bOHEn

RomanTicism and HydRaulic pREssuRE

Ryo Saeba

“A watch isn’t a useful object, it’s a love story, a dream, a symbol”. Blaise Giuliani, the creator of Bohen, is an industrial designer. At the outset, he was a specialist in haute couture accessories and entered the watchmaking world THis wEaRER-fRiEndlinEss via Yema in 1993. The first sketches mEans THE waTcH suRpRisEs of the Bohen watch date back to 2019 (yet the reason behind the name Bohen remains mysterious). It wHEn TRiEd on. ouR minds conjuRE up an anvil, buT was imagined by an “old-school” acTually... noTHing could designer, and no concessions on bE fuRTHER fRom THE TRuTH! engineering were made. Given this watch’s resistance to hydraulic pressure of 100 bars (1,000 metres), its size plays a key role. It’s big, boasts a 43 mm diameter, 50 mm length, 17.5 mm thickness and weighs some 195 g (bracelet included). Yet, the size of Blaise Giuliani’s wrist is exactly the same as mine, i.e. about 17 cm. The watch features a special “something” though. The bracelet clasp is low: just 4.5 mm high in relation to the position where the watch would be set. This, actually, means that there’s no gap between the bottom of the lug and the wrist. The watch’s weight and that of the ratchet buckle have been calculated to ensure perfect wearing balance. Our minds conjure up an anvil when we read the dimensions, but actually... nothing could be further from the truth! The case, crafted in 316L steel, featuring deep-brushed and mirrorpolished finishes, is equipped with a helium escape valve and a 3.8 mmthick grade 5 titanium back, topped by a 60-notch unidirectional bezel with

THE inTEnsE bluE of THE anTi-REflEcTivE glass is a visual signaTuRE of cRysTal nEvER-sEEn-bEfoRE in waTcHmaking.

ceramic insert. It hosts the Soprod M100 automatic calibre (4 Hz, power reserve of 42 hours), configured for Bohen with +/- 4 seconds accuracy per day over five positions, Chronofiable® A8-certified by the Laboratoire Dubois and embraces an anti-magnetic cage. The black dial, one of the most deeply recessed on the market, stages L-shaped indexes, leaning on the flange and coated with Super-LumiNova® X1 specifically made in a gel form for Bohen. It showcases a three-hand-date display and is protected by a dome fashioned with the sapphire crystal that’s used in the aerospace industry where no impurity or micro-bubble of air is tolerated. This dome, which flaunts thickness from 3.8 mm to 4.5 mm, stands out with its dual-layer anti-reflective glass inside, coloured in an ever-so intense blue. A magnifier, set apart from the domed crystal for machining reasons, crowns the date at 3 o’clock.

Olivier Mory, watchmaker-designer for OM Mechanics in La Chaux-de-Fonds, examined this watch. He put it through a real product qualification cycle. As well as the chronometry and waterproofness basics, he dropped it from a height of one metre onto a hard surface (NIHS 91-10 standard test). Then he placed the bezel on a lathe. Normally, a motor is used for a rotation of 100 turns a minute over 5,000 turns. Olivier Mory increased to 360 turns a minute, 360 clicks a second. The watch passed the tests with flying colours.

2,424 euros is a reasonable price for this 500-piece limited edition watch featuring incomparable specifications. In any case, I foresee a logical increase though in the future. Top-of-the-class in this segment is primarily held by Rolex Deepsea, but I must confess, quite frankly, the Bohen has no reason to shy away when placed alongside it.