At the age of 17, he joined his brothers Alphonse and Frédéric as they left for London, one of the largest watchmaking capitals of the day.
After spending four years there, Bovet travelled to China, where he sold four pocket watches for a total of 10,000 Francs – the equivalent of one million dollars today. On his return to Fleurier in 1830, he had his own workshop built. Ten years later, in 1840, the Firm there had a workforce of over 175. Fritz Bovet, Alphonse Bovet's son, joined the company and in 1889 filed one of the first patents for a single-button chronograph.

At the age of 17, he joined his brothers Alphonse and Frédéric as they left for London, one of the largest watchmaking capitals of the day.
The name Eterna is synonymous with timepieces of the highest quality, with swiss watchmaking tradition, and with an outstanding spirit of innovation. The passionate desire to master horological challenges as well as to constantly improve existing features has been driving Eterna since 1856. It is, therefore, no surprise that the workshops in grenchen have time and time again enriched and revolutionized the art of watchmaking. Today, Eterna is still characterised by this ingenious creativity. The current collections reflect the brand's respect for tradition, alongside Eterna's commitment to pioneering new designs and movement technologies.