The Biver Automatique is now available in a cool limited edition piece.
That's designed to celebrate the detail-oriented nature of Japanese watch collectors.
In the best watches – as in life – the smallest tolerances can make all the difference. Leaving my house 30 seconds later can be the difference between making my train and grovelling for being late to work.
It's something which was paramount for Biver when the brand set about crafting a limited run Japanese edition of its Automatique watch. The watch – complete with my favourite movement out there – is the work of renowned watchmaker, Jean-Claude Biver.
He set out to craft a limited edition piece which celebrates the watch collecting culture of the Japanese people. Speaking about the launch, Biver said, "During my early days in the watch industry, I remember visiting [Japan] and being deeply impressed by its collectors. Their appreciation for detail and pursuit of perfection left a lasting impact on me."
That attention to detail is certainly present here. The dials are crafted from enamel, which requires a considerable amount of time and expertise to perfect. Starting off with a plate of 22k rose gold or 18k white fold, enamel powders are melted at temperatures near 800°C in fine layers.
Any bubble, crack or other imperfection is enough to render it to the scrap pile, causing the whole process to start again. A good example will take 10 hours of enamel work, followed by a further six being polished to its perfect sheen.
The task is made even more difficult as this model makes use of applied gold hour markers. Those are normally a no-no on an enamel dial due to the risk of cracking. But here, the brand leave small patches of the underlying gold base plate exposed, to anchor the markers to. That means more accuracy and smaller tolerances.
Still, it pays off. The result is something simply sublime, with a three-dimensional appearance which seems to defy the monotonal nature of the material. Couple that with a jaw-dropping movement, and it's not hard to see the appeal.
As I see it, there are only two real stumbling blocks for wannabe owners of this piece. The first is that it's only being sold in The Hour Glass – a luxury watch boutique in Japan. Couple that with the very limited production and it's likely to be quite a rarity in the Western market.
Still, if that's not enough to pad the brakes, there's also the price. At CHF92,000 (approx. £80,600 / $104,000 / AU$164,000) for the platinum model and CHF89,000 (approx. £78,000 / $101,000 / AU$159,000) for the rose gold, this is certainly not a cheap piece. Still, for the right buyer, this is a dreamy watch, complete with some serious attention to detail.
