Mr. Raffy and Maison BOVET 1822 are sending a sincere message of hope by faithfully supporting the ONLY WATCH initiative, which raises money for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research.
For this edition of the biennial auction, Mr. Raffy imagined a timepiece that would resonate with the ONLY WATCH cause. The result is a unique Récital 23 timepiece. It was presented at the SIHH 2019, and is the first women’s style with the iconic writing slope case.
The case is in the form of a vertically elongated oval. The bezel inclines reverently to meet one’s gaze and ingeniously reveals the three-dimensional architecture of the movement and its time display. With great technical mastery, the BOVET 1822 watchmakers create and orchestrate an enchanting universe, to which the engravers and miniaturist painters of the House then add their poetic touch. The dial of the timepiece is offset in the lower part of the case for intuitive reading of the time, while the upper area shows a hemispherical moon phase. The dome of the moon phase indicator is engraved, and the lower sections filled with luminescent material. Day and night, the reliefs of the moon reveal incomparably realistic shadow and light. The curve of the indicator makes this feat all the more remarkable. It is read via a three-dimensional circular aperture that alone takes over a full day of work to manufacture and decorate. The precision mechanism used to track the moon phase requires a one-day correction every 122 years.
A fairy seated on a crescent moon is delicately painted onto the hour and minute dial. It takes about 100 hours of focused work for the miniaturist to immortalize the subject. He uses a brush of just one martin hair and a binocular microscope, which are critical given the minute scale of the subject and the level of detail that has been the source of Maison BOVET’s success for nearly two centuries.
An aventurine dial serves as the backdrop to this poetic composition. Its deep blue and signature inclusions depict a sparkling sky of a thousand stars, like so many wishes and dreams.
In perfect coherence with the rest of this unique masterpiece, the BOVET 1822 engravers have also contributed a shimmering “broken glass” effect that delicately connects the time display to the moon phase. The final touch to this distinctive piece is the entirely hand-decorated shooting star with a diamond at its center, found on the left side of the timepiece. Its facets make the 72 diamonds in the bezel gleam. As a symbol of purity and eternity, no gem could surpass the diamond in sending the message of hope and support that Mr. Raffy and all the artisans of Maison BOVET wish to address to all children, and especially children suffering illness.
The last detail is the unique design of the hour and minute hands, which form a heart each time they touch once an hour for a supremely romantic and symbolic expression of time.This piece, unique in more ways than one, comes in a titanium grade 5 case for optimal comfort that makes this timepiece perfect for everyday use. It is driven by an automatic movement with 62 hours’ power reserve.
It is with great pride that the BOVET 1822 artisans and Mr. Raffy have combined their talents to support the most noble of causes and come together to contribute to ONLY WATCH’s exemplary efforts to help children.