Quill & Pad
  • Home
  • Articles
  • About
  • Glossary
  • Contact
  • Click to open the search input field Click to open the search input field Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: Home1 / General2 / Highlights3 / Transparently Sublime Bovet Ottantasei By Pininfarina: Near Perfection

Two faces, Two dials, Two identities

High performance escapement with
“triple pare-chute” protection

Limited edition of 10 pieces

Transparently Sublime Bovet Ottantasei By Pininfarina: Near Perfection

by Ian Skellern

I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to come up with a more diplomatic way of saying this, so I’ll just come out with it: up to now, I have not generally been a fan of Bovet 1822.

While I’ve watched over the last decade as Pascal Raffy has deftly transformed modern Bovet into a serious mid-sized brand with a comprehensive collection of largely in-house developed and manufactured timepieces, some with quite sophisticated complications, few of the brand’s models have caught my attention.

And that hasn’t been from a lack of eye-catching art and innovation on Bovet’s behalf; it’s just that the ornate and intricate artwork that the brand is so well known for comes across as a bit too busy for me. My personal taste tends towards simplicity in aesthetics, while aficionados of Bovet (and there are many) seem to appreciate more elaborate design. To each his own.

Engineered for comfort

For me, watches are to wear and enjoy so I place a premium on comfort and being able to see (and appreciate) as much of the movement as possible.

Display backs, open dials, and skeletonized watches all pander to my desire to be able to observe the inner workings of wristwatches, but my nec plus ultra are those timepieces that have been developed from the ground up to showcase the movement.

My Holy Grail of such rare timepieces is the Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30° Technique (see The Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon 30° Technique: What’s Friction Got To Do, Got To Do With It!?). But the Technique has one major drawback for me: its 48 mm case diameter makes it too large for comfort on my small wrist.

What are the chances of another watch coming along that has been developed to display as much of the movement as possible, featuring interesting horological innovations, and is comfortable to wear on a smaller wrist?

Pretty high, actually.

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina on the wrist

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina on the wrist

Bovet and Pininfarina

While Italian design house Pininfarina (see Pininfarina: The Mecca Of Supercar Design And The Bovet Ottantasei) is perhaps better known for designing many, if not most, of the most sensually streamlined supercars on the planet, the company also designs everything from motor yachts to skyscrapers. And as it turns out, watches as well.

The partnership between Pininfarina and Bovet began in 2008. To date this has resulted in the following models: Ottanta Tourbillon (2010), Cambiano Chronograph (2011), the second-generation tourbillon Ottantadue (2012), the third-generation tourbillon Ottantatre (2013), Sergio Split-Second Chronograph (2014), and the Ottantasei Tourbillon (2016).

Bovet OttantaSei by Pininfarina

Bovet OttantaSei by Pininfarina

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

The brief from Bovet to Pininfarina for the Ottantasei was, indeed, brief:

  • Maximum transparency/minimum weight (think aerospace)
  • Slim and ergonomic
  • Ottanta visual identity
  • Flying tourbillon

It’s impossible for me to exaggerate just how far both Pininfarina and Bovet pushed the limits in each of those categories.

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina in titanium DLC

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina in DLC-coated titanium

But, I can’t help but feel that when developing the Ottantasei, Pininfarina and Bovet reduced the watch and movement to nearly absolute perfection . . . and then took off a tiny bit more. A tiny bit too much. And that vexes me all the more because this watch is otherwise flawless in what it sets out to do.

And when I say they “took off a tiny bit more,” I mean “tiny bit” as measured in atoms, not grams. But that’s enough.

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina in red gold

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina in red gold

To put the development of the Ottantasei into some context, on one hand we have Pininfarina, a world-class, if not world-leading, design company with an enviable curriculum vitae. Then we have Bovet 1822, a brand I’d describe as being guided strongly by “tradition,” but quite untraditionally with its own full manufacture in Dimier 1738 – and it is one of very few brands to even have its own hairspring manufacture.

If Pininfarina can imagine something, then chances are that Bovet can make it.

Maximum transparency/minimum weight

In Pininfarina’s world, the word “cars” actually means “supercars,” so it should come as no surprise that the designers likened “maximum transparency/minimum weight” (think aerospace) to the adrenaline-filled worlds of supercars, supersonic jets, and helicopters.

Pininfarina's inspiration for

Pininfarina’s inspiration for “lightness” in the Bovet Ottantasei

More glass is better; it’s all about the view. Though in the case of the Ottantasei, this means the view is from the outside in rather than from the inside out.

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

Ottantasei has no less than four sapphire crystals: the upper and lower (display back) having quite complex forms to ensure maximum strength for minimum thickness, while the two side windows are so long that the effect is of a sapphire case with a thin metal frame.

View from the back of the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

View from the back of the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

That back crystal does more than offer a tantalizing look into the reverse side of the movement: it supports the movement. In a clever method of reducing height to an absolute minimum, the movement is fixed to the back crystal; both are fitted into the case as one.

The 44 mm diameter case weighs just 51.66 grams (< two ounces) in red gold and a feather-light 15.54 grams (0.54 ounces) in grade 5 titanium. And at just 12 millimeters thick, the Ottantasei is very comfortable on the wrist, even a slim wrist.

The familiar design elements of the bow, the 12 o’clock placement of the crown, the visible screw heads, the typical bezel, and the single lower lug at 6 o’clock all ensure that the Ottantasei is firmly – and visibly – rooted in the Ottanta collection.

The movement

Bovet Caliber 17BM03 features the most complex main plates ever created by the manufacture, one in perfect balance between being as light a possible while being strong enough to contain and control the long ten days of power stored in the mainspring.

Computer image of the complex main plate of the Bovet Ottantasei

Computer image of the complex main plate of the Bovet Ottantasei

The movement has been awarded three patents: two related to the winding system and one to the flying tourbillon.

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

Patented flying tourbillon

The main advantage to a flying tourbillon is that its construction does not require an upper supporting bridge so it is easier to see and appreciate the highly animated mechanism. But supporting a structure at only one end usually means added tension, as it isn’t naturally balanced.

Patented flying tourbillon on the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

Patented flying tourbillon on the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina (diagram courtesy Bovet)

What Bovet has done is to support the flying tourbillon from near its center instead of its base, which allows for the mass of the lower balance and upper tourbillon cage to balance each other out.

Closer look at the patented flying tourbillon of the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

Closer look at the patented flying tourbillon of the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

This system also allows better views and appreciation of the components comprising the regulator, with the tourbillon cage on full view from the top and the balance from the back.

Power reserve indicator

The three-dimensional power reserve indicator is also quite interesting. As the spring barrel slowly unwinds, it turns a wheel that rotates a polished steel cone around a central threaded screw, moving the cone up and down the screw.

Cone-based system for the power reserve indicator on the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

Cone-based system for the power reserve indicator on the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina (diagram courtesy Bovet)

A small lever tracks the vertical position of the cone, transmitting the information to a long lever with a rack that rotates the power reserve indicator. The system is simple, reliable, and interesting to watch, especially when the movement is in the process of being wound.

Dial side of the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

Dial side of the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina

Three-dimensional winding system

While a fully wound watch with a ten-day fill of power is a wonderful thing, it takes quite a lot of winding to fill the empty “tank.” So Bovet’s engineers developed a patented winding system with a spherical differential and reduction gearing allowing the mainspring to be wound twice as fast for the same number of turns. The system also reduces the number of components required,  reducing friction and increasing reliability.

The profile of the specially developed three-dimensional gear was awarded a patent as it allows for gearing, even multiple gearing, to connect efficiently at a multitude of angles.

Finishing

Not only is the movement sketetonized on all horizontal surfaces to ensure that there is absolutely no excess weight, the vertical surfaces have also been sketetonized. And as virtually all of the movement is visible from all angles, bridges and plates have anglage on all four faces of the components (two horizontal, two vertical) rather than the more usual two.

View through the Bovet OttantaSei by Pininfarina's display back to the clous de Paris decoration on the spring barrel bridge

View through the Bovet OttantaSei by Pininfarina’s display back to the clous de Paris decoration on the spring barrel bridge

I particularly like the curved lines in the clous de Paris engraving visible through the display back. Traditional clous de Paris is usually a grid pattern set at right angles; however, not being aware of all the centuries of horological tradition, on seeing the proposed finish Pininfarina’s designers thought it would look better still if the engraving followed the curves of the bridges. And so it came to pass.

Bovet OttantaSei by Pininfarina

Bovet OttantaSei by Pininfarina

What irks me ever so sightly

I was surprised by just how much I was impressed with the Ottantasei and would be very happy to wear one daily. But there is one niggle I have that I just can’t shake off because (to my thinking) it goes against the whole spirit of transparency: that laser engraving on the side windows.

Laser-engraved

Laser-engraved “Limited Edition” and “Pininfarina” on the case band windows of the Bovet Ottantasei

And again dial side where we have the beautiful spherical differential and a patented winding system covered by the Bovet logo. Why do that when there is blank space either side?

The spherical differential of the OttantaSei is visible behind the Bovet logo at 12 o'clock

The spherical differential of the OttantaSei is visible behind the Bovet logo at 12 o’clock

Imagine a home with two big bay windows opening onto a fantastic view, but covered with non-transparent (and non-essential) text.

Such a small detail, but it’s the small details that count!

I liked the Ottantasei so much it surprised me. I appreciate the vast majority of the watches I have the pleasure and good fortune to examine mainly from an intellectual point of view in that while I understand and like their various features, I do not think of them as watches I personally would wear because they are either too big, too small, too complicated, wrong color, wrong shape, etc., etc., etc.

But the Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina is not only a timepiece that I like from an intellectual point of view, I also like it from the heart: it’s a watch I would be very happy to own and wear.

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina on the wrist of Paolo Pininfarina

Bovet Ottantasei by Pininfarina on the wrist of Paolo Pininfarina

For more information, please visit www.bovet.com/timepiece/bovet-by-pininfarina-ottantasei.

Quick Facts
Case: 44 x 12 mm, available in titanium, black DLC-coated titanium and red gold; sapphire crystal display back and two case band windows, water resistance 30 meters
Dials: available in either white lacquer or brushed blue
Movement: manually wound Caliber 17BM03 with 10-day power reserve; patented spherical differential winding system, 2.5 Hz balance, patented flying one-minute tourbillon
Functions: hours, minutes; power reserve indicator
Limitation: 86 pieces (total)
Guarantee: 5 years
Price: 165,000 Swiss francs (excluding taxes) in titanium or DLC-coated titanium; 180,000 Swiss francs (excluding taxes) in red gold

4 replies

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Quill & Pad’s Predictions In The Mechanical Exception Category Of The 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève | Quill & Pad says:
    November 12, 2016 at 11:28 am

    […] too ornate for my taste. That changed for me in a big way with the Ottantasei by Pininfarina (see Transparently Sublime Bovet Ottantasei By Pininfarina: Near Perfection, Bar One Tiny “Flaw”), which I picked as this year’s winner of the Tourbillon Category (see Predictions In The […]

    Reply
  2. Predictions In The Tourbillon Category Of The 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève | Quill & Pad says:
    November 12, 2016 at 11:23 am

    […] Further reading: Transparently Sublime Bovet Ottantasei By Pininfarina: Near Perfection, Bar One Tiny “Flaw.” […]

    Reply
  3. Complete List And Photos Of All Pre-Selected Watches In The 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève | Quill & Pad says:
    September 1, 2016 at 5:59 pm

    […] Further reading: Transparently Sublime Ottantasei By Pininfarina: Near Perfection, Bar One Tiny “Flaw.” […]

    Reply
  4. All Watches (With Photos) Competing In The 2016 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève | Quill & Pad says:
    July 15, 2016 at 5:43 pm

    […] From the Tourbillon category, you can read about the Bovet 1822 Ottantasei Flying Tourbillon in Transparently Sublime Bovet Ottantasei By Pininfarina: Near Perfections, Bar One Tiny “Flaw.” […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • Watch Brands & Horology
    • New for 2025
    • New for 2024
    • New for 2023
    • Affordable Luxury
      • Swatch
      • Ball Watch
      • Louis Erard
      • Gorilla Fastback
      • Ikepod
      • Oris
      • Reservoir
    • Auctions
    • Behind the Lens
    • Boutiques
    • Collectors and Collecting
    • Events, Fairs & Exhibitions
    • Give Me Five!
    • History
    • Quill & Pad
    • Round Table
    • The Naked Watchmaker
    • Thoughts & Opinion
    • Video
    • WatchCharts
    • Wrist Watching
    • A. Lange & Söhne
    • AHCI
    • Akrivia
    • Andersen Genève
    • Alexandre Meerson
    • Andreas Strehler
    • Angelus
    • Antoine Martin
    • Antoine Preziuso
    • Armin Strom
    • Arnold & Son
    • Audemars Piguet
      • Royal Oak Offshore
    • Bélier
    • Bell & Ross
    • Blancpain
    • Bovet
    • Breguet
    • Bremont
    • Breitling
    • Bulgari
    • Carl F. Bucherer
    • Cartier
    • Chanel
    • Chopard
    • Christiaan Van Der Klaauw
    • Christophe Claret
    • Chronoswiss
    • Clocks
    • Corum
    • Cyrus
    • Czapek & Cie
    • De Bethune
    • de Grisogono
    • Derek Pratt
    • Dior
    • Divers' Watches
    • Eberhard
    • Emmanuel Bouchet
    • Fabergé
    • Ferdinand Berthoud
    • Fiona Krüger
    • F.P. Journe
    • Franck Muller
    • Garrick
    • Gérald Genta
    • Girard-Perregaux
    • Glashütte Original
    • GoS
    • Graff
    • Graham
    • Greubel Forsey
    • Grieb & Benzinger
    • Grönefeld
    • H. Moser & Cie
    • Habring2
    • Hajime Asaoka
    • Harry Winston
    • Hautlence
    • Hermès
    • Hublot
    • HYT
    • Independents
    • IWC
    • Jaeger-LeCoultre
    • Jaquet Droz
    • Jean Daniel Nicolas
    • Jean Dunand
    • Kari Voutilainen
    • Kees Engelbarts
    • Kobold
    • Konstantin Chaykin
    • Kudoke
    • Ladies watches
    • Lang & Heyne
    • Laurent Ferrier
    • Linde Werdelin
    • Louis Moinet
    • Louis Vuitton
    • Ludovic Ballouard
    • Manufacture Royale
    • Maurice Lacroix
    • MB&F
    • McGonigle
    • Ming Watches
    • Montblanc
    • Moritz Grossmann
    • Nomos Glashütte
    • Ochs und Junior
    • Officine Panerai
    • Omega
    • Parmigiani
    • Patek Philippe
    • Paul Gerber
    • Philippe Dufour
    • Piaget
    • Pocket watches
    • Rebellion
    • Ressence
    • RGM
    • Richard Mille
    • Roger Dubuis
    • Roger W Smith
    • Roland Iten
    • Rolex
    • Romain Gauthier
    • Romain Jerome
    • Sarpaneva
    • Schwarz-Etienne
    • Seiko
    • Silberstein
    • Singer Reimagined
    • Soviet / Eastern Europe watches
    • Speake-Marin
    • Struthers
    • Tag Heuer
    • Tudor
    • Tutima
    • Ulysse Nardin
    • Urban Jürgensen
    • Urwerk
    • Vacheron Constantin
    • Van Cleef & Arpels
    • Vianney Halter
    • Vintage
    • Wempe Glashütte
    • Zenith
  • Luxury, Experiences, Science & Nature
    • Arts
    • Book reviews
    • Cars
      • Porsche
    • Fashion & Grooming
    • Jewelry
    • Nature
    • Photo Captions
    • Photography
    • Science
    • Shoes
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Travel
    • Wining, Dining and Cigars
    • Writing instruments
      • Caran d’Ache
      • Grayson Tighe
      • Montblanc
      • Montegrappa
  • General
    • Featured
    • Highlights
© Copyright - Quill & Pad - Enfold Theme by Kriesi
Scroll to top Scroll to top Scroll to top
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT