Description
The perpetual calendar is one of watchmaking's most admired complications and one of its most nerve-wracking to own — a single careless press on the wrong corrector can mean a trip back to the watchmaker. With the new Récital 31, Bovet sets out to make a perpetual calendar that is as pleasant to live with as it is to look at, leading with usability rather than spectacle.
Housed in the brand's signature 44 mm Dimier case and powered by an all-new in-house calibre built specifically for this reference, the Récital 31 is offered in grade-5 titanium or 18k red gold, in blue, red or black, each limited to 60 pieces. Pricing is CHF 102,000 in titanium and CHF 122,000 in red gold.
Design
The 44 mm Dimier case is 13.3 mm thick, with cleaner, more balanced lines than some earlier Récital calendars, topped by a box sapphire crystal that lets light play across the dial. The display is laid out for legibility: day at 9 o'clock and month opposite, leap year at 12, a spherical precision moon phase for the celestial element, and a serpentine retrograde date hand for animation. The dial comes in blue, red or black with a guilloché centre, paired with a colour-matched rubber strap (alligator optional). The real party trick is on the back: the date, day, month and moon-phase correctors are each clearly labelled on the caseback, so setting the watch no longer means hunting through a manual. The movement side is richly hand-decorated with Bovet's new étoiles carrées engraving.
Specifications
- Reference: Bovet Récital 31 Perpetual Calendar (2026)
- Case: 44 mm diameter, 13.3 mm thick; grade-5 titanium or 18k red gold (Dimier case)
- Crystal: box sapphire; sapphire display caseback with labelled QP correctors
- Water resistance: 30 m
- Dial: perpetual calendar; retrograde date (serpentine hand); spherical precision moon phase; leap year at 12; blue, red or black with guilloché centre
- Movement: new in-house manufacture calibre, manual winding, 469 components, 39 jewels
- Complications: perpetual calendar, retrograde date, spherical moon phase
- Frequency: 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve: 5 days (indicator on the movement side)
- Finishing: hand-engraved bridges, étoiles carrées motif
- Strap: colour-matched rubber (alligator optional), matching pin buckle
- Limited edition: 60 pieces per colour
- Price: CHF 102,000 (titanium) / CHF 122,000 (red gold)
- Availability: 2026
What's Exciting
Bovet has taken one of horology's most cerebral complications and injected a dose of common sense. Labelling the perpetual-calendar correctors on the caseback sounds trivial, but anyone who has owned a QP knows the small terror of pressing the wrong recessed pusher; this quietly removes it. Underneath the user-friendliness sits a genuinely new movement — 469 components developed for this single reference, not a module bolted onto a base — finished to the standard that has always been Bovet's real argument. Choosing rubber straps and a more contemporary, legible layout signals intent, too: this is a perpetual calendar meant to be worn regularly, not locked in a safe. At roughly CHF 102,000 for an in-house QP from a vertically integrated independent, it makes an interesting case against far pricier names.
History
The Récital 31 joins a long line of Fleurier calendar and astronomical watches, from the annual-calendar Récital 20 Astérium to the Récital 22 Grand Récital and the more recent Récital 21 Retrograde Perpetual Calendar. Where many of those leaned into theatrical, dome-dialled spectacle, the Récital 31 takes its cue from the more restrained, traveller-friendly Récital 30 — same box-crystal Dimier case language, but turned toward everyday usability. It also shares its new étoiles carrées hand-engraving with the Récital 32 GMT launched alongside it, marking a fresh decorative chapter for the manufacture.
