Biver’s New AB Is Its First Steel and Manual-Wind Watch
A black DLC-treated 2N yellow-gold dial and onyx outer ring give the brand’s smallest watch a richer visual contrast.
Summary
Biver released its first steel manual-wind watch, the 38mm AB.
The 38mm model pairs black DLC-treated 2N gold with onyx detailing.
Its new JCB-004 calibre delivers approximately 120 hours of power reserve.
Biver is answering one of its collectors’ most persistent requests with the new AB, the independent Maison’s first-ever stainless-steel watch — and its first manually wound model. Rather than simply recasing the existing Automatique in steel, Pierre and Jean-Claude Biver approached the project as a clean-sheet exercise, developing a new case, dial construction and movement specifically for the watch.
The result is also Biver’s smallest model to date, measuring 38mm across and 9.8mm thick, with a steel bracelet and more restrained proportions intended to make the watch easier to wear every day. Despite the simpler hours-minutes-seconds format, the AB retains the brand’s highly finished approach, creating a deliberate contrast between its hard-wearing steel exterior and the level of decorative work usually associated with more precious-metal pieces.
The dial is where that contrast becomes most visible. A 2N yellow-gold dial is treated with black DLC and paired with an onyx outer ring, while the minute track itself is rendered in 18K 2N yellow gold using a metallisation technique that lays the track directly onto the stone. Matching yellow-gold hands are satin-finished and hand-bevelled, while a small-seconds display sits at 6 o’clock with Biver’s zero-reset mechanism, snapping the seconds hand back to zero when the crown is pulled for more precise setting.
At 12 o’clock, an arcing power-reserve display uses a small gold pin to indicate remaining energy. The watch is powered by the newly developed JCB-004 caliber, a twin-barrel, manually wound movement delivering approximately 120 hours of power reserve. Its PD210 white-gold mainplate and bridges – a palladium-rich alloy chosen for its resistance to tarnishing – are extensively hand-finished, including circular graining and newly introduced sandblasted bridge surfaces.
Each AB is assembled from start to finish by a single watchmaker and is supplied on Biver’s steel bracelet, with an additional Bahia calf-leather strap and steel buckle included. The case offers 80 meters of water resistance, while the JCB-004 runs at 3 Hz and uses 32 jewels. The timepiece will be available via Biver, retailing at 65,000 CHF approx. $78,700 USD).
