pininfarina adds sapphire crystals in BOVET aperto 1 timepiece to show its gears and wheels

See-through display for pininfarina & bovet’s aperto 1

Aperto is an Italian word that means ‘open.’ In the BOVET Aperto 1 timepiece, Pininfarina allows the word to unfold on its own with the use of clear sapphire crystals on both sides of the accessory, letting the wearer infinitely peek into the gears and wheels of the watch. The gears and mechanics dance on full display, whirring endlessly even as the wearer walks around. Pininfarina and BOVET enclose their Aperto 1 timepiece with a sand-blasted grade 5 titanium case to refrain from showing fingerprints or leaving marks when the wearer accidentally brushes over their fingers.

Timepiece with 10 hours of hand-finishing

BOVET says that its Aperto 1 timepiece with Pininfarina undergoes at least ten hours of hand-finishing just for the plates and bridges alone. Coating techniques such as physical and chemical vapor deposition are employed to ensure the robustness of the components and prevent them from corroding. Bead blasting, which helps keep the components intact and not deform, is also adopted along with graining of the flanks and polishing of the bevels, stone gouges, and screws.

assembling Pininfarina and bovet’s aperto 1 timepiece 

BOVET says that great care must be exercised not to damage the coatings since with one slip of a tool during assembly, the component may be discarded. The movement itself is coated with black and tantalum gray treatments, and all of the movement components are crafted in-house by BOVET, from the gears and wheels of the timepiece to the finishing of the watch, refined by hand.  Another feature that Pininfarina and BOVET arranged for the Aperto 1 timepiece comes through the interchangeable straps, inspired by the Swiss manufacturer’s patented Amadeo system.

Versatility emerges as a thought in mind for the straps’ design, and a fresh take on an old strap system was a brief that needed to be considered. With the Aperto 1 timepiece, the wearer can change the straps in just a few seconds by clinching on the pushers to remove each strap and insert the alternative ones. Pininfarina and BOVET gift the wearer two straps included in the purchase, and additional designs may still be acquired if the wearer wants.

Aperto 1 timepiece would not spring from its cave without the initiative of BOVET owner, Pascal Raffy. When he tapped Pininfarina’s designers, he requested them to conceive a modern take on the decades-old art of skeletonization, one where everyone can see everything. Pininfarina then paid homage to the ethos of traditional watchmaking, brought in their flair into the process, and created an open-worked timepiece that leverages the crystalline surface of sapphire crystals instead of glass. Aperto 1 timepiece is only one of the many collaborative timepieces Pininfarina and BOVET worked on, including the Cambiano, the Sergio, the Ottanta, and the Ottantasei, reminiscent of their long-time partnership that began in 2010.

project info:

name: Aperto 1

brand: BOVET

design: Pininfarina