North East Connected

Automobili Pininfarina and BOVET 1822 present the new Battista Tourbillon timepiece

Dave Stopher

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(CAMBIANO, 19 OCTOBER 2021) Powerful. Precise. Beautiful. Elegant. These words perfectly describe the Automobili Pininfarina Battista and now, the new Battista Tourbillon from BOVET 1822.

Designed alongside one another, both ground-breaking objects of art share the same design vision based on legendary styling and innovation. Together, the new BOVET Battista Tourbillon and the Automobili Pininfarina Battista are emblems of modern, sustainable luxury.

Per Svantesson, Chief Executive Officer, Automobili Pininfarina, said: “Since the day we first connected with Pascal Raffy and the artisans of BOVET 1822, we felt mutually inspired by the opportunity to create another art form for clients desiring the pinnacle in design and watchmaking.With the unveiling of our first timepiece, we aim to showcase another step forward in the world of artisanal horology.”

A FUTURE VISION OF LUXURY
With the Battista, Automobili Pininfarina is at the forefront of a new sustainable luxury movement. The Battista Tourbillon timepiece celebrates the creation of the first car designed and completely assembled in Cambiano.

The world’s first pure electric hyper GT has been recognized for its design excellence with several awards to its name already, as production of pre-series Battista passes completion. Each Battista will be bespoke to the client’s personal specification, ensuring unrivalled exclusivity.

At BOVET, a handmade masterpiece is constructed by the world’s most skilled precision artisans in the same way. It offers the freedom to create highly bespoke products, while assuring the highest quality.

Pascal Raffy, owner, BOVET 1822, says: “The world is becoming more sustainable and the future is in electric cars. This is what is so exciting about the beautiful Battista, which combines engineering excellence with hand-made attention to detail, like the fine timepieces of the House of BOVET. Automobili Pininfarina is inspiring us to use new methods and materials, and look at our processes with an eye to sustainability as well.”

PURITY IN ALL FORMS
The Automobili Pininfarina and BOVET design teams worked hand-in-hand, with shared design values focused on innovation in style, as well as innovation in the materials and manufacturing from the beginning. The timepiece incorporates fresh and groundbreaking ideas with a classically oriented watchmaking structure and extraordinary finishing.

Pascal Raffy, owner, BOVET 1822, explains: “At BOVET 1822, the human element is essential, and so it is for Automobili Pininfarina. Luxurycars and timepieces share the same values: exceptional design and performance. When you start a project and there is no interest other than the pursuit of perfection, passions do not just add up – they multiply.”

With a focus on lightness and purity, the timepiece extends Battista’s design philosophy and brings it to another dimension, including the mechanical parts, with every element crafted to reflect Automobili Pininfarina’s PURA design philosophy.

BOVET’s exquisite craftsmanship made it possible to design remarkable details, making nearly every piece in-house at the production facility in Tramelan, Switzerland. Sapphire crystals on both sides ensure that the inner beauty of this mechanical masterpiece can be enjoyed and admired.

Inspiration came from Battista’s beautiful exterior curves and detailing. The design teams took these shapes and created watch hands, bridges, dials, and other structures that connect the design of Battista to the timepiece, with fluid, Pininfarina-style shapes such as the flying bridge above the two main dials of the timepiece.

Further references can be found in the subtle background characteristics, such as the Triangolo pattern on the dials, reimagined in miniature and viewed through the sapphire crystal exhibition case back. The timepiece features the Automobili Pininfarina collaborative flags on the power reserve dial, a signature Pininfarina detail that celebrates both the company’s heritage and future.

THE E-HEART OF THE BATTISTA TOURBILLON
One of Battista’s most recognisable features, the E-Heart represents Automobili Pininfarina’s spirit for constant innovation. It is the physical element that, besides being functional as the indicator of the state of charging, acts as an icon on Battista.

In the Battista Tourbillon timepiece the E-Heart-shaped aperture on the back shows BOVET’s patented differential winding mechanism that makes rewinding the timepiece for a full 10 days of power reserve easier and quicker.

THE TIMEPIECE
The construction of the Battista Tourbillon results in a three-dimensional appearance, with each part of the movement and its complications clearly visible both from the face of the timepiece as well as through the exhibition case back and the exposed sides. The 45.6-millimetre case consists of two large sapphire crystals, enhancing the lightness and purity of the design.

The dials on the face of the timepiece, for the first time in the almost 200-year history of BOVET, are asymmetrical, featuring Battista’s Triangolo pattern, while together forming the shape of the number “90”, a reference to the Battista Anniversario and Pininfarina’s 90-year heritage. On the power reserve dial on the left, the famous Pininfarina collaborative flags icon can be found, where on the right dial the big date complication takes pride of place.

Above the two main dials, the flying bridge resembles Battista’s curves, as does the “V” in BOVET and the hands of the timepiece and the hour-indication ring. The tourbillon cage is inspired by the distinctive Impulso wheels and centre-lock ring.

Luca Borgogno, Chief Design Officer, Automobili Pininfarina, explains: “The Battista Tourbillon truly represents the Automobili Pininfarina design philosophy in sublime, small scale. We reached a level of detail and design quality that has not been seen before. It makes a perfect match with the Battista hyper GT.”

Through the exhibition caseback, the main structure of the timepiece can be admired, which is an abstract representation of Battista’s bodywork that wraps around the teardrop-shaped Goccia roof like a clamshell. The two-tone colouring of the bridges supports this reference to Battista.

The fine detailing in Iconica Blu is combined with traditional finishing such as Côtes de Genève, angling, and polishing. Super-LumiNova has been generously applied to all the hands, including on the top of the tourbillon cage as well as the hand of the power reserve.

THE MOVEMENT
The Battista timepiece features a brand-new movement using Bovet’s patented double face tourbillon, running at 18,000 vibrations per hour, with an incredible 10-day power reserve with just a single barrel.

This movement was done specifically for the Battista Tourbillon, following design input from Automobili Pininfarina. Developing this new movement, placing the hour and minute hands in the centre, adding a grand date, and redesigning the tourbillon cage was done entirely in-house.

The patented two-sided flying tourbillon is attached at the centre of its axis, and the weight distribution of the escapement and balance-spring drastically reduces the lever-arm effect and friction, another example of the high precision and complexity of this movement.

The miniaturisation of the winding mechanism resulted in a second patent – a mechanical watch with 10 days of power reserve would typically require twice as many turns of the crown to wind; however, the exclusive winding system in the Battista Tourbillon and its spherical differential halves this number, without increasing the torque of the winding mechanism.

The hair spring and the regulating organ of this new tourbillon movement is manufactured in-house – BOVET 1822 is one of only a handful of companies in the world that can produce its own hair springs and escapements.

THE HUMAN TOUCH
Each Battista hyper GT is hand-finished in Cambiano, Italy, with every element of the car the driver interacts with impeccably detailed by a family of experienced and passionate artisans. Every client is invited into the family to work with the design and engineering teams to create their perfect Battista.

At BOVET, in combination with modern manufacturing methods, an artisan hand-finishes every component. At the end, each and every timepiece is assembled, by hand, by master watchmakers. This distinguishes BOVET in watchmaking. Limited to fewer than 1,000 timepieces a year, with 30 per cent of its production bespoke, BOVET can lavish this kind of attention to detail on each and every piece.

SUSTAINABLE DNA
Automobili Pininfarina believes that luxury can and must be sustainable, without compromise to quality or beauty. By reconsidering and re-inventing materials and processes, the journey toward a sustainable future accelerates. In the Battista hyper GT, new methodologies have been introduced for tanning seat leather with olive leaves, recycling materials throughout the production process, and creating innovative new materials by combining offcuts of leather and wood.

Mechanical timepieces are by their very nature sustainable, as they are meant to last virtually forever with the right care and service. BOVET manufacturing processes are designed to capture and recycle any and all waste, while mechanical timepieces use no disposable batteries. With the Battista, the decision was to not use alligator leather straps, but instead a newly designed rubber strap that is 100 per cent vegan.

The new Battista Tourbillon from BOVET 1822 and Automobili Pininfarina is the result of a collaboration that celebrates the past of both brands and has its sights firmly set on the next century.

Welcome to the future of luxury.

AT A GLANCE: BATTISTA TOURBILLON

ABOUT BOVET 1822
The House of BOVET artfully combines the most sophisticated high-watchmaking mechanisms with the highest craftsmanship, employing artisanal techniques such as hand-engraving, enamel work, and miniature painting, while at the same time using cutting-edge designs, colors, and materials. For nearly 200 years, the House of BOVET has handcrafted the finest timepieces, allowing collectors to experience what is the true pleasure of the luxury of time. To further ensure this excellence, owner Mr. Pascal Raffy has limited the House’s annual manufacture of handcrafted timepieces, making all components in-house, respecting Swiss artisanal processes, and reinforcing its commitment to exclusivity and uniqueness.

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