There are some watches so beautiful that they literally take your breath away, and the Amadeo Fleurier Tourbillon Virtuoso III is one such watch. Laying eyes on this grande complication feels like having the wind knocked out of our lungs – but in a good way. Seldom does one find a perpetual calendar watch more elegant and artistic than this, and even the most hard-nosed critics will not fail to be impressed by the delicate hand-engraving on its bridges and traditional yet minimalist tourbillon construction. Indeed, aesthetic disparity between the complication and the rest of the dial only emphasises the airy weightlessness of the carriage which although bridged, is completely unobstructed from view – a corollary of the convertible Amadeo case concept. This timepiece can be worn on both sides thanks to the reverse hand-fitting feature.

The third in Bovet’s Virtuoso series, this watch is a tourbillon with five-day power reserve and perpetual calendar with retrograde date. However, unlike typical perpetual calendars, the Amadeo Fleurier Tourbillon Virtuoso III retains its classical appeal, ingeniously escaping the often-unavoidable quartet of sub-dials aesthete by implementing transparent discs for the day and month. It also combines the retrograde date with the hours and minutes, and uses just an arrowhead instead of an entire date hand. Finally, discreetly at 12 o’clock one can find the leap year, as well as the power reserve indications.

Like all Amadeo models, this one is fully convertible and morphs from wristwatch to pocket watch and table clock easily – simply release the leather strap by depressing the sapphire cabochons on either side of the bow-shaped lugs and attach the pocket watch chain or use as is. Its movement, elaborately named the Calibre Virtuoso III Spécialité Horlogère Dimier 1738, is manually-wound and comprises 656 components. The 46mm watch comes in red or white gold and is limited to just 39 pieces for each version ($498,000 in rose gold).