Inspired by the Heavens and the Earth
Since he acquired the House in 2001, owner Pascal Raffy has been fascinated by the heavens and its relationship with the Earth. To spur his creativity, Mr. Raffy spends time in the courtyard of the BOVET castle, studying the stars, and walking through the forest blanketing the Jura Mountains, exploring the natural world. His source of inspiration, then, is everything around him, which is just about the same as it was back in 1822, when the House was founded by Edouard Bovet and his brothers.
Mr. Raffy often imagines what travel was like back then, when Edouard was going from Fleurier, Switzerland to London, England, and then on to Guangzhou, China. Traveling on foot, on horseback, by carriage, and on boats, Edouard was extraordinarily brave to venture so far from what he knew, and Mr. Raffy often considers what Edouard encountered on his travels, using the stars to navigate and thinking about how time differs from country to country – not only time zones and timekeeping, but even the very nature of time.
That is why, since Mr. Raffy took over the House of BOVET, he has honored the legacy of the Bovet family by developing timepieces with innovative solutions to world timekeeping along with key celestial indications. The House has a number of timepieces with three time zones (to honor the three cities where BOVET was founded: Fleurier, London, and Guangzhou), and several dual time timepieces, as well as world timers like the Récital 18 Shooting Star, the Récital 26 Chapter Two, the Orbis Mundi, and of course the Récital 28 Prowess 1.
The Genesis
Since he started designing BOVET timepieces, Mr. Raffy has always had his thoughts on the heavens and how to best interpret the various ways of telling time. In the past, he has including celestial sky charts, Equation of Time displays, precision moon phases, reproductions of the night sky, Sidereal Time, Solstices, and Summer and Winter Equinoxes, just to name a few.
The ground-breaking timepieces that have led to this moment include:
The Récital 18 Rising Star
The Récital 20 Astérium (winner of the 2023 GPHG Astronomy and Calendar prize)
The Récital 22 Grand Récital (winner of the highest GPHG honor in 2018)
The Récital 26 Chapter One (first ever sapphire crystal case)
The Récital 26 Chapter Two (winner of the GPHG Mechanical Exception prize in 2020)
The Récital 28 Prowess 1 (winner of the GPHG Mechanical Exception prize in 2024)
Now, the Récital 30 joins this illustrious group, revolutionizing terrestrial time and making the innovative, ground-breaking, and award-winning world time roller system available in a smaller, daily wear timepiece.
The Daylight Saving Time Problem: Ever since Daylight Saving Time (DST) was introduced, world time watches have not been able to adapt to the vagaries of when DST starts and ends in different countries and which countries do not change (only about 70 countries use some form of DST).
In reality, all world time watches were wrong during the Daylight Saving Time periods, either set for DST so the rest of the world was wrong by one hour, or set for the majority of the world and the DST countries were off by an hour.
Until the Récital 28 and now the Récital 30.
The New Solution: The Récital 30, thanks to its ingenious roller system borrowed from the Récital 28, can be adjusted to any of the four time periods of the year...
UTC – Coordinated Universal Time
AST - American Summer Time
EAS - Europe and America Summer Time
EWT - European Winter Time
...and all 24 world time zones, and New Delhi, will be accurate all year round. The Récital 30 emphasizes the essentials needed for keeping track of world time. The world time rollers cover nearly the entire dial, making it the clear focus of this timepiece. In the center is a day/night indicator linked to the local time. As a result, the Récital 30 is the perfect companion for the world traveler.
The Récital 30 World Time System
The 26 rollers each have four positions, all controlled by the pushers on the right side of the case – UTC, AST (American Summer Time), EAS (Europe and America Summer Time), and EWT (European Winter Time).
Pushing the top pusher rotates each roller 90 degrees, so all 24 time zones are set to each of the four time periods of the year. The bottom pusher advances the 24-hour world dial at the center by one hour per push, making setting the entire world’s time extraordinarily simple.
Two Distinct Versions, Both Highlighting New Delhi
The Récital 30 comes in two versions, both with New Delhi featured prominently on the dial. India has a very unique 30 minute off-set, and Mr. Raffy came up with an idea to include this challenging time zone on the dial of both versions.
In the Universal Time version, New Delhi is in a separate color on the dial (yellow in titanium, red in 18K red gold), and the second matching-color minute hand is linked to New Delhi time (with its 30 minute off-set).
The second version, designed for collectors living in India, links the main hour and minute hands to New Delhi time (again matching the color of the New Delhi highlight on the dial), while the second minute hand (silver for titanium, gold for 18K red gold) is linked to the minutes for the rest of the world.
“India is a country growing fast on the global stage, and I wanted to honor this exciting region in the Récital 30,” explains Mr. Raffy. “The collectors in India are very knowledgeable and demanding of true excellence, and I was proud to include this unique 30-minute offset, something that has rarely been done before.”
Customization
Thanks to BOVET’s emphasis on verticalized manufacture and on the human touch, the House is uniquely open to customization and bespoke. With no assembly lines and with every component passing through the hands of BOVET’s artisans, bespoke is welcome and encouraged at BOVET, and the Récital 30 presents an invitation to make it unique, as it is the perfect canvas. Collectors can change the city names, and can choose from a number of different colors of the 24-hour dial and the minute track.
A New Chapter – In-House Cases
For the first time ever, BOVET is making its own cases in its facility in Tramelan. All titanium Récital 30 cases will be made in-house from the start, while the 18K red gold Récital 30 cases will be produced in the Tramelan manufacture starting in 2026. Both cases use a sapphire crystal exhibition back, a feature BOVET pioneered back in the 1800s as its movements were engraved and highly decorated.
For high watchmaking timepieces, it is important to craft as many components in-house to have control over the very demanding quality of the cases and other components. Handcrafting the Récital 30 cases in-house means enhanced interaction between the technical office, the engineers, the production team, and the watchmakers.
“I need to offer to my artisans new challenges,” says Mr. Raffy. “At BOVET, we combine art and innovation, and we perform the exceptional every day. The case is an exercise in design, integrating a domed sapphire crystal and shaped hands, recalling a window to the universe, while the timepiece itself has an undeniable vintage look and feel. I knew from the start that the case and overall design of the Récital 30 had to be exceptional, unexpected, and have real meaning.
“The Récital 30 was always in the plan, from the very beginning of the research to solve the Daylight Saving Time problem, which started six years ago,” continues Mr. Raffy. “When I sit in the courtyard of the castle, I always think about useful and meaningful timepieces. On the wrist, we have to have the indication of time and it’s more important than ever to have it linked to the world, which has become so small and accessible today. I wanted to offer our collectors a wearable, very intuitive timepiece to guide them and for them to never forget where they are from and where they are going. Complicated yet simple to use, this timepiece is the result of the innovation, the outstanding attention to detail, the exceptional knowledge and the human touch of all our artisans, showcasing BOVET's unique qualities.”
With the Récital 30, BOVET continues to revolutionize world time timepieces. Witness the Récital 30 for yourself at www.bovet.com/Recital-30. To revisit the award-winning Récital 28 Prowess 1 and to learn more about Daylight Saving Time, download the complete press kit for the Récital 28 here.
