Bovet Récital 28 Prowess 1

 

Bovet Récital 28 Prowess 1 is the first watch to support daylight saving time

 

Picture this scenario. You're an American with something to celebrate, and you've purchased a luxury replica watches. This is a world timer from a legendary brand that has been your holy watch for decades. You've also booked a three-week European vacation and are happy to be able to keep up with home and local time wherever you go, thanks to the World Time complication. Your plane lands on March 10 and you realize something is wrong. The time you came home doesn't seem right. You double check and discover that daylight saving time has just started in the United States, but not yet in Europe. By the time your three weeks are up and you're boarding the plane home, Europe will have just entered daylight saving time. Although this scenario is unlikely, it illustrates a problem that Bovet Récital 28 Prowess 1 has addressed.

To be honest, it didn't even occur to me that a World Time watch wouldn't adjust for daylight saving time until I saw this watch. Now it totally makes sense, but static arrays based on UTC timezones aren't very accurate for the world we live in. Of course, the Récital 28 Prowess 1 isn’t perfect. Not all countries observe daylight saving time, and those that do rarely synchronize. Instead, Bovet covers most of its customer base with adjustments for U.S. and European summer time. You can enable one, both, or neither, allowing for reliable time conversion between US and European locations at any time of the year. If you're in a country that uses daylight saving time and isn't protected (such as Australia), you'll still need to make the adjustment in your head. replica jacob and co. Astronomia Sky watches

Bovet is known for its minimalist displays of luxury, but the Récital 28 Prowess 1 shows us a different side. This is an incredibly high-tech dial that shows us the inner workings of the movement rather than a traditional skeleton. Because of the taller side of the writing bevel box, it has so much dimension and you can clearly see all the micro-engineering that went into creating it. Watch faces make extensive use of scroll wheels, which are a space-saving way to display large amounts of information. It may be a world timer, but it's also a perpetual calendar. The scroll wheel is also used for UTC/summer/winter settings, retrograde date, month and leap year indicators, while weekdays are displayed on the traditional scroll wheel. There is a small sub-dial with hands and symbols on the right side of the dial, presumably indicating the different functions of winding the crown, adjusting the world timer and home time.

Just because the Récital 28 Prowess 1 is powerful and technically proficient, that doesn’t mean Bovet hasn’t incorporated some of its signature flair. The centerpiece at 12 o'clock cannot be ignored, with the flying tourbillon held aloft by a blued steel plywood. The golden glow of the tourbillon itself is complemented by the rose gold hands on the main dial that sit above an aventurine disc. The words “10 Days” below the printed Bovet logo indicate the high quality replica watches’s power reserve. It is these details that give this watch an air of elegance despite its industrial background and pay homage to the brand’s high-end history.

Cramming a perpetual calendar and a whole new form of world timer into a watch is no mean feat, so you shouldn't be surprised to learn that this is a pretty big watch. It's 46.3mm in diameter, which to be honest, could be worse. At its highest, the height is a whopping 17.85mm, though that height is sloped toward the bottom lug so that the watch face can face you more easily from the wrist. The version we see in these renderings is made from grade 5 titanium, but it can also be ordered in 18k red gold and platinum cases.

The case itself doesn't take up much space considering how wide the dial needs to be. Its outline is cylindrical, with soft flanges on the bezel and case back, giving it a certain sculptural character. In addition to the large cabochon crown, there are hidden buttons on the sides of the polished case for adjusting certain parts of the perpetual calendar. The lugs do their best to stay petite for better wear resistance, but they've been sculpted a bit so they don't exactly look like an afterthought. replica Patek Philippe watches

Powering the Bovet Récital 28 Prowess 1 is the R28-70-00X movement. Considering that this is the world’s first World Time movement to compensate for daylight saving time, it almost goes without saying that this is an in-house effort by Bovet. In fact, it's been five years in the making. It’s surprisingly easy to adjust. Each wheel has four positions, including UTC, AST (American Daylight Saving Time), EAS (European and American Summer Time), and EWT (European Winter Time). They can all be adjusted by pushing the crown, so you don't even need to understand how it works to use it effectively. The perpetual calendar wheel offers even more wonders, with retrograde dates, leap years and months all snapping back to their original positions when reaching the end like a slot machine.

As we can see from the exhibition case back, the back of the movement is far less practical than the front. It is made from 744 parts, each handcrafted and finished with various embellishments. Most striking are the fan-shaped carvings on the bridge plates, which almost look like crystal growths. This is definitely a movement worth checking out with a magnifying glass, as each bevel is also done by hand, with lots of inside angles. replica Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

While the strap is unlikely to influence any purchasing decision on a watch of this caliber, there is one component in particular that I would like to point out – the buckle. It spends most of its time staring at the top of your desk, out of sight, but that doesn't make Bovet forget it. In fact, it's very well built, with a multi-piece construction and hammered metal accents that match the case. If that’s not enough, the stitching on the alligator strap is a mixture of fabric and platinum. Because of course they are.

judgment
Bovet seems to have been unfairly overlooked by many enthusiasts, either because of its over-the-top design or simply because its reputation has not been centered in Europe over the past 200 years. But if there's anything that proves it's a topic that belongs among important watchmakers, it's the creation of new complications. In hindsight, adjusting to Daylight Savings Time seems like a no-brainer, and I'm sure there will be plenty of more established brands trying to do the same thing, given enough time. The Récital 28 Prowess 1 is certainly not a watch for the masses, but it should serve as a beacon of inspiration for all other makers of fine complications. replica Richard Mille Le Mans

Bovet Récital 28 Prowess 1

Brand Bovet
Model Concert 28 Strength 1
Housing dimensions 46.3mm (D) x 17.85mm (L)
Case material Titanium, platinum or 18k rose gold
Water resistance 30 meters
Crystal Sapphire front and back
Dial Skeletonized with blue aventurine world-time subdial
Strap Black alligator leather, platinum stitching, decorative folding clasp
Mobile Bovet R28-70-00X, homemade, hand-wound
Power reserve 10 days (240 hours)
Functions Hours, minutes, flying tourbillon, perpetual calendar, world timer (adjustable for US and European summer time)