Pascal Raffy, owner of Bovet 1822, visited Japan for the first time in three years in October 2025. He visited Wako, which had recently begun stocking Bovet. Raffy had previously declared that he would reduce production and increase the proportion of made-to-order watches, so his decision to increase the number of retailers was quite surprising.
Photograph by Yu Mitamura
Interview and writing by Hosoda Yuto (this magazine)
Text by Yuto Hosoda (Chronos-Japan)
Edited by Yukiya Suzuki (Chronos-Japan)
[Article published in the July 2026 issue of Kronos Japan]
Staying humble is the secret
Owner of Bovet 1822. Born in 1963. He acquired the dormant Bovet and became its sole owner in 2001. In 06, he acquired the former ébauche maker Dimier 1738 (now Bovet Manufacture), and began building a vertically integrated group through acquisitions. In just a few years, he has grown the company into one of the world's leading luxury watch manufacturers. Currently, the brand also sells its own parts and provides components to the medical field.
"In my previous interview in 2022, the proportion of custom-made watches had reached 40%, and it remains at around 40% even now." However, Rafi emphasizes that this is not stagnation, but progress. "Because the content is more advanced than it was three years ago. In other words, the range of custom-made products we can accommodate has expanded, and we can now accommodate more complex requests." Rafi says there was a model that triggered this, and shows me a watch.
"This is the Recital 30 watch, which we released in 25. You could say it was developed specifically for custom orders. Do you know why? This watch is a world timer that uses a roller city display mechanism to display not only UTC but also daylight saving time around the world. In other words, you can change the time zone display to your favorite city. Of course, you can also change the case material to your favorite material and apply our specialty, miniature painting, to the dial. With the release of this watch, our direction has become even clearer."
In addition to UTC, this world time watch supports AST (American Daylight Saving Time), EAS (European Summer Time), and EWT (European Winter Time). These can be switched using the button at 2 o'clock. It also supports cities with a time difference of 30 minutes from UTC. This model won the 2025 GPHG Men's Complication Award. Automatic movement (Cal. R30-70-001). 28,800 vph. Power reserve of approximately 62 hours. Ti case (42mm diameter, 12.9mm thick). Water resistant to 30m. Price: 14,960,000 yen (tax included).
If the proportion of custom-made products within the brand is increasing, why did you decide to start selling them at Wako?
"When we decided to increase our custom-made products, we reduced the number of our sales outlets by 30%. However, on the flip side, this meant that the remaining 70% of our stores were the best of the best. Orders for custom-made products are also accepted through retailers, so trustworthy stores are essential. That's why we formed a partnership with Wako."
Raffi sets clear strategies and steadily executes them. We asked him, who has been working with watches sincerely for over 20 years, about his secrets.
"I stay humble. I don't think I know everything about luxury watches. That's why gaining knowledge is what motivates me. I'm not a watchmaker, I'm a collector. I want to create watches that collectors can really enjoy, watches that can be enjoyed without the help of an expert."
It was likely thanks to this thinking that the Recital 30 won the Men's Complications Award at the GPHG (Grand Prix de la Watchmaking Geneva) just one month after the interview.
