DESIGNED TO BE ADMIRED: Virtuoso XI by BOVET 1822

We cannot talk about haute horlogerie without mentioning BOVETtoday this luxury brand presents the Virtuoso XIan exquisiteness made watch".Against the current trend of mass-produced luxury, at BOVET we focus on human skills and manual craftsmanship". declares Pascal Raffy.

Virtuoso XI combines modern haute horlogerie with hand finishing and engraving. This piece is an ode to BOVET's craftsmen.

Who doesn't enjoy contemplating the mechanical virtuosity of a haute horlogerie? Admire the twists and turns of the tourbillonThe intricacy of the gears, the sensual lines of the bridges, the finish of the plates, and everything, with the utmost detail, is a real delight.

There is no doubt that the skeleton models, by exposing all their mechanical complexity, are particularly irresistible. In the 22 years that Pascal Raffy has been at the helm of BOVET, he has insisted on the importance of displaying the movement, to showcase its haute horlogerie pedigree, while at the same time reinforcing the Maison's commitment to the decorative arts.

Given this passion for the mechanical art, it is perhaps surprising that the new BOVET 1822 Virtuoso XI is the Maison's first fully skeletonised model.

It has certainly been worth the wait.

Virtuosity

The BOVET 1822 Virtuoso collection owes its name to the term used to distinguish the best musicians in the world. A voice that can be extrapolated to the quality of the Maison's craftsmen. For Pascal Raffy, owner of BOVET 1822, each member of the Maison is a craftsman and a virtuoso. The watches they produce are not mere timekeepers, but true works of art.

In the heart of the clock

The difficulty of the process of skeletonising a movement is twofold. On the one hand, enough material must be removed to enhance the aesthetics and show the internal mechanisms. On the other hand, this reduction must not affect the strength of the watch or its proper functioning. If the bridges, for example, are reduced too much, they could become deformed and compromise the efficiency of the movement.

For this reason, the flying tourbillon movement of the Virtuoso XI, first used in the Virtuoso VIII (2017) and already equipped with fine and sophisticated details, has been completely redesigned to allow it to be skeletonised. In particular, the original movement with large date has been dispensed with, the gear train has been relocated to a more aesthetically pleasing location and the entire design has been approached for skeletonisation. From the outset, the bridges and plates were made as thin as possible and, for structural reasons, could not be made any smaller. Due to the angulation and bevelling, they appear thinner than they really are.

The Virtuoso XI movement has been conceived and designed from the outset to leave enough space for the bridges and plates to be engraved on both sides and to be visible. The result is, quite simply, exceptional: the most transparent haute horlogerie movement ever made by BOVET, revealing all its intricacies.

Thanks to its high transparency, our gaze can appreciate its movement, its construction, its fine details, its extraordinary finish and its ethereal effect.

The Virtuoso XI, mesmerising and captivating, is a marvel to behold. A temptation so well executed with such spectacular detail that it invites you to lose yourself in contemplation... BOVET 1822 cannot be held responsible for the consequences of being distracted by admiring this marvel of craftsmanship.

Hand finished

Once the components have been manufactured, it is time to finish them by hand. They are all bevelled and angled in preparation for the next step: engraving. The finishing is made possible by the skill of the craftsmen, who know how much material to remove to achieve a perfect shape and symmetry. Some pieces take hours to be bevelled and angled. In fact, if too much material is removed, the piece must be discarded and started again from scratch.

Traditional needle engraving

Metal engraving has been used since the 5th century, usually as a symbol of wealth and to decorate jewellery and other objects. The first engraved BOVET 1822 movements and cases date from the early 19th century. In fact, it was the first Maison to display the case back, as customers enjoyed admiring its lavishly decorated movements.

To keep the tradition alive, BOVET 1822 has a complete workshop for handcrafted engraving and finishing at its Tramelan manufacture. The Virtuoso XI is made there, following the same process as hundreds of years ago. The only difference is that the gouges and chisels, often hand-made by the craftsmen themselves, are more efficient and use modern metals, and that modern microscopes are now used.

While BOVET's craftsmen are not afraid of challenges, the beginnings of the engraving process for the Virtuoso XI, in which up to the pont de minuterie (the kite bridge) is engraved, they involved considerable consternation, shaking of hands, shaking of heads and repeated use of the word "kite". folie ("madness" in French). However, once these first moments were overcome, they took up the gauntlet and the resulting movement is a triumph of human abilities and the skill of the engraver.

It takes about 60 hours to engrave the lectern-shaped case and the movement of the Virtuoso XI. The engraving is executed freehand, with no room for error. Despite this, the engravers, sitting silently in a perfectly lit workshop, do not seem to succumb to the pressure (unlike their spectators). The artisans enjoy themselves with the dance of their tools and transform the smooth bridges and plates into fully engraved objets d'art.

The decoration is none other than the motif fleurisannea BOVET signature engraving that the Maison has been using for decades. Inspired by the acanthus leaf motif of classical Greek columns, this ornamentation is one of BOVET's specialities. The use of this motif recalls the Maison's proximity to the place where it laid its first stone, the little village of Fleurier.

Production of the Virtuoso XI is strictly limited due to the time involved in engraving and finishing each movement and each case, and the meticulousness required at each stage. BOVET's craftsmen are only able to produce one or two pieces per month.

Self-manufactured movement

The flying tourbillon movement that powers this exceptional timepiece meets BOVET's demanding criteria of timekeeping, reliability and expression. It draws its energy from a single barrel guaranteeing more than 10 days of power reserve, equivalent to 240 hours (remember that the industry standard is 42-48h), while maintaining the balance oscillations at 18 000 vph.

Finally, the long power reserve, provided by a single barrel, would require meticulous winding were it not for the spherical differential winding system. The application of this ingenious mechanism and the three-dimensional, multi-geared tooth on one of its pinions have been granted two patents. Thanks to this system, the number of turns of the crown wheel required to fully wind the spring is halved without increasing friction and the forces exerted on the gears.

The barrel of the power reserve is laser engraved in a motif fleurisanne. In this case, engraving by hand was impossible due to the thin metal of the barrel: the material would be deformed by the pressure of the gouge.

The movement of the Virtuoso XI is equipped with BOVET's patented double-sided flying tourbillon, and both the spring and the regulating organ are manufactured in-house.

Two versions available

The case of the new Virtuoso XI is made of 18 carat white gold, either engraved or polished, and with or without a brilliant white diamond setting.

The Virtuoso XI is a triumph of fine watchmaking, skeletonisation, engraving and decoration by hand. It took 60 pairs of hands to transform this watch into a true work of art.