BOVET: From Imperial China to Haute Horlogerie – A Story of Exclusivity

BOVET watches are distinctive in so many ways. Since the inception of BOVET, its watches have always been tastefully adorned with gems, pearls, miniature paintings in Grand Feu enamel and engravings. It is a legacy of founder Edouard Bovet who championed decorative techniques. In the centuries that followed, BOVET has turned watchmaking excellence into an art form. The Maison is Haute Horlogerie par excellence.

Take the “writing slope” case as an example. This trademarked case is an innovative approach to case design. It improves legibility by increasing the available space at the top half of the watch, ensuring the dial can be raised and remain visible at an angle, while maintaining the slimness of the bottom half of the watch without inflating the overall dimension or thickness of the watch case. This “writing slope” case also provides the perfect platform for BOVET’s artisans to showcase their artistry and creativity. Often the dome-shaped dial is exquisitely decorated with guilloché or enamel, supported by an in-house movement built entirely to suit the headroom presented by the unique case.

This obsessive focus on craftsmanship goes beyond aesthetics and into other considerations such as ergonomics and intuition, to ensure that BOVET watches don’t only stand out for precision and execution, and that they are comfortable to wear and effortless to operate.

BOVET and Imperial China: A Historical Connection

Although the house of BOVET was officially founded on May 1, 1822 when the family business was registered in London, its foundation was laid much earlier. Edouard Bovet, founder of BOVET, was born in Fleurier, Switzerland to watchmaker father Jean-Frédéric Bovet in 1797. Harbouring the ambition to follow in his father’s footsteps, Edouard became a master watchmaker in his own right. In 1818, he travelled to Canton, now known as Guangzhou, China, leaving London on April 20 aboard the Orwell, a ship belonging to the East India Company. As an employee of Magniac & Co., he found his first bit of success, finding buyers for four watches for a sum of CHF10,000 (exceeding US$1 million in today’s currency).

Canton was the only port city in China at the time where goods were freely exchanged between foreign merchants and the Chinese. Clocks and watches were important imports. Edouard rode the tide and quickly became the star of the watch trade in China. The positive response emboldened him, culminating in him taking the next step in his career: establishing the house of BOVET, five years after arriving in China. Alongside brothers Alphonse and Frederic who were residing in London, and Gustave who remained in Fleurier, the siblings would bring their watches out of Switzerland, via London, and etch them firmly in the minds of the Chinese watch collectors. Emperors of the Qing dynasty were known BOVET watch collectors.

From Founding to Today: The Honour Roll of BOVET watches

BOVET excels at groundbreaking in-house movements and exquisite craftsmanship. From crafting one-of-a-kind watches for the Chinese emperors back in the days, to now producing award-winning timepieces, BOVET continues to raise the bar.

Extraordinary examples exhibited at the Palace Museum included an enamelled caseback depicting a romantic scenery of flowers and doves, contrasted with a white enamelled dial discreetly marked with BOVET and FLEURIER, while another featured an outer caseback enamelled with a natural scene of a pair of swans gliding on water encircled by roses of varying shades, with BOVET in Chinese characters engraved on the inside of the caseback. Past designs like these guided BOVET in its quest to create unique, expressive and spectacular contemporary designs.

At the 2024 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), universally considered the Oscars of watchmaking, the BOVET Récital 28 Prowess 1 won the Mechanical Exceptional Prize for its state-of-the-art mechanisms. The spectacular timepiece features an adjustable world-time complication in the form of multiple rollers, an expanded flying tourbillon with perpetual calendars, and a patented function isolator to shield the perpetual calendar from incorrect manipulation. Taking five years to develop, this world timer is the first mechanical timepiece to overcome the challenges posed by the Daylight Savings Time. Not only is the manufacture movement engraved and finished by hand, it possesses 10 days of power reserve, balancing aesthetics with practicality and innovation.