Badollet unifies in its creative philosophy the respect for tradition and human values with a unique way of understanding luxury watches.

    To provide a complete expression to the brand’s iconic neoclassical spirit, Badollet modern timepieces rely on the long watch-making tradition and craftsmanship of the watchmaker’s dynasty and also on the nowadays high-performance modern technology.

    The outstanding neoclassical expression of the Swiss brand projects the 21st century world view and knowledge upon watch-making history and its achievements so far in order to obtain the highest level of excellence.

    Badollet reinvents both the concept of luxury and the relationship with the customer at the same time it is raising the standards for the competitor watchmakers.

    With a 300 years of history and tradition behind it, the Badollet brand has faced decay and bankruptcy in the 1920s, but, after decades of silence it has come back to life due to Aldo Magada the owner of a private investment group from Geneva who has reinvented some of the 1872 models, upgrading them and making them competitive on the third millennium market.

    The 1872 Minute Repeater Badollet Observatoire, although it is not a new edition of the historical model, combines two of the most popular complications: a tourbillon, located on the sub-dial at 6 o’clock, and the minute repeater. The name, Observatory 1872, pays tribute to the model which won first prize in the first edition of the prestigious l’Observartoire competition in Geneva.

    In spite of its classical design inspired by the Badollet old pocket watches, the model features a rather massif 44 mm box which confers it robustness depriving it of the fragility of the smaller similar pieces.

    The design of the dial was conceived to convey the impression of a greater sense of tri-dimensionality, with its two height levels and, in spite of its partially visible mechanism the watch retains a very clean time-perception and time-reading.  The watch’s mechanism uses miniature hammers and gongs to signal the time.

    Unlike the other model of the Observatoire Badollet series, the Chronograph, which uses Roman numerals, the Minute Repeater uses Arabic numerals which give this latest piece a modern touch and a daring distance to the classic stereotype.

    Its ADB 1655 caliber it’s referring to the birth year of the Badollet dynasty and this manual loading caliber, in addition to its two prominent complications offers an impressive three days reserve.

    “In the excesses of society, aim only for the best” seems to be the brand’s motto, and if the watchmaker aims to achieve the highest quality possible it seems only natural that the product’s final price rises to its efforts.  So the 18-karat gold Badollet 1872 Minute Repeater has a base price of $240,000 but it’s the price can grow depending on degree of customization and of the customer’s specific requests up the $350,000.

Pictures with Badollet Observatoire Watch

Tags: classical design, watchmaker