Tap the image to enlarge
Bovet AS36038-SD12
Ref. 33498
Bovet sits at the furthest reach of Swiss independent watchmaking, and pieces from this house appearing on the pre-owned market typically come from a brand better known for elaborate painted dials and complex pocket-watch-derived cases. This reference is something quieter — a 36mm round dress watch aimed squarely at a feminine wrist, with a white dial that dispenses entirely with hour markers, leaving the hands to work alone against a clean field. At that diameter it sits close rather than dominates, and the steel bracelet keeps the whole thing composed and consistent in tone. The automatic movement beneath means daily wear winds it without ceremony.
- Reference
- 33498
- Brand
- Bovet
- Case size
- 36mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- White
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Silver
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Pre-owned
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Learn more about Bovet
Édouard Bovet was working in London in 1822 when he sold four watches in Canton for the equivalent of a small fortune, and founded a company on the strength of it. For the rest of the century Bovet made watches specifically for the Chinese market: enamelled, engraved, often in matched pairs, with movements finished on the bridge side because Chinese buyers expected to see the mechanism. The name became a general word for a pocket watch in parts of China.
The company was revived in Fleurier and has been owned since 2001 by Pascal Raffy, who bought it as a collector rather than an investor and has kept production small.
Its signature is the Amadeo case, introduced in 2010: a system of hinges and a detachable bow that lets one watch be worn on the wrist, carried as a pocket watch, or stood on a desk as a table clock, without tools. It is an unusual thing to build in the twenty-first century, and it descends directly from what the company was doing in the nineteenth.
- 1822
- Édouard Bovet founds the company on the China trade
- 2001
- Pascal Raffy takes ownership and returns production to Fleurier
- 2010
- The convertible Amadeo case is introduced
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 36mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Worth knowing
- 30m means keeping it away from water
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
No. At 30m it will survive rain and handwashing, but not submersion of any kind.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as women's, though at 36mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
More Bovet watches like the AS36038-SD12
In stock, and close on style and price
