Bovet 1822 Lands In Melbourne With Their First Australian Boutique

As a Melbourne local, watch enthusiast and low-impact exercise aficionado, I often walk up and down Collins Street on my lunch breaks.

Usually aiming for an uphill stroll to the Paris end, I like to get my heart rate up and clear my mind off the stresses of trying to decide what today's grail watch should be. As I do, I gaze into boutique windows to see if there’s anything new for me to lust over. I pass Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin and as I start to run out of steam, Cartier. Pressing my nose up against the glass looking for a Polaris Perpetual Calendar, 222 and a Crash as I go. Fogging up the glass with my hot breath I whisper to myself, 'Not today Mitch'.

‍On a particularly lazy summer day a few weeks ago however, I decided to walk downhill. Past the Time+Tide Studio, The Hour Glass, and even the relatively affordable Oris and Bremont stores. Gravity assists me as I waft down Collins Street and on this occasion, it landed me right in front of a window that I hadn’t peered into before. A brand new Bovet 1822 boutique standing proud and fresh on a street that rivals the most exclusive in the world. ‘Where did this come from?!’, I think to myself. I then proceeded to head-butt the door as I tried to walk in, not realising that it was appointment only. That’s a shame, I wanted to spend 200% of my kid’s inheritance that day. Quickly wiping the Mitch-shaped sweat print off the glass I took a step back. I was surprised to see a brand like this breaking into our relatively small watch market. Surely the Rolex-obsessed Australians wouldn’t be interested in Bovet, would they? Their watches don’t exactly blend in at the pub. A country famous for it's tall poppy syndrome hardly feels like the right fit for a brand that makes large, ornate watches that you can wear on your wrist, a chain or resting on your desk. In saying that, and after going in and trying a Bovet on, I can safely say that they should. Wearing a Monsieur Bovet as a pocket watch while you’re chugging your seventh VB is the ultimate flex. I'm here for it.

S&S Group Enters Australia With Bovet 1822

Digging deeper into Bovet’s sudden arrival in Australia, I discovered that the boutique is run in partnership with S&S Group. A Vietnamese luxury retail company that represents brands like Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet, Grand Seiko and of course Bovet. They also represent automotive companies like Rolls Royce and Lamborghini and operate a high-end end real estate arm in association with Christies. Talk about fingers in many pies.
S&S was established in 2013 by Sam Vu and is still independently owned. I’ve spoken about this in my other articles but when a company manages to hold on to ownership like this, they’re able to focus on long-term sustainability rather than short-term gain. This is where I see S&S Group's thinking with the move to Australia. Although our market is still underdeveloped, getting their foot in the door early will pay dividends in the long run. It's nice to see international players investing into the Australian market.
If S&S Group can come into Australia and disrupt the established players, they have a good chance of cementing themselves as the place to go for niche high-end brands. I know corporate values can sometimes have shallow execution, but with S&S having kindness as a part of their five values, I have high hopes that they can change the way the Australian community is treated.
In what is a stale industry at best, I welcome the arrival of more options, even if it does ruffle the feathers of the big boys in the Australian retail watch market.
Come on S&S, we need a multi-brand that that treats people well! And feel free to bring a McLaren or two along with you too.

Where Can You Buy Bovet Watches In Australia?

The answer to this question used to be Singapore. But now Australia has it's very own Bovet Boutique. This is great news, although at first I was a little confused. Who’s walking up and down Collins Street with a 150k lump in their pocket, ready to drop it on a transforming pocket watch? (Check out Bovet's Amadéo^®System) With my experience in the retail industry (and as an enthusiast), I couldn’t picture their Australian target customer. After all, Bovet watches are all about regal craftsmanship and oversized ostentation. As I mentioned earlier, the tall poppy syndrome afflicted Australian public wasn’t going to have that. Or so I thought.

‍As I stood on busy Collins Street before my appointment with Minh (the manager), I looked up at the facade of a building I had never paid any attention to. Its historic charm seemingly lost to the hustle and bustle of Collins Street. If you're brave enough to look up from your phone as you walk past however, you'll be treated to a view that I think fits the Bovet brand perfectly.

The building, on the corner of Elizabeth and Collins Street, number 300, was named after Michael Cashmore, the first Jewish settler in Melbourne and owner of a haberdashery in the 1840s. What a name for one of Collins’s streets more influential characters, Cashmore (More Cash?). Cashmore on Collins as the building is named, was the first Brick Building to be constructed in Melbourne. Not sure what they were made from before, convict carved sandstone blocks perhaps?
After learning about the heritage of Cashmore On Collins, it seems all the more fitting that S&S Group chose this building for their first boutique in Australia.

‍With it's history of firsts, it’s perfect.

Walking in, the boutique is regal, to say the least, with one desk for consultations, some blue armchairs and a rather sparkly chandelier hanging from the roof. After visiting the Château de Môtiers, Bovet's manufacturing facility in Switzerland, the decor and feel of the are bang on. Whenever I visit I feel like I'm back in Switzerland with a belly full of fondue. There's something special about mono-brand boutiques, the true personality of the brand can be baked in to the actual architecture and interior design.

The Monsieur Bovet

In my complete ignorance, I didn't expect to try anything on that would suit my taste (and wrist size) during my visit to the Boutique. But Minh assured me that the brand had something for everyone. I was pleasantly surprised when he brought a tray over with The Monsieur Bovet elegantly resting on it: pocket chain and all. The watch is a part of their more classic line, the Fleurier collection, and has a very traditional look.

The Case

Perhaps the most polarising aspect of The Monsieur, and most Bovet watches, is the case. At 43 mm it’s a big boy by today’s standards but hides it's diameter well. The case middle is perfectly round and doesn't have a traditional crown make it look visually bulky. It wears more like a 40mm and sits well on the wrist. The case is polished titanium and is only 12.3 mm thick, it’s deceptively light. There's something so cool about a traditionally designed watch that uses a modern material. You would expect a watch that looks like this to be made from gold so when you first pick it up and feel the lightness, your brain will take a few seconds to recalibrate. What you're left with though is a watch that is super wearable, elegant and a little bit sporty. Maybe the Aussies will like Bovet after all!

Where the watch starts to get a little more unconventional is in the ways you can wear it. Bovet’s patented Amadeo convertible case system is it's main party trick, allowing you to choose one of four different configurations: On the wrist with closed dial, on the wrist flipped to an open dial, a pocket watch with attached chain and my personal favourite, a desk clock. There may not be any other watch out there that is more versatile than the Monsieur Bovet.

John Mayer once said in a Hodinkee video that he uses his IWC Big Pilot as a desk clock when he travels, propping it up with the strap like a chump. He should have just used a Bovet with its fold-out stand.

Transformation of The Monsieur Bovet is done using blue cabochon buttons at the top and bottom of the case, where the lugs would be on a more conventional watch. Squeeze the buttons at 12 o'clock and with a solid click, off comes half of your strap. At six you need to fold out the stand to remove the strap, folding it back up for pocket watch mode and placed straight on your (presumably) leather bound desk for clock mode.
The chain for this watch is in 925 sterling silver, I’m thinking that using titanium here would have felt a little flimsy, the gold pieces all have a matching gold chain.

The Dial(s) Of The Monsieur Bovet

Let’s start with the front, or is it the back?
In their signature style, Bovet has decorated the surface of this dial with a spiralling Guilloché in a deep teal blue. Each section of the spiral fans out and accommodates it's own Breguet style numeral. The accuracy of the spacing here is very satisfying, even if the dial doesn’t quite look symmetrical because of it. Time telling is courtesy of hands that have a shape that I’ve dubbed ‘squiggly wiggly’. Pascal Raffy, you can have that one for free. Whoever polished these hands has my respect, the curves are insane.

Flip the watch over and you’re greeted with an off-centre, miniature version of the dial with the same finishing as mentioned earlier. Albeit this time with a more conventional-looking handset. Being connected to the same gear train as their more squiggly brothers on the reverse side presents a complicated problem. If one set of hands were to turn clockwise, then the other must turn counterclockwise, right?

To remedy this Christopher Nolan-level time reversal issue, Bovet has patented their reverse-fitted hand system. Comprised of an extra gear that takes power off the gear train, flips it and feeds the secondary time display. Very interesting! 

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I'm drawn across the universe to someone I haven't seen in a decade, who I know is probably dead. Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can't understand it. - Interstellar

The Movement And The Bovet Castle

In-house and ‘Swiss Handcrafted’ down to the hairspring. The movement of the Monsieur Bovet has a seven-day power reserve with a single barrel, wound via the top-mounted crown. A seconds display at six and a power reserve indicator at nine rest nicely amongst the bridges. They’ve managed to keep it looking symmetrical with the balance wheel having a matching wheel from the gear train opposite and the power reserve having its own counterpart at three. A nice touch that is only possible when you design and manufacture everything yourself.

Having the option to wear the Monsieur Bovet with the movement hidden makes it all the more special when you flip it over to show off what’s underneath.

Saying that one of the best part of the Monsieur Bovet is that you don’t have to look at it all the time sounds horrible, like saying my wife’s best view of me is when her eyes are closed. That’s not at all what I mean here. It’s a bit like when I come home from work and get showered with love and adoration… Just like absence makes the heart grow fonder, the Amadeo system makes the movement more beautiful when you do see it.

On another note and perhaps just as interesting as the movement itself is the place where it was born. Deep in the hills of Neuchâtel, a historic villa called Château de Môtiers houses the Bovet Manufacture. Although the site was the birthplace of the brand, it wasn’t until 2006 that Pascal Raffy, Bovet’s sole owner, purchased the Château back off the Neuchâtel state which had possession of it since 1957. The upkeep was so costly that the state didn’t want to deal with it anymore. Their loss.The Bovet family originally occupied the, let’s call it was it is, castle, starting in 1835 and it’s nice to see that watchmakers are filling its halls once again. Read more about my recent visit to the Château de Môtiers, Bovet.

Does Bovet Have A Place In Australian Watch Culture?

You may be thinking, ‘But why, Mitch, does this brand need to exist in Australia?’. To which my answer would simply be that it doesn’t.
Bovet is a watch brand for the wealthiest collectors of the ornate and the slightly absurd watches. No one needs a watch that can sit on your desk or hang from your pocket, but then again no one needs a mechanical watch full stop. Bovet watches are high value, sure but then again all good art is. We don’t need the Mona Lisa, that smirk adds nothing practical to our lives, yet every year ten million people stuff themselves into the Louvre to see her. Yes, that’s right, ten million people visit the Louvre for one painting. And it’s closed on a Tuesday, I learnt that the hard way…

Art (and Bovet 1822) doesn’t need to justify its existence in any market. It's reason to exist is in The Mona Lisa’s eyes or in the hearts of the people that go and visit her. Watches and art exist to make you feel something.

Most of us won’t ever be in the position to own any of Bovet’s watches. But we can always walk past the boutique in Cashmore on Collins, gaze in at the watches and be reminded that this hobby that we love doesn’t have to be explained. We can just enjoy it for what it is; Art.

Book an appointment to visit the Bovet Boutique in Melbourne HERE and always make sure you check whether the Louve is open before you go.

As always, see you in the next one. x