plate during the initial assembly phases, which makes the watchmakers’ work even more delicate when working with the Super-LumiNova coating, as one scratch will necessitate starting over.
It is hard to imagine that a Super-LumiNova dial with such a diameter, hanging over the date disks, could allow for such a large date display. The space between the units’ disk and the hours’ disk is reduced to optimize readability, making it as large as possible for enhanced legibility. The watchmakers also did not forget the date correction, which does not even require removing the timepiece from one’s wrist, and is performed simply by pressing down on the real sapphire cabochon crown. The rapid date corrector and iconic 12-o’clock positioning of the crown effectively avoid any accidental date correction.
The movement that drives this exceptional timepiece meets BOVET’s demanding criteria of chronometry, reliability, and expression. It draws its energy from a single barrel that ensures more than ten days of power reserve, all while maintaining the balance wheel’s oscillations at 18,000 vph.
Finally, the power reserve of over ten days, provided by a single barrel, would require meticulous winding if not for the spherical differential winding system. The application of this ingenious mechanism and the multi-gear three-dimensional teeth of one of its pinions, have received two patents. Because of this differential winding system, the number of crown turns needed for full winding of the spring is halved without increasing friction and forces exerted on the gears.
Now You See Them
The Virtuoso VIII Chapter Two limited edition (8 of each colour) is a modern interpretation of BOVET’s proprietary and patented flying tourbillon with a big date and lengthy power reserve. The Super-LumiNova-coated dials and black DLC titanium cases are a true 21st-century departure for BOVET, and a definite harbinger of things to come.
Further reading