The New Biver Automatique Models are All about the Metal (Rose Gold and Platinum, Specifically)

The father-and-son team of Jean-Claude and Pierre Biver (now joined by the brand’s new CEO, James Marks) began its journey in 2023 by flexing some watchmaking muscle with two highly complex carillon tourbillon minute repeaters – one in titanium with a sodalite dial, the other rose gold with a silvered obsidian dial, both 42mm.
 

Today, Biver’s release of a four-piece line of deceptively basic three-handers, built upon the new Calibre JCB-003 automatic movement, hints at the new brand’s dedication to purity and tradition. Even the case size – 39mm – wears as classic, not bombastic.

“A watch showing just the hours, minutes, and seconds is the most essential form of our art. Distilling complexity down to its purest, simplest incarnation can be its own kind of masterpiece, found in its absolute perfection and discipline,” said co-founder Jean-Claude Biver in a release. “If you want to play the piano, you must first master scales and classical music before you can learn to play jazz.”
 

However, as humble as that statement sounds, it must be noted that the Bivers don’t really do “basic.”

Broken down into 18K rose gold and platinum case executions, the core timepieces of the new Automatique collection (as well as the special Automatique Atelier models) carry only a soupçon of 21st-century-informed design across the board, as befits a forward-looking manufacture that nonetheless carries a torch for tradition.
 

However, it is the small-quantity limited production Automatique Atelier series that strikes the most unexpected notes, primarily through the use of eye-grabbing stone dials.

The inaugural platinum execution gets a unique sanded obsidian dial that provides a muted starburst effect and leans into a monochromic presentation. Meanwhile, this first rose gold Atelier version receives a stunning Pietersite dial with deep blues, brilliant whites, and hints of orange in a kind of “milky way” cosmological presentation.
 

In terms of the Automatique Atelier’s pricing, the platinum/obsidian model on a leather strap will cost you CHF 92,000 and CHF 121,000 on a five-link platinum bracelet. The 18-karat rose gold/Pietersite model, on the other hand, will cost you either CHF 89,000 if on a leather strap or CHF 108,000 with a five-link rose gold bracelet.
 

The plans for an ongoing Atelier Series for the Biver Automatique involve limited production each year with new and intriguing stone dials. Stay tuned.

The core models of the Automatique collection, again one in a platinum case and one in an 18K rose gold case, up the style ante with complementary full-metal dials (the platinum version comes with an 18K white gold dial, while the rose gold version gets even more 18K rose gold for the dial).
 

While, at first glance, the metallic expanses read as monochromatic, the Automatique collection’s anthracite-finished indices and hands, dial beveling, hand finishing, brushing, and polishing – along with an applied railroad track around the dial perimeter – play wonderfully with changing light, exploring the variable effects of the exquisite dial metals used.
 

This new calibre combines a straightforward three-handed movement offering a 65-hour power reserve with a zero-reset function that snaps the seconds hand back to 12 o’clock for more precise time-setting. The case will protect the movement down to 80 meters.
 

The Calibre JCB-003 automatic movement also includes flourishes like a 22K gold micro-rotor, sculpted bridges that leave elements of the watch works delightfully exposed, stunning guilloché (including clou de Paris of varying sizes, and a spirograph-like pattern on the micro-rotor), anglage, and black polishing; no movement surface is left untouched.