We featured Bovet watches a few weeks ago. Dimier is the sister brand to Bovet also owned by Pascal Raffy. Raffy took Bovet from the verge of extinction to become a symbol of rare luxury, and with Dimier his exacting methods have produced the same results in an opulent series of watches known as the Recital Collection. Recital, launched in 2007, is a limited edition series with ‘Edition Limitee’ helpfully posted in big letters on most of the watches should you forget. The series includes automatic winding and manual winding, a tourbillon, and a power reserve indicator, though not all the watches have each of these complications in them.

The Dimier brand was revived by Raffy when Bovet’s supplier of tourbillion movements for more than 20% of Bovet 1822 timepieces ran into fiscal trouble in 2006. Pascal Raffy had to make a fast decision on how to secure Bovet’s future. What a thing it is to have money. Within a matter of days he took the helm at the Manufactory renamed Dimier 1738 Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie Artisanale. The other bottleneck in watchmaking is dial supply, especially for the specialised materials and techniques used by Bovet 1822. To ensure complete independence, Pascal Raffy acquired an 81% holding in a dial manufacturer and precious stone setter which was catchily renamed Dimier 1738 Manufacture de Cadrans et de Sertissage, which is now part of the Bovet 1822 group.

The next step was to instill into the team of more than 70 craftsmen and women the same driving passion that his Bovet 1822 brand enjoys. Priority had to be given to quality over quantity.

As a passionate collector himself, Raffy completely understands that the enthusiast is a demanding creature who values the attention to even the slightest detail. Every component must be worked, finished and decorated according to criteria established by the finest watchmaking traditions. This is what drove Pascal Raffy to acquire the movement Manufacture; the need for complete independence to deliver luxury that can only find true expression in rarity for the elite. Dimier’s production capacity is 5000 pieces per year, but they choose to perfect just 2000 timepieces.

Dimier Recital 1

The watch started that it all. The movement is the calibre 13DW01 manually-wound movement with an 8 day power reserve and a tourbillon. The large case is still the smallest of the collection being 46mm wide in 18k white or red gold – as well as in platinum. The dial is black with the circular polishing that typifies the movements of the collection. The Recital 1 was limited to just 50 pieces and retailed for $145,000.

Recital 2

Still 46mm wide, but the dial and hands were changed. The blue dial also has flame-like shapes cut in it to reveal the movement underneath. The dial is style a rock crystal and the case is 18k red or white gold, or in platinum. The movement is almost the same as that in the Recital 1, but this time it is the Calibre DT7 that adds automatic winding with a 22k gold rotor. The name of the watch model is still on the dial, The Recital 2 was also limited to 50 pieces.

Recital 3

At 48mm wide features a “world” second time zone indicator and selector. The calibre DT7-OM automatic movement has a second time zone that was linked to a disc with reference city names for the 24 time zones. Pushers on the right and left of the case moved the disc right or left giving you a solid traveler’s watch. The dial has a small power reserve indicator inside of the city selector disc. The Recital 3 was also limited to 50 pieces and is priced at around $215,000.

Recital 4

47mm wide and has a more hand engraved approach. Two large hand-engraved bridges sandwich the centre dials of the watch, offering a uniquely symmetrical design. The case is in 18k white or red gold Dimier. The automatic movement has 5 days of power reserve with window near 6 o’clock that has the hour displays in digital format with a small travelling arrow around the periphery of the dial indicating the minutes. Recital 4 was limited to just 10 pieces, and priced at $200,000.

Recital 5

At 46mm wide is similar to the Recital 3. Recital 5 has an off-centered dial for the time, but instead of a second time zone, it has an open date indicator. The Recital 5 is in gold and titanium. The main case is titanium with gold cladding on the lugs, and gold for the bezel, crown, and caseback. The movement is the Calibre 13DM02, and is back to being manually wound, and with a 5 day power reserve indicator. This one was limited to just 15 pieces and price was US$170,000.

Recital 6

At 46 mm wide, the first non-tourbillon version of the collection, a combination of the Recital 3 and the Recital 5. This practical piece has an automatic Calibre 11BA14 movement with a 3 day power reserve and a more complex world time function. Unlike the Recital 3 watch, this one has a day/night indicator for the second time zone. The Recital 6 has the same style of titanium and 18k gold (red or white) as Recital 5. This Recital 6 is is a relatively lower budget model at a mere US$50,000.

We now await the launch of Recital 7.