It’s no secret that China and Hong Kong are the very heartlands of the world of haute horology, home to the keenest collectors and the biggest buyers. How, though, did this fixation with the world’s finest Swiss timepieces begin? The answer is engagingly simple – it’s all down to the bold ventures of one young enterprising precision engineer – Edouard Bovet.

Back in 1818, Edouard Bovet, a Swiss-born apprentice watchmaker working at London’s Magniac company, was transferred to Guangzhou in a bid to drive the sale of Swiss watches across China. Quickly gauging the size of the potential market, in 1822, he formed his own company – Bovet Fleurier – a luxury watch manufacturer specialising in high-quality timepieces for the Far East market.

Now, one of his hugely-rare watches – an 1830-made Bovet Fleurier centre seconds pocket watch – has come up for sale via the Hong Kong branch of Heritage Auctions. Encased in 18K gold, with figures of Venus and Cupid painted on translucent blue enamel, its near-mint condition is expected to help it fetch staggering figures, if certain horology experts are to be believed.