Spotlight On The Carl F. Bucherer Patravi Chronograde

Carl F. Bucherer Patravi Chronograde – A Cornucopia of Complications 

Patravi means “I have achieved” in Latin, and it is the name of Carl F. Bucherer’s flagship watch collection. The Patravi collection is where the brand shows off its technical innovations and modern designs. Carl F. Bucherer, also known as C.F.B., introduced the Patravi Chronograde in 2007. 

The Patravi Chronograde was the world’s first watch to combine a time display, a flyback chronograph, a large date display, an annual calendar, a power reserve indicator, and a retrograde hours counter for the chronograph. The name “Chronograde” is a combination of “chronograph” and “retrograde.” In case you need a refresher on all those complications, let’s start with the flyback chronograph. 

A flyback chronograph is a variation of a chronograph (a watch with a stopwatch function) that can reset the timing function without needing to stop it first — the chronograph hand “flies back” to the starting position as needed, and immediately continues forward. This is much more complex to make than a traditional chronograph watch, where start, stop, and restart is the order of operation. 

What’s even more special about the Chronograde is its retrograde six-hour counter, arching across the 8 and 7 o’clock positions on the dial. The retrograde hours counter hand moves through a semi-circular scale with each passing hour that the chronograph hand is activated. Once the retrograde hand reaches the end, it instantly springs back to the beginning. Accompanying the hour counter are the 30-minute chronograph counter and running seconds subdial at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock, respectively.

Moving on to the annual calendar; this complication means that the wearer only needs to adjust the date on March 1st due to February’s shorter and varying lengths. Other than the once-a-year tuning, an annual calendar will know if a month has 30 or 31 days and will regulate accordingly to indicate the correct date. The calendar indications on the Patravi Chronograde include the oversized double date window under 12 o’clock, elegantly encased within a curved frame, as well as the month indicator, tucked in between 4 and 5 and magnified by a lens. 

Finally, sitting right above 6 o’clock is the power reserve indicator, which will let you know if the watch is running low on its 42-hour reserve. 

Driving the cornucopia of complications of the Patravi Chronograde is the Caliber CFB 1902.1 automatic movement, which beats at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour and is visible through the watch’s sapphire caseback. 

Rose Gold Patravi Chronograde Reference

This particular version, the Patravi Chronograde ref. 00.10623.03.33.01, features a luscious 18k rose gold case. The case wears prominently on the wrist, measuring 44.6mm in diameter and 14.1mm in height. The double-stepped bezel adds depth and visual interest to the face of the watch while the sturdy lugs are perfectly proportional to the generously sized case.  

In striking contrast to the warm tones of the gold case is the richly dark black dial, which houses a pair of oversized skeletonized hands — also crafted in rose gold. Other rose gold details that pop against the black background includes the applied baton hour markers, all the subdial pointers, and the frame around the big date display. 

Protruding from the right-hand side of the case is the pair of chronograph pushers flanking the screw-down winding crown. Both sides of the rose gold case are furnished with scratch-resistant sapphire crystals. The Patravi Chronograde is water-resistant to 50 meters.

The striking timepiece is finished off with a hand-stitched Louisiana alligator leather strap, fitted with an 18k rose gold folding clasp.

Sporty, elegant, practical, innovative, and luxurious, the Carl F. Bucherer Patravi Chronograde in rose gold is a handsome modern luxury watch that would make a fantastic addition to any watch collection.

About Carl F. Bucherer

Based in Switzerland, Carl F. Bucherer is one of the very few watchmaking brands still in the hands of the founding family. The company was founded in 1888 when Carl Friedrich Bucherer opened a watch and jewelry store in Lucerne. One of his sons trained to become a watchmaker while the other became a goldsmith — two skills that proved to be imperative for the company to produce watches under its brand name.

The first Bucherer watch was unveiled in 1919; by 1968, Bucherer had manufactured over 15,000 certified chronometers. 

Today, the Bucherer Group, which is one of Europe’s largest watch and jewelry retail chains, is owned by the founder’s grandson, Jörg G. Bucherer. And the watchmaking arm of the company was officially repositioned as the Carl F. Bucherer brand (often called C.F.B.) in 2001, complete with the debut of the Patravi watch collection.

Carl F. Bucherer currently offers five families of watch models: Manero, Patravi Adamavi, Pathos, and Alacria.

As one of the few independent Swiss watch brands today, a sizable portion of Carl F. Bucherer’s watch movements are made in-house (at the manufacture the Bucherer Group purchased in 2007) many of which boast intricate mechanical innovations and complexity.