Bulgari

Bulgari Launches First Octo Roma Chronograph

Bulgari focuses on its eight-sided Octo Roma collection for early 2023 as it launches the collection’s first chronograph. In addition, look for three new Bulgari Octo Roma Automatic dial options and four Octo Roma Tourbillon watches, each with its own technical twist.

Octo Roma Chronograph

As an early 2023 focus debut, the new Octo Roma Chronograph introduces a new Bulgari movement, Caliber BVL 399, visible through the watch’s clear sapphire back.

Two models are included in the debut, one with a black dial and one in blue. Both feature an eye-catching Clous de Paris, or hobnail, pattern that appears as small pyramids across the dial, here broken only by the three sunburst-pattern chronograph subdials.

Bulgari has been especially careful designing the pushers, which are nicely integrated into the 42mm by 12.4mm steel case. The pushers are only slightly visible, seemingly flowing from the angled lugs directly to the crown protector.

The new Bulgari Octo Roma Chronograph also features a screw-in steel crown with a ceramic insert, is water-resistant to 100 meters and offersSuperLumiNova-filled metallic hands, indexes and numerals.

Bulgari attaches the watch to the wrist with a polished and satin-brushed stainless-steel bracelet with a folding clasp and includes an easily interchangeable rubber strap with each watch.

Price: 9,900 euros.

Octo Roma Automatic

Sporting the same fetching Clous de Paris dial treatment as the new chronograph, the three new automatic models each offer a three-dimensional dial option to the Roma Automatic collection. Differing ambient light levels will subtly alter the character of the dial, though the large 12 and 6 and the long hour markers allow time to be read quickly at any angle. The hands, hour markers and Arabic numerals are enhanced with SuperLumiNova.

Bulgari offers three colors with the new dial pattern: blue, anthracite and white.

This 41mm by 9.1mm steel watch with three hands and date is powered by the existing in-house Caliber BVL 191 movement decorated with Côtes de Genève motif, visible through the clear sapphire back.

Bulgari equips both the Octo Roma Automatic and the Octo Roma Chronograph with a tool-free interchangeable wristband system. Each watch is also water-resistant to a depth of 100 meters.

Price: 7,900 euros.

Four Octo Roma Tourbillon Watches

Two of the Tourbillon models, the Octo Roma Precious Naturalia (165,000 euros) and Precious Tourbillon Lumière (190,000 euros) both feature minerals within their cases or dials.

The Bulgari Octo Roma Precious Naturalia features a slice of tiger’s eye on the caliber and the indexes.

The former includes polished tiger eye on its caliber, mainplate and indexes while then latter glows with diamonds set across a 38mm rose gold case.

The Octo Roma Precious Tourbillon Lumière features a new 38mm case size.

Two Bulgari Octo Roma tourbillon debuts are especially contemporary. One, the 44mm Octo Roma Papillon Tourbillon (130,000 euros) is a black DLC titanium-cased, jumping hour model named in reference to the Daniel Roth precursors of yore. Sporting a very rare central tourbillon, the watch shows the hour through a fixed window at noon, while the minutes are displayed on a semicircle graduated from 0 to 60 and alternately traversed by two diamond-shaped hands.

A sketch of the Bulgari Octo Roma Papillon Tourbillon. Images coming soon.

The second contemporary model is an Octo Roma Striking Tourbillon Sapphire (85,000 euros) that revives an earlier flying tourbillon chiming model, but with a newly refined black DLC titanium and sapphire case. We’ll have more information and images of these two new models in future posts.

The Watches March 14, 2023

Bulgari Debuts Octo Finissimo Tuscan Copper

Bulgari unveils a new Octo Finissimo Automatic with a special copper-hued dial as a North American special edition.

The new watch is the latest in the Octo Finissimo Automatic collection, which Bulgari first introduced in 2017 as its third model in the ongoing, record-breaking Octo Finissimo series of ultra-thin watches.

The new Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Tuscan Copper is a limited edition of fifty pieces for the North American market.

This latest edition gleams with a new sunray-finished dial. Its color is inspired by the paintings of Italian artist Jacopo da Pontormo, an Italian painter from 16^th century Florence.

Bulgari says its dial makers strove to mimic the painter’s soft metallic tone, a color rarely seen on watch dials.

“Here, the particular metallic salmon tone – it is extremely rare in Bulgari watchmaking and has only been used once before – draws its inspiration not from the usual vintage aesthetic prized by collectors, but from the very roots of Italian art, that of the 16th century, and more precisely from a disruptive movement of the time, called Mannerism, which marked my own training as a designer,” explains of Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Product Creation Executive Director at Bulgari Horlogerie.

The new time-only model, the Octo Finissimo Tuscan Copper, is a limited edition of fifty pieces for the North American market, and is powered by Bulgari’s own ultra-thin mechanical self-winding movement, Caliber BVL 138, which boasts a micro-rotor and an impressive 2.23mm thickness measurement.

The thin movement means the entire piece measures only 6.4mm thin. Despite its thin size, the watch still retains a 100-meter water resistance rating.

Price: $13,300. A North American Limited edition of fifty.

Specifications: Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Tuscan Copper

Movement: Ultra-thin mechanical self-winding Caliber BVL 138 with micro-rotor (2.23mm in thickness); hours, minutes, small seconds counter at 7 o’clock; 60-hour power reserve; frequency 21,600 vph (3 Hz).

Case: 40mm by 6.4mm steel.

Dial: Metallic Tuscan copper sunray-finish dial, rhodium-plated applied indexes; steel screw-down crown with ceramic insert; transparent caseback; water resistant to 100 meters.

Bracelet: Satin-polished stainless-steel bracelet with integrated folding clasp.

Price: $13,300. Available starting in April.

Bulgari Expands Jeweled Collections

During LVMH Watch Week 2023, Bulgari launched new models in its jeweled Divas’ Dream and Allegra collections. In addition, Bulgari has designed new bracelets and added new curves on new models in the snake-themed Serpenti Tubogas and Serpenti Seduttori collections.

The new Bulgari Divas’ Dream Topaz & Tanzanite.

Divas’ Dream and Allegra

Look for new hues in Bulgari’s highly jeweled, dangly Allegra watch collection. New models mix topaz, tanzanite, amethyst, tourmaline, ruby and pink or yellow sapphire.

The new Bulgari Allegra Yellow Sapphires.

The new Bulgari Divas’ Dream Amethyst & Tourmaline.

And within the Divas’ Dream and the two new Divas’ Dream Mosaica models, rose gold or white gold watches are outfitted with quartz or mechanical movements while the Allegra models show the time with a quartz movement.

The Divas’ Dream Mosaica in rose gold. The design of the bracelet’s gemset lugs echoes the dial motifs.

The Divas’ Dream Mosaica with blue sapphires is paired with a bracelet created by Bulgari’s goldsmiths.

The transparent caseback on the Divas’ Deam Mosaica Blue reveals a finely decorated Bulgari self-winding movement.

Prices begin at 32,100 euros, or about $34,000.

Serpenti Tubogas Infinity

A year after Bulgari debuted the smallest round mechanical movement, the Piccolissimo caliber BVL 100, into its Serpenti High Jewelry models, the watchmaker/jeweler introduces Serpenti Tubogas Infinity. Here and for the first time, the famed serpentine shape continues from the watch case all the way to the bracelet.

To make the leap, Bulgari has added gems to the bracelet’s modular construction. Artisans mold each ring on the bracelet separately before then polishing, setting them with gems and assembling them on a titanium blade.

Serpenti Seduttori

Two new Serpenti Seduttori models offer deep black lacquered dials. One addition is cased in steel and another made of steel with a rose gold bezel and central bracelet links..

Here, Bulgari again creates a hexagonal scaglie (scale) bracelet that appears to merge seamlessly into the snakehead case. Both new 33mm models ares set with a quartz movement and a cabochon-cut pink rubellite crown. Prices: 5,400 euros (steel) and 9,400 euros (steel with rose gold bezel).

The Watches November 30, 2022

Bulgari Teams With Phillips for New Octo Finissimo

As the Bulgari Octo Finissimo celebrates its ten-year anniversary, the originator of the design and the Phillips auction house have teamed to create the Octo Finissimo Special Edition Phillips in Association with Bacs and Russo, a limited edition model that echoes the collection’s monochromatic dial, thin octagonal case and symmetric design elements.

The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Special Edition Phillips in Association with Bacs and Russo.

Since Bulgari designs always reference Roman architecture, the new special edition also retains the Roman sense of geometric symmetry. Thus, around the center of the sand-blasted titanium dial you’ll see a symmetric set of engraved markers with only the 12 and 6 breaking the pattern. The new watch eliminates the seconds subdial found on the historic Octo Finissimo design, a decision that highlights the full round dial within the eight-sided case.

“With this sectored dial design, our intent was to create a symmetry and pay tribute not only to Bulgari’s Italian roots, but also to the great Italian architects and designers of the 20th century,” explains Aurel Bacs, Senior Consultant, Bacs & Russo.

“By eschewing the small seconds counter, a first for this model, we wanted to draw the focus on the engraved dial with its large numerals and the chapter ring whose color sways from black to grey to bronze, depending on the lighting.”

The thin 40mm case and the bracelet are finished to match the dial in sand-blasted titanium.

Bulgari’s BVL 138 movement with a platinum micro-rotor (visible from the caseback) powers the watch, offering an impressive 60-hour power reserve. The watch will be sold as a limited edition of fifty pieces via Phillips Watches.

Price: $16,600.

Specifications:

Octo Finissimo Special Edition Phillips in Association with Bacs and Russo (Ref. 103709)

Movement: Extra-flat mechanical self-winding with platinum micro-rotor, Caliber BVL 138 (2.23 mm thick); 60-hour power reserve; frequency 21,600 vph (3 Hz).

Case: 40mm sand-blasted 40mm titanium, transparent case back with special engraving on the sapphire crystal on the reverse side, water-resistant to 30 meters.

Dial: Laser-engraved sand-blasted titanium.

Bracelet: Sandblasted titanium with integrated folding clasp.

Price: $16,600.

The Watches August 31, 2022

Bulgari Debuts Two Collaborations and New Pink Gold and Black Ceramic Watches

Especially notable among Bulgari’s late 2022 debuts, which premiere this week during Geneva Watch Days, are two special editions created in collaboration with Japanese designers.

One watch, made with architect Kazuyo Sejima, is a limited edition Octo Finissimo with a mirror-effect dial, while the second is a silver-toned model series made with Japanese artist Sorayama that extends the recently revived Bulgari Aluminum collection.

The Octo Finissimo Sejima Edition stems from a collaboration between Bulgari and the Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima.

Both these special editions arrive as part of an impressive, wide-ranging set of debuts for the Italo-Swiss watchmaker/jeweler.

The new Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic, now in a satin-brushed rose gold case and with a subtle brown-lacquered dial.

The full range of Bulgari debuts, which we’ll detail in future posts, includes several premiere pink- or rose-gold-cased models within the Octo Finissimo collection.

The new Bulgari Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days debuts a new hand-wound manufacture movement, caliber BVL 199 SK, with an 8-day power reserve.

These include new gold watches within the Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days, the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic ($35,800) series and the Octo Finissimo Automatic reference.

The back of the new Bulgari Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days exposes the new caliber BVL 199 SK.

One of those debuts, the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days ($37,300), marks the launch of a sharp-looking new hand-wound manufacture movement, caliber BVL 199 SK, with an 8-day power reserve.

The new Bulgari Serpenti Seduttori Black.

Bulgari also added newly blackened steel or ceramic cases and bracelets to models within its Serpenti Seduttori, Serpenti Spiga and Bvlgari Bvlgari collections.

The new Bvlgari Bvlgari Black, available in 41mm and 33mm case sizes.

The new Bulgari Serpenti Spiga Ceramic boasts a 35mm black ceramic case and a rose gold bezel set with diamonds.

And finally, look for a new white gold Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon set with black spinel and diamonds ($185,000).

The new white gold Serpenti Seduttori Tourbillon is set with black spinel and diamonds.

Octo Finissimo Sejima Edition

Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima, who holds the 2010 Pritzker Prize among many other architecture awards, focuses the eye with a mirrored dial under a dot-pattern sapphire crystal on her version of the eight-sided Bulgari Octo Finissimo. The effect is mesmerizing, especially with the entire dial framed in a 36.6mm polished stainless steel case.

According to Bulgari, the idea bring together a “contrast between material and transparency, the visible and the invisible,” which Sejima devised in part to reflect the aesthetic codes apparent in her architectural work.

The architect’’s signature is inscribed on the sapphire crystal caseback, which opens up the nicely decorated automatic Manufacture movement, BVL Calibre 138 – complete with (surprise!) a platinum micro-rotor.

Bulgari will make the Octo Finissimo Sejima Edition as a 360-piece limited edition and will delivered it in a special mirrored steel box. Price: $14,100.

Aluminum Sorayama

The shapes and textures on this Bulgari Aluminum Sorayama Special Edition are meant to recall the aesthetics of automobiles and airplanes of the 1930s and 1940s.

On the dial you’ll find pearlescent swirls, propeller-shaped hour-markers and only one numeral (2), said to be Sorayama’s lucky number. According to the artist, the swirls are inspired by the surface of Spirit of St. Louis, the airplane that Charles Lindbergh flew when he made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

The 40mm limited edition (of 1,000) is Bulgari’s third special edition Aluminum model since 2020, when Bulgari revived the 1998 design with automatic movements and updated technical features. Here, you’ll find a rubber bezel, water resistance to 100 meters and a crown and caseback made of reinforced black titanium.

The watch’s rubber strap also includes the watch’s namesake metal, with aluminum links and pin buckle. Inside Bulgari fits Beating inside the case is a mechanical self-winding movement with a 42-hour power reserve. Price: $3,300.

Bulgari Launches First Octo Roma Chronograph

Bulgari Debuts Octo Finissimo Tuscan Copper

Bulgari Expands Jeweled Collections

Bulgari Teams With Phillips for New Octo Finissimo

Bulgari Debuts Two Collaborations and New Pink Gold and Black Ceramic Watches

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