Bovet fan or not, you cannot help but be awe-struck by the Swiss luxury watchmaker’s complications, craftsmanship, and artistry in collector-worthy timepieces that are over the top for consumers like you and me. That means, even if it is beyond the depth of our pockets, the exceptional work ranging from the ridiculously priced Récital 22 Grand Récital to the new Bovet watch dubbed Récital 28 Prowess 1 is worth appreciating.
The latest addition to the company portfolio, Récital 28 Prowess 1 is the first universal time watch that can adjust to the changes in Daylight Saving Time (DST). While presenting itself as a timepiece that should never let you lose time no matter where you are in the world, it is a significant leap from traditional world timers and features an inventive perpetual calendar, flying tourbillon, and an in-house movement with up to 10 days of power reserve.
Designer: Bovet
Before delving into the details about the abovementioned features, let’s go through how the watch is constructed and what you get. The Récital 28 Prowess 1 comes in a new 46.3 mm Writing Desk case created by Bovet itself in choice of 18K Red Gold, 950 Platinum, and Grade 5 Titanium. Irrespective of the material, the intricately detailed watch features hand-finished and hand-engraved bridges.
The sizeable case allows the dial to make room for a lot of complications starting with the patented double-sided flying tourbillon on the top at 12 o’clock. The highlight is in the center where the 24 cities are displayed on rollers that are controlled through the crown. Each of these cylinders have four positions for UTC, AST (American Summer Time), EAS (Europe and America Summer Time), and EWT (European Winter Time). With the push of the crown, the four different time zones can be adjusted independently.
Given the intricate complication, the Récital 28 Prowess 1 worn on a black alligator leather strap, is extremely exclusive with production limited to only eight pieces a year (in each case material). Of course, owning the watch starting at CHF 650,000 (titanium edition) is a rarity, but if you have one, you can in addition to the flying tourbillon and the DST world-timer, also flaunt the built-in perpetual calendar. With the date and leap year indicator, the perpetual calendar – inner workings visible through the exhibition caseback – is mounted on rollers that roll back automatically like a slot machine at midnight, at the end of the month and at the culmination of the year.
