Bovet and Pininfarina begin a long-term partnership

It all began two and a half years ago, at a Concours d’Elegance in California, a rendezvous for numerous watch firms, given the bond that has formed between watchmaking and automobiles over recent years. This is where the team representing Bovet met the team from the Italian design company, Pininfarina. As they talked, they realised they were on the same wavelength, shared the same origins, and that they really should work together. It just so happened that Pininfarina had its sights on the firm’s fast-approaching 80th anniversary. These first seeds for an idea would rapidly take shape when the CEOs of the two firms met in Italy as Pascal Raffy, owner since 2000 of Bovet, established in 1822, explained at a press conference: “The more we talked, the more it became clear that we had the same philosophy of exclusivity and savoir-faire. The idea that we should do something together came naturally.”

Technique and innovation

“We wanted to mark our 80th anniversary with a prestigious, enduring, luxury object,” Paola Pininfarina, who represents the third generation at the helm of the firm, declared. “The marriage between Bovet and my company had to be. This is a happy marriage that is made to last. Its foundations are a synergistic and strategic alliance that will take us proudly into the world of watchmaking.” This latest partnership adds to an already extensive list of “natural” collaborations between the masters of horological mechanics and automobiles, including Audemars Piguet and Maserati, Blancpain and Lamborghini, Breitling and Bentley, Cabestan and Ferrari, Hublot and Morgan, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Aston Martin, Parmigiani and Bugatti, and TAG Heuer with Mercedes and Tulsa.

What makes this alliance between Bovet and Pininfarina unique in Pascal Raffy’s eyes is that teams from both companies had an equal role to play: Bovet in the development of the calibre and its parts; Pininfarina in the design of a timepiece intended as a symbol of technology and innovation. The result is the Bovet – Pininfarina Tourbillon Ottanta. Four words for a watch that is a technical and aesthetic jewel; a watch that can be approached on multiple levels, where attention to detail has been taken to the extreme. The very first specification hinted at what lay ahead: a tourbillon cage that would make a revolution not in one minute, as is usually the case, but in 80 seconds, in reference to Pininfarina’s history.

The power of emotion

This was just a taste of things to come: seconds are indicated via a crown that sits concentric to the tourbillon cage and which rotates in three minutes, so that the numerals in an aperture at 3 o’clock can be comfortably read. The hour and minute hands are positioned centrally, despite the oversized 14mm tourbillon, which incidentally requires a bi-directional micro-rotor to power the two series-coupled barrels, thus preserving the transparency of the tourbillon which can be viewed from either of the watch’s faces. The guaranteed 80-hour power reserve is indicated at 9 o’clock, and the instantaneous large date at 6 o’clock. A single reverse-fitted hour hand is a nod at the very first pocket watches. The entire watch is in subtle nuances of grey and Pininfarina blue, with the unique touch of bipolar circular Clous de Paris engraving on each side of the tourbillon cage. The case, a revisited version of the Amadeo, transforms from a wristwatch to a pocket watch or a table clock.

The Bovet – Pininfarina Tourbillon Ottanta, with its 514 parts, has more than lived up to expectations for this first project. Virtually each of the 80 pieces in this limited edition have already found a buyer. “We have been able to grasp the full measure of this partnership,” commented Paolo Pininfarina. “Beyond the enthusiasm and friendship we now share, there will be a sequel to the Tourbillon Ottanta.” Said Pascal Raffy, “Thankfully there is still some emotion in this world, for watchmaking needs emotion to thrive.”

Paolo Pininfarina, CEO: Pininfarina is an innovative, cutting-edge company, particularly with respect to materials, with a tradition in industrial design that goes back 80 years. This spirit and corporate culture are identically mirrored at Bovet. This is, in my view, one of the main reasons why the chemistry between our two firms, their respective teams and, as concerns myself, with Pascal Raffy, worked so well. Bovet has given us the opportunity to enter the world of watchmaking, and we have given Bovet the opportunity to enter a more contemporary niche market.

We didn’t have any specific watch project in mind, although we were considering the possibility of a partnership for our anniversary. This is when we met Bovet, and things have gone on from there.

When you embark on a project of this kind, you have to be realistic about what can and cannot be achieved. Ideas came from both sides. We were respectful of Bovet’s tradition, and Bovet respected our insistence not to simply design a new exterior for an existing mechanical movement. This is a totally innovative timepiece. Two industrial legends have joined forces to produce what should rapidly become an icon.

Yes we do. Just as Bovet is enjoying a second youth under Pascal Raffy’s leadership, Pininfarina has been given new impetus since I took the head of the firm. I think Pininfarina deserves to be successful in the watch sector. But as you know, success isn’t built on a single achievement, which is why this partnership with Bovet is for the long term. All the signs are that the chemistry will continue to work between our teams, and the passion and enthusiasm they show. I’m not saying such an adventure isn’t entirely without risk, but risk is an essential part of innovation. The idea of constantly pushing back the limits, as we did, for example, with Ferrari, is something Bovet practices in mechanical watchmaking. All the pieces of the puzzle are in place.