Bovet Maki-e Watch ... Thunder and Wind God

Bovet, the 7th oldest watch brand in Switizerland, was known for making watches with with European traditional artistic decoration - miniature or cloisonné enamel dials.

In 2003, they worked with the Japanese maki-e artisan to release two Kaga maki-e dial watch models for the Japanese market only.

The dial design is based on an an original drawing painted by Tawaraya Sotatsu, a master painter of the Edo period, on a folding screen. Tawaraya Sotatsu-san is consider as the giants of Japanese painting. His work is typically Japanese both in its choice of subject matter unlike other artist during the Edo period, who painted Chinese subjects in a Chinese style.

Beside the well known Thunder God (Raijin) and Wind God (Fujin), other remarkable works by him includes a pair of six-panel screens depicting episodes from the Tale of Genji (in the Seikado, a museum near Tokyo).

The others fine work by Sotatsu are in the Daigoji, a temple near Kyoto. One of the outstanding works there is a pair of two-panel screens depicting the classical Bugaku dance; another work consists of fan paintings mounted on a screen.

Outside of Japan, Sotatsu fine painting can be found America. There is a pair of folding screens depicting Matsushima at the Freer Gallery, Washington. Another piece of fine work is the deer scroll  at the Museum of Art, Seattle, which combines delicate pictorial designs executed by Sotatsu in gold and silver with calligraphy by his friend Koetsu.

The Bovet automatic watch only come in 18k rose gold or white gold. The case size is 39mm with open clear case back, and the crown is set with a sapphire cabochon. It has a sapphire crystal, top & bottom. It is water resistant to 50 meters.

We believed the retailer price was US$31,550 for Thunder God and US$33,500 for Wind God.