A lot of timepieces have come across our desks over the years, but it’s unlikely we’ve ever seen anything as beautiful or customizable as this. The latest watch from Bovet 1822’s Virtuoso line is the Amadeo Fleurier Virtuoso VII Retrograde Perpetual Calendar, a gorgeous reverse-fit timepiece with multiple functionalities and almost unlimited complications. As a part of the Amadeo Fleurier collection, it is also outfitted with the Amadeo case which, with a few clicks (and zero tools), can transform from a wristwatch, to a pocket watch to a table clock.
As the third Virtuoso model in the Complications collection, the Virtuoso VII provides the day, date, month, year and leap year cycle with a mechanism so accurate that Bovet 1822 claims that it “requires no adjustments for 400 years.” But despite the watch functioning without any adjustments until it’s been passed down to your great-great-great-great grandson, it does run on a five-day power reserve that needs to be manually wound consistently.
On the back, or non-retrograde side, the off-center dial displays the hour and minutes while a seconds hand is positioned at 6 o’clock. Aside from a power reserve indicator at the 9 o’clock position, the rest of the face is simple, and dedicated to the skeletal mechanics of the device. On the retrograde side, the watch’s movement takes a backseat to a variety of complications. A centrally-located dial displays the hours, minutes and seconds, and the leap year indicator can be found at the 12 o’clock position. A retrograde calendar circles the circumference of the dial, with the name for the current month and day written on either side of the calendar. For increased visibility and aesthetics, names are written on sapphire discs that are only visible on the day and month indicated.
What can’t be seen in the mechanism is what makes this watch so exceptional. In the 489-piece movement, the fastest wheels turn twelve times a minute while the slowest complete a rotation once every eight years. As the dials are not mirror images of one another they don’t share components, but the seconds hands are on the same axis, an extremely difficult feat as the rotation needs to be inverted to work correctly on both sides.
The Amadeo Fleurier Virtuoso VII Retrograde Perpetual Calendar is a limited-edition piece and comes in both 18-karat rose gold and 18-karat white gold with a diamond-set bezel. Prices range from $79,000 to $92,000+.
