Bovet and Rolls-Royce Team Up for Bespoke, Dashboard-Mounted Timepieces


Rolls-Royce made major headlines recently with the unveiling of its latest bespoke automobile, the Boat Tail. The car is one of the most lavish vehicles in recent memory, inspired directly by the super-yachts that many Rolls Royce clients likely also own. Along with its luxurious construction, it comes with a selection of other high-end accessories, like a rapidly cooling double refrigerator and a fully automatic portable picnic set-up.

If all of this wasn’t enough, the Boat Tail also comes standard-equipped with a pair of bespoke his-and-hers Bovet 1822 watches, each a pièce unique crafted by the Swiss watchmaker and intended to serve as the car’s interchangeable dashboard clock.

The watches were developed in a close partnership between the Fleurier-based watchmaker and the British luxury automaker. Bovet estimates the total time for development and construction at around 3,000 hours by its most “conservative” calculations. The pair share the same overall reversible design for their 44-mm 18k white gold cases, which are designed in Bovet’s signature pocketwatch-inspired style, complete with a 12 o’clock crown. The “his” option pairs a polished case with a blue, alligator leather strap, while the “her” version opts for an intricately engraved, blue lacquer-filled case with a contrasting red leather strap.

Underneath their sapphire crystals, both timepieces feature an Obsidian Ayous ebony hand-applied wood marquetry on the front dials, which are used for timekeeping; the wood matches that used on the Boat Tail. The name of the watch’s owner will also be placed on this side, alongside a hand-sculpted and hand-engraved statue of the Rolls-Royce “Spirit of Ecstasy” on the tourbillon bridge, which “represents several weeks of work,” by Bovet’s artisans, according to the brand.

Flipping the watch over, we see the reverse dial, where the “his” edition features a dark sky chart contrasting against the rest of the surface, while the “her” model presents a bouquet of flowers painted on a mother-of-pearl base. Each dial also hosts timekeeping elements. Additionally, each of the watches just under the subdial features a miniature hand-engraved image of the Boat Tail, specially lacquered to match the color of the full-sized car.

Able to be used as wristwatches, pocketwatches, or dashboard clocks thanks to a specially developed mount within the Boat Tail, the watches are meant to serve their wearers in the areas of both their aesthetic charm and versatility. The latter attribute is bolstered by the use of a bespoke 60-second tourbillon movement which carries with it a five-day power reserve, allowing the watches plenty of time for operation and appreciation before needing to be wound once more by hand.

The price of the bespoke Rolls-Royce Boat Tail has been widely reported as costing up to $28 million, with the price of the Bovet watches included within that sum. It has been rumored the vehicle and watches were specially developed for Jay-Z and Beyoncé upon a special commission, though as of yet no one has been seen driving the Boat Tail to confirm.

To learn more, visit Bovet, here.

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  1. Michael

    Nice car. I’m planning to buy two of them, in case I lose one.

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