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If you could have a synonym for qualities that encompass uniqueness,
craftsmanship, luxury, prestige and culture in the world of watches
then you would not be held wrong if your answer were to be Bovet!
Beginnings...
 Its
history can be traced to 1814 when Edouard Bovet, from Fleurier
in Neuchâtel, moved to London and went on to Canton in 1818.
There, he set up his business in partnership with his brothers in
1822 and it is flourishing till today. The label has synchronised
beautifully with heritage, innovation and evolution and it is this
that sets it apart from its contemporaries.
 Moving
on....
The enterprise that made luxury watches in Switzerland for
export to China was a resounding success. After two generations
of running a flourishing Swiss-Chinese commercial enterprise, the
Bovets’ were no longer interested in watch making. The name had
been sold several times and it re-launched in 1997. The current
Bovet watches are modelled on their luxury precursors from the 19th
century and are fashioned to look like little pocket watches for
the wrist.
Fleurier becomes the new tag line...
Although the `Genève` tag is virtually compulsory for
most Swiss branded watches that fall in the high price bracket,
it is the lesser known place name `Fleurier` that graces the watches
from Bovet. The label originated from this village in the Val-de-Travers,
to the west of Neuchâtel. David Vaucher, probably a pupil
of the legendary Daniel Jean Richard, introduced watch making between
1730 and 1740 in this small nook. The number of watchmakers in the
Val-de-Travers grew very rapidly in the first half of the 19th century.
The manual lace making that had provided work for a good third of
the people living in the valley was later replaced by the low cost
production on jacquard machines in France and Flanders.
Penetrating the Chinese market...
Bovet was also responsible for Fleurier’s specialisation in
the Chinese market. The flourishing watch trade with China prompted
Edouard Bovet to set up his own business in 1822. He founded a general
partnership with his two brothers in London and one brother who
had remained in Fleurier; the fourth and youngest brother also entered
the business. Soon every first class watch in China with a high
practical value and elegant exterior was simply called `Bovet` (pronounced
“Boway”!). Pearl ornamentation and enamel miniature painting carried
out in Geneva on their watches ensured first class aesthetics at
prices that, in contrast to the exaggerated luxury watches of the
time, were affordable, at least for the upper class.
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For
years a Bovet watch was considered an asset in China and was accepted
in payment everywhere. The movement was frequently finely engraved
and could be observed through a glass cover at the back. The central
second hand that jumped every second, like modern quartz watches,
was a Bovet speciality. Bovet adapted its production to the Chinese
tradition of making gifts of valuable objects like statues, vases,
horses and even concubines in pairs. However, the craftsmen who
mastered in enamel paints found it very difficult to paint two identical
but mirror-image miniatures. 
Bovet
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