Introducing The Bovet Virtuoso VII Retrograde Perpetual Calendar

By Arthur Touchot | May 26, 2015

Four watches for the price of one? Now that’s a bargain no watch collector is going to turn down. The easiest way to double a timepiece of course is by changing its strap, and brands have certainly been designing more watches that offer this option. The other option is getting a pocket watch that also functions as a wristwatch. Much fewer brands have that option, even though some, such as Urwerk, have been contacted directly by clients to build it for them. If it is becoming clearer, this trend owes a lot to Bovet. Since 2010, the Swiss watch brand has been transforming its timepieces from wristwatch to pocket watch thanks to the Amadeo® convertible case system.

A pioneer in the watch industry, Bovet has inspired a number of independent brands to do the same. In fact, Bomberg has built its entire brand around it, although its own system works differently, and its watches have a lower price point. Bovet’s timepieces present much nobler lines. Despite being still relatively new, the technology has been applied expertly so that the timepiece feels modern when worn on the wrist, and straight out of the 18th century when worn as a pocket watch.

If the system works seamlessly, the watches that use it are growing in complexity. Earlier today, Bovet presented the Virtuoso VII Retrograde Perpetual Calendar, one of the most complicated watch to use the Amadeo® case. Designed around the Virtuoso II Specialty Caliber, it features day, date, month and leap year cycle, on two distinct watch faces. Why two? Well there’s a lot of information to display, and that has always proven to be tricky.

So instead of packing all of it to one side of the dial, Bovet has made each indication star in its own scene through separate apertures. The two faces of the watch present various degrees of complexity, and seem suited for different occasions.

The first face of the Virtuoso VII displays the hours, minutes, seconds and power reserve, as well as the indications relative to the perpetual calendar. It showcases the brand’s expertise and the work of its artisans.

The second face presents less information. Instead, the movement is king. An off-centered dial, presenting hours and minutes at 12 o’clock, makes way for the Virtuoso II Specialty Caliber, beautifully finished with circular Côtes de Genève. The Virtuoso VII Retrograde Perpetual Calendar is available in white gold for $ 82,800 or in red gold for $79,000.00, with or without diamonds.