Most of the finishing work that goes into a BOVET watch is vital to its performance and reliability. But for metalwork to be expressed as an art, it must escape the bounds of functional necessity.
Fleurier Complications - 44mm Minute Repeater and Tourbillon with Reversed Hand Fitting.
Engraved with fleurisanne style. © Bovet
Such an art is fleurisanne engraving. This spectacular 19th century engraving technique is a BOVET speciality used to decorate the bridges and bars of its movements, the rotors of its self-winding watches as well as some cases and dials.Fleurisanne is the art of carving metal in high relief with a contrasting background.
Movement of Minute Repeater and Tourbillon with Reversed Hand Fitting.
Engraved with fleurisanne style. © Bovet
The craftsman cuts away metal to leave a pattern in relief, like raised type. The raised surfaces are then delicately engraved — usually in scrolls, acanthus or geometric patterns — while the surrounding base is hammer-stippled to create a grainy background. Like all artwork, it requires the simplest tools, the greatest skill and hours of concentration. Fleurisanne decorations are only mastered by a few artists who can work metal with extreme dexterity.
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