BOVET’s Récital 32 marks the Maison’s first true GMT — a traveler’s dream distilled into wearable artistry, crowned by a soaring flying tourbillon and ten days of power reserve.
Owner Pascal Raffy’s audacious vision was to put the most mesmerizing feature in watchmaking, the fl ying tourbillon, into the smallest BOVET case for this complication ever — 42mm — blending global versatility with artisanal splendor.
HORIZONS REDEFINED
In over two centuries, BOVET has mastered travel horology — from the DST-solving Récital 28 Prowess One to the rare three-time zone Récital 27, and many other timepieces in-between. Yet a true GMT was never in the collection… until now.
Enter the Récital 32: Pascal Raffy’s BOVET-style response was to insist on more than simply a second hour hand. This is a symphony of an expanded flying tourbillon (elevated for greater spectacle and transparency), a fully hand-engraved manufacture movement with 10 days of power reserve displayed on a roller, and eight layers of lacquer on its offset domed guilloche dial.
HIGH COMPLICATION, SMALL PACKAGE
In BOVET’s collection, tourbillons tend to be in larger but still very wearable cases, like the 46.3mm Récital 28 (with 744 components) and the 44mm Virtuoso VIII (with 356 components). But Mr Raffy’s mandate was to make this timepiece smaller and more wearable for everyday use. So, the brilliant engineers, constructors, and master watchmakers at BOVET found a way to place the 375-component manufacture movement in a 42mm case by using a box sapphire crystal and raising the patented flying tourbillon above the main plate to make it more visible from the front and the side.
Being a fully-integrated manufacture, BOVET makes more than 95% of everything that goes into its timepieces, emphasizing the human touch at every step. This self-reliance certainly made this masterpiece possible. And the watchmaking world is paying attention, as BOVET has won more than 70 awards since 2006, when BOVET first started producing its own movements, and 6 GPHG prizes in the last 8 years.
Encased in grade 5 titanium or 18K red gold, the case — echoing the Récital 30 — prioritizes daily elegance over grandeur. Local time nestles at noon with a blue guilloché day/night indication, encircled by a 24-hour track for the independent GMT hand.
A dedicated pusher at 10 o’clock advances this hand effortlessly, while the patented spherical rewinding system doubles every crown turn, filling its single-barrel reserve to ten days. The ability to put so much high watchmaking substance into a wearable 42mm case is truly exceptional.
Setting is pure instinct: wind fully, pull the sapphire-cabochon crown to adjust local hours (mindful of day/night), advance the GMT via the pusher, and savor. Two patents underpin it all — flying tourbillon and spherical winding — highlighting BOVET’s engineers’ triumph after two years of research and development.
BOVET’S TRAVELER’S MANIFESTO
Mr. Raffy designs all of BOVET’s timepieces, and he is the first to wear-test every single one. An almost-constant traveler, whether it is to visit his partners or his collectors in every corner of the world, one thing he needs to know is what time it is where e is and where his artisans are “What a gorgeous timepiece — I’m excited to wear it, with dials matching the strap, a huge tourbillon carriage, power-reserve roller, and intuitive day/night, hours, minutes, and GMT amid our signature finishing,” explains Pascal Raffy, BOVET’s owner. “I have dreamed of being able to do a true high horology movement in a 42mm case for a very long time, and now our first true GMT, combined with an expanded flying tourbillon, is a reality. To me, it is profoundly meaningful: timepieces so easy to read and use. High complications in a small, wearable package redefine everyday luxury.”
HAND-ENGRAVED AND HAND-FINISHED EXCELLENCE
Every component in the new Récital 32 is hand-finished, and the plates on the reverse side of the movement are completely hand-engraved. The master engravers developed a brand new motif- étoiles carrées or “square stars.” This hand-engraving takes at least 15 hours to complete, and worth every minute.
Available in titanium or 18K red gold, the Récital 32 is available in three color combinations, with rubber straps matching the dial color, and each variation is limited to 60 numbered pieces.
The Récital 32 transcends utility, emerging as a seductive fusion of wanderlust and watchmaking finesse: a complication that whispers across time zones of international adventures and far-flung locations, hand-engraved front and back on the in-house manufacture movement, forever attuned to the rhythm of the discerning explorer.
With the Récital 32, BOVET invites you to truly feel every second.
