The VIRTUOSO VII Retrograde Perpetual Calendar symbolizes the coherence and culmination of the unparalleled expertise that has driven BOVET 1822 and DIMIER 1738 workshops for almost two centuries.
The Virtuoso II Specialty Caliber that equips this new timepiece first appeared in the BOVET 1822 collections in 2014. After Monsieur BOVET and VIRTUOSO V, presented at the BOVET salon in January 2015, the VIRTUOSO VII takes its place as the third timepiece in the Complications collection imagined and redesigned around this exceptional new caliber. This movement is adapted to the functionalities of the AMADEO® case and is capable of displaying the hours, minutes, seconds and any conceivable complication simultaneously on its two faces.
Traditionally, calendar information is presented centrally on the dial, leaving the hours and minutes to be displayed on the perimeter. Pascal Raffy decided to do quite the opposite. The hours and minutes are therefore displayed on a central dial. Since the human eye is accustomed to interpreting this type of analog display intuitively, reading the hours and minutes poses no problem despite the reduced size.
This left the periphery of the dial free to accommodate the day and month indicators. Their exceptional size and diametrically opposed position allowed for the use of larger inscriptions. To further enhance legibility, the names of the days and months have been printed in white or black (depending on the color of the dial) on sapphire discs. This transparency allows the subtleties of the mechanism to be admired without cluttering the space. In place of jaded apertures, black or white plates now distinctly reveal the name of the current day and month.
The retrograde calendar display is positioned outside, yet concentric to the hours and minutes dial. For aesthetic reasons and to further enhance legibility, the calendar hand is placed beneath the hours and minutes dial. Only its arrow is visible, appearing mysteriously on a graduated scale. Finally, the leap year cycle disk, positioned at 12 o’clock, completes the calendar information, mirroring the seconds hand positioned at 6 o’clock.
This atypical construction enables the complexity of the perpetual calendar mechanism to be admired together with the exceptional talent of the artisan-engravers who have attentively decorated the tiniest of surfaces.The second face of the VIRTUOSO VII transports us to an entirely different universe. The hours and minutes dial, off-centered at 12 o’clock, gives prominence once again to the movement, decorated here with circular Côtes de Genève centered on the seconds chassis. The seconds chassis is a patented mechanism developed by BOVET, which allows the seconds to be displayed on the same axis and on both sides of the movement, all the while inversing their direction of rotation. This side of the movement also features a seconds hand elegantly positioned at 6 o’clock.
Finally, a power reserve indicator displays the energy amassed by the barrel spring, which alone provides five days of autonomy.
Available in red or white gold, the VIRTUOSO VII Retrograde Perpetual Calendar offers a black or white lacquered dial. Masters of personalization, the BOVET artisans can also use the full extent of their talent to meet the specific requests of each collector, if he or she so wishes.
Technical details
Model: Amadeo® Fleurier VIRTUOSO VII
Retrograde perpetual calendar, reverse hand-fitting and double coaxial seconds
Case
Type: Amadeo® convertible system
Diameter: 43.3mm
Thickness (With Glasses): 15.80mm
Thickness (Without Glasses): 11.25mm
Gold Weight: 76.74gr (red gold) / 79.50gr (white gold)
Case Material: 18K red or white gold
Water Resistance: 30m
Movement
Caliber Calibre Virtuoso II à spécialités horlogères DIMIER 1738
13BM12-AIQPR
Type: Hand-wound
Diameter: 13 ¾’’’
Frequency: 21’600 vph
Power reserve: 5 days
Dials
Black or white polished lacquered with Roman applied numerals
Functions
Hours, minutes, sub-seconds (patented double coaxial seconds), day, retrograde date, month, leap year, power reserve indicator, reversed hand-fitting (hours, minutes and seconds)
Bracelet
Full skin alligator
Buckle 18K red or white gold ardillon
Chain Gold or rhodium-plated silver
