Bovet, who succeeded in becoming one of the boutique brands of the Swiss watch industry with its interesting history as well as its original designs, was the guest of our Hands On corner with the Sportster 46 Saguaro model.
Bovet Fleurier has an interesting history with ups and downs. The brand, which started its operations in London in 1822, got famous with its pocket watches produced exclusively for the Chinese market. The brand dominated the Chinese market together with its only rival at that time Vacheron Constantin, another heavy hitter of the industry. Despite being hit by the collapse of the Chinese market in mid 19th century, Bovet continued to produce pocket watches until the 1950s. The brand, which was taken over by Roger Guye and Thierry Ouelevay in 1994, continues to produce watches in its factory in Geneva today.
While the pocket watches by Bovet, the indispensable objects of auctions, continue to decorate the dreams of the watch collectors, the brand solidified its place among boutique names with brand-specific and bold designs. Inspired by pocket watches, the Bovet Sportster 46 Saguaro from the brand’s current collection, is a perfect timepiece in this regard.
“Recognized as perhaps the only remaining representatives of the Art-Deco style among watchmakers, Bovet combines original and stylish design details with sporty features like chronograph and 300M water pressure resistance in the Bovet Sportster 46 Saguaro. Moreover, it does that in a highly stylized manner rather than being absurd.”
Available in a 46mm stainless steel case, the timepiece features the 18K pink gold accessories accented with the so-called Two Tone concept. The winding crown and chronograph pushers, made of pink gold, are laid out at the top of the case with Bull Head style setting. The case sports scratch resistant sapphire crystals on both sides and offers a water resistance rating of 300 meters.
It is possible to see traces from the past about the brand’s pocket watches in the design of the Art-Deco case. At 6 o’clock, the lug design offers details reminiscent of the Cartier Pasha de Cartier model. The model’s specially designed strap sits in the empty space in the case and is secured with fittings designed as hexagonal nuts. The lug structure at 12 o’clock is a much more interesting and original design. Designed to protect the winding crown at 12 o’clock, the stainless steel crown guard part is mounted on the strap. This connection, which brings to mind the chain links of pocket watches, is regarded as one of the symbol details of the mark and is known as the "ribbon" type in the popular watch terminology.
The dial also offers details that reinforce the overall design integrity of the model. The design is quite eye-catching with a blue tone, and the details of the concept are again finished in pink gold. In addition to the chronograph function with 3-6-9 lay-out, there is also a tachymeter and pulsometer scales on the outer chapter of the dial, which also features a Big Date type date window at 12 o’clock position.
The Bovet Sportster 46 Saguaro is powered with the brand’s own design and production, Caliber Ref. 13BA01. The self-wound and Chronofiable certified movement beats at 4Hz and offers a power reserve of 42 hours when fully wound. The movement which is mostly decorated with traditional Côtes de Genève patterns features a perforated oscillating rotor finished in metallic blue.
The timepiece is offered with black crocodile strap accompanied by an 18K pink gold pin buckle.
Recognized as perhaps the only remaining representatives of the Art-Deco style among watchmakers, Bovet combines original and stylish design details with sporty features like chronograph and 300M water pressure resistance in the Bovet Sportster 46 Saguaro. Moreover, it does that in a highly stylized manner rather than being absurd.
