Introducing The Bovet Récital 18: Shooting Star

A boundary-pushing work of traditional functionality in an unconventional package, the new Bovet Récital 18 – Shooting Star watch was definitely one of the highlights of this year’s SIHH. The first time it beckoned my attention was when I bumped into Nabil Abu Issa from Blue Salon, one of the top luxury retailers of Qatar. On his wrist, the unique piece stood out with an appealing and beautiful complexity. Instantly, I knew that a visit to the Bovet by-appointment only salon (at the Beau-Rivage hotel) was warranted. The earth and the moon are central to reading time and these two stars have aptly acted as the inspiration for Bovet when it revealed its latest watch last month. This time, the Swiss watchmaker has devised a more intuitive and innovative way to read time.

Since the dawn of humanity, observing the stars has served as a basis for defining time. By looking through the opposite side of their loupes, Pascal Raffy and his watchmakers gained ample distance to observe the rhythm of the Earth’s revolutions on its axis—and of its elliptical journey around its star.
With this new perspective in mind, Bovet designed the Récital 18 – Shooting Star with a 3D map of the world where the entirety of the planet is visible from one hemisphere. From this hemisphere, the piece is able to display the time in every part of the world, making it an undeniably useful and functional timepiece.

A first hemisphere was chosen to signify the Earth and allow for the reading of universal time, which is displayed in 3-D at 3 o’clock. A hand fastened to the North Pole follows its curve. This can be assigned to any one of the 24 time zones upon selection. At its tip, a concentric ring displays the time in the chosen time zone, while the name of the city corresponding to that time zone appears on one of the two concentric rollers indexed to the hemisphere.
The universal time is complimented with a moon phase indicator in the form of a hemisphere, where two circular apertures follow the curve of this lunar globe, indicating the age of the moon as seen from the northern and southern hemispheres respectively.

One look, and the watch transports you to another galaxy. Beyond pure looks however, the piece also features various functions: 5-day tourbillon at 6 o’clock, hemispheric universal worldwide time with selectable time zone and ultra-compact 24 cities indicator, hemispheric precision moon phase, jumping hours, retrograde minutes at 12 o’clock.
The 46 mm case comes in either 18-carat red or white gold and is water resistant to 30 metres. Perfectly designed for travel, the Bovet Récital 18 – Shooting Star is a versatile wristwatch that’s appropriate for nearly every occasion, formal or casual. The 24-hour ring that surrounds the globe enables instant reading of the time anywhere in the world.

The hand-wound in-house movement, Caliber 17DM01-HU powers the new Bovet Récital 18 – Shooting Star timepiece, which comes with a power reserve of five days.

This incredible timepiece is accompanied with a full alligator skin strap and Ardillon buckle in 18-carat red or white gold, and it’s production is limited to 50 timepieces worldwide, retailing at USD 315,000 in rose gold or white gold without diamonds.