Ottantasei Flying Tourbillon, blue and bronze

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Ottantasei Flying Tourbillon, blue and bronze - Bovet 1822
This model from the Bovet by Pininfarina collection returns this year with trendy blue and bronze colors.

The partnership between Bovet 1822 and Pininfarina dates back to 2007, when Pascal Raffy, owner of the Swiss watchmaker, met Paolo Pininfarina, grandson of Gian-Battista Pinin Farina, who in 1930 founded the now world famous car design and coachbuilding company. Three years later, in 2010, saw the introduction of the first timepiece to celebrate the alliance between the two family firms. The Pininfarina Ottanta Tourbillon, so named in honour of Pininfarina’s 80th anniversary (ottanta is 80 in Italian), was followed by further ‘Bovet by Pininfarina’ models, including the Tourbillon Ottantasei, launched in 2016 in red gold, titanium and black DLC titanium versions.

It’s the Ottantasei Tourbillon that Bovet is revisiting this year, with the creation of two new, even lighter cases in grade 5 titanium, plus an up-to-the-minute PVD surface treatment in blue or bronze. The case architecture designed in 2016 by Bovet’s technicians and the Turin designers remains unchanged, as does its 44 mm diameter and 12 mm depth. It is sportier than other Bovet by Pininfarina models, but its main feature is the transparency afforded by the sapphire crystals front and back, and particularly the generous curved sapphire windows wrapped around the caseband. This transparency opens up a breathtaking three-dimensional view of the delicate movement whose main organs and functions are relayed to three circular displays. A skeletonised barrel and power reserve at 10 o’clock, hour and minute display at 2 o’clock, and double-sided flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock define the architecture of the timepiece, while aesthetics and mechanics join forces to reveal the escapement and balance on both sides of the movement.

Ottantasei Flying Tourbillon, blue and bronze

These two elements are integral to Bovet’s patented two-sided tourbillon. The tourbillon, made up of 104 elements, is held by a single bridge on the central axis, with the escapement and balance to either side of this central fixing point. The spherical differential integrated into the calibre 17MB03, which enables the watch to be fully wound far more quickly than its 240-hour power reserve, supplied by a single barrel, would normally require, is also patented.

The Ottantasei Flying Tourbillon in bronze PVD features white lacquered subdials for the power reserve and hours and minutes, while the blue version goes with blue circular-brushed satin-finished registers. The matching rubber strap accentuates the contemporary and discreetly sporty feel of this timepiece. While the Ottantasei Flying Tourbillon collection now comes with a choice of two new models, just 86 of the movements will be produced to equip the entire range.

Ottantasei Tourbillon Volant, bleu et bronze

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