The Biver Automatique is one of the darlings of the watch industry from the past year or so. A modern take on traditional three-hand dress watches with elements of sector style design. Compared to the maximalist Carillon it’s positively minimalist. Now, two new editions are joining the available range. The Biver Automatique Yellow Gold and Atelier Series Carbon Edition.
First, the Yellow Gold version is pretty self-explanatory. It takes the established 39mm case and dial from the rose gold model and presents them in yellow gold. That’s about it. One of the key aspects of it being the brushed finish that picks up on the light beautifully as it passes over the metal. Giving the piece a nice bit of punctuation are the anthracite hour markers and hands that stand out prominently against the gold of the dial.
Things get a little more complex with the Atelier Series Carbon Edition, which sits alongside the obsidian and pietersite models that add extra materials to the display. Specifically, the central disc of the dial and the hour scale are made from carbon fibre. You can tell that it’s carbon fibre rather than forged carbon or any of the other carbon composites used in watchmaking because of the regular pattern woven across its surface. That’s presented in juxtaposition to the yellow gold case and yellow gold bands on the dial.
It’s a battle between the traditional and modern, which is kind of the thematic core of the Automatique collection anyway. Though the movement inside is modern, the calibre JCB.003-C with automatic micro-rotor and 65-hour power reserve. It looks fabulous through the exhibition caseback, finished to the absolute nines (even the bits you can’t see).
As for price, the Yellow Gold is CHF 75,000 and the Atelier Series Carbon Edition is CHF 89,000 (approx. £70,500/£83,600). I always forget how expensive the Automatique is. But the exclusivity of such a detailed and hand-finished piece is part of the appeal and prestige of the collection. Safe to say the ‘average’ collector is not the Biver target audience.
Price and Specs:
Model:
Biver
Automatique Yellow Gold & Atelier Series Carbon Edition
Case:
39mm
diameter x 10mm thickness x 47.55mm lug-to-lug, 18K yellow gold 3N
Dial:
Solid
18K yellow gold with vertically brushed and circular grained finish and carbon fibre with 18k yellow gold ring
Water resistance:
80m
(8 bar)
Movement:
JCB
calibre JCB-003-C, automatic, micro-rotor, 36 jewels
Frequency:
25,200
vph (3.5 Hz)
Power reserve:
65h
Functions:
Hours,
minutes, seconds
Strap:
Black
nubuck leather with 18k yellow gold pin buckle or black braided rubber with leather-lined interior and 18k yellow gold pin buckle
Price:
CHF
75,000 (yellow gold) and CHF 89,000 (carbon edition) (excl. taxes) (approx. £70,500/£83,600)
More details Biver.
Oracle Time