The absolute epitome of classical watchmaking, updated.

One of the things that keeps one interested in watches is the sheer variety of approaches that are taken to meet the same needs. (Especially when you consider that the basic functions of telling the time and the basic engineering used to do so have not changed in centuries.) There are the stripped-back minimalist designs of the mid-20th century, the sci-fi futurism of HYT or Ulysse Nardin, the neo-industrial steampunk vibes of MB&F, or the utilitarian, military-issue tool watches of IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN, Bremont or Panerai.

And then there are brands such as Bovet. A new arrival to MR PORTER, Bovet is perhaps best described as what happens when the 19th century meets the 21st and completely skips out the 100 years in between. Aesthetically speaking, the brand is ultra-traditionalist, cleaving firmly to the ideals of a bygone age. If a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control or Junghans Max Bill could be compared to the work of Le Corbusier, the creations to leave Bovet’s atelier (in very small numbers – only a few hundred a year) are more akin to the Palace of Versailles. Which is to say, you could have dinner in both, but it would be a very different experience.

But for all its ultra-traditionalism, Bovet isn’t stuck in the past. There are elements of the Récital 27 that could only appear on a modern watch; the complex, semi-open-worked display might be executed in the most classical way, but is very much a concept of the modern era. The two dials at three and nine o’clock indicate the time in two different time zones, with a window at the top of each one that shows which time zone they’re set to – the decision to reveal the two discs that indicate the time zones as they cycle from Geneva to Karachi, Bangkok to Miami, is one of the most striking things about the Récital 27’s design. A set of hour and minute hands in the middle of the watch, as is conventional (about the only thing on the watch that is) give you the time where you are. At the base of the dial is a double-aperture moon-phase indicator. This most whimsical of complications is par for the course at Bovet and shows the waxing and waning of the moon in both hemispheres.

Bovet’s finely crafted dials, with their intricate layering of information and display of finishing techniques, are only part of the story. Unique to the brand is the “writing desk” case design (I told you we were dealing with a bygone era – get your quill and ink pot ready). The watch case is thicker at the top of the dial than the bottom, tapering towards you. Viewed from a side profile, it just about recalls a certain style of antique desk. These sloping desks were known as Davenport desks or captain’s desks, as they were first commissioned from British furniture maker Gillows of Lancaster by a ship’s captain named Davenport in the 1790s; they achieved more widespread popularity on dry land in the 1800s.

Materials: Red gold and alligator leather

Diameter: 46.3mm

Height: 16mm

Water-resistance: 30m

Power reserve: seven days

Price: £66,000