Replica Buying Guide Bovet Ricital 20 Astirium Watch Hands-On

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Bovet is a brand that I feel has been overlooked by many and does not receive the recognition that it deserves. Admittedly, their designs can be divisive, but it is hard to deny the technical prowess behind them. At SIHH 2017 earlier this year, Bovet released yet another super-complicated piece called the Bovet Récital 20 Astérium. Though the watch might look complex, its complexity actually hides very practical complications.

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

All images by David Bredan

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

The Bovet Récital 20 Astérium is available in red gold, white gold, and platinum. The case is large, measuring 46mm across and 18.3mm in height. It is a big watch and one that has lots of wrist presence, but what’s really interesting about the case is that it is wedge-shaped. It is thicker at 12 o’clock and tapers off at 6 o’clock. The reason for this is to accommodate the movement, which has a terraced architecture, a trait that you seldom see in watches. The expansive sapphire crystal is also heavily domed to provide room for the unique movement architecture.

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

During first impressions, the Récital 20 Astérium looks imposing and complicated. The dial is busy and there are layers upon layers of details, indicators, and displays. But it is actually quite easy to read and sensibly laid out once you know what is what. On the dial side at 12 o’clock, you have a large domed piece of transparent quartz that displays the constellations. The watch can be customized to show constellations in the northern or southern hemisphere, and the constellations are laser engraved and then filled with Super-LumiNova to aid legibility at night. Underneath, there is a disk on which the hours are printed. Finally, you have a large hour hand in white that is specially shaped to perform three functions: indicate the time, point north, and display the visible portion of the night sky. Peer closer still and you will find a month disc that moves the constellation display as the year passes, showing how the position of the constellation is affected by the months in a year.

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Flanking the hours and constellation display are more indicators. To the right, you have a retrograde minutes display and a very discreet power reserve indicator. To the left, you have the equation of time indicator and the moon phase display.

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

At 6 o’clock, there is Bovet’s signature double face tourbillon, which uses an elaborate construction consisting of two levels of bridges and pillars to create the illusion of the tourbillon floating in mid-air. The end result is quite stunning. The tourbillon makes a revolution every minute and there is a marker right above the tourbillon cage that allows owners to read the seconds at 20-second intervals.

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

If you thought the Bovet Leitfaden Schulpraxis 5. Auflage Replica Récital 20 Astérium was impressive on the dial side, wait till you see the back of it. The back of the watch features what Bovet calls an annual calendar but it actually follows the sidereal year. What it really does is track the length of time it takes for the Earth to complete a single revolution when measured against fixed stars. Therefore, the single central hand takes 365.25 days to complete a revolution on the back of the watch. And, as it travels, it points to the season, solstice, equinox, zodiac, and month indications that are marked on the expansive sapphire crystal.

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Look closer through the sapphire crystal and you can see the highly decorated Caliber 17DM02-SKY. It features a single mainspring but because the movement is so efficient and also because the balance beats at a leisurely 2.5Hz, the Bovet Emanuel Replica Récital 20 Astérium has a long power reserve of 10 days or 720 hours.

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

It goes without saying that the Caliber 17DM02-SKY is meticulously finished. A unique type of finishing that they use is a form of engraving called bris de verre, which loosely translates to “broken glass.” This gives surfaces a textured shimmering look that closely resembles the tremblage engraving found on A. Lange & Söhne’s ‘Handwerkskunst’ pieces.

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Elsewhere, we have the usual assortment of haute horology finishing including hand-beveled bridges and plates, polished screw heads, polished jewel countersinks, black polish, mirror polish, and satin finishes. Coupled with the unique terraced architecture of the movement, the Caliber 17DM02-SKY is one of the most visually captivating movements I have ever seen.

At first glance, the world time screen on the Bovet Récital 18 Shooting Star looks to be a complete world (à la the Greubel Forsey GMT), however that really is something different. Instead, Bovet commissioned a cartographer to display the entirety of earth on a hemisphere. This was done in order to be able to “watch” all of the time zones, thereby being able to discern the time for some of them at the same time. To assign the entire world time, you utilize the crown. By gloomy it, the city roller above the hemisphere springs into action, displaying the selected city.At the same time, the hemispherical hand (something that you just don’t find every day) goes in 15° jumps. It is wonderfully easy to use, however I am sure it is an engineering marvel. As to reading any other timezone “in a glance,” the brand defines it in the following way: starting from the North Pole (aka in which the hand is mounted) draw a direct line through the area you’re curious (or need to know) around, and continue until your line reaches the outer ring ring. Bingo, you have the time in that area. Not as fast to read as if there had been traces engraved on the hemisphere, but for as frequently as you would likely be performing the imaginary line, I will take the blank unobstructed presentation of the globe as an acceptable tradeoff.It is also worth calling out the cleverness involved in the city display on the Bovet Récital 18 Shooting Star. While it looks in the photos to be one roller, the astute observer will notice that, given the magnitude of these panels, the 24 cities couldn’t be contained in a single roller.

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

Bovet Récital 20 Astérium Watch Hands-On Hands-On

So as you can see, even though the Bovet Récital 20 Astérium looks highly complicated, it is actually quite easy to read once you know what you are looking at. In fact, I would even argue that the Récital 20 Astérium makes a lot of sense especially for folks who are into astronomy. The only stumbling block is its price tag. Only 60 pieces of the Bovet Récital 20 Astérium will be made and prices begin at $350,000. bovet.com