Mosaic is a decorative art typical of Ancient Rome. Loyal to its historical roots in the Eternal City, Bulgari pays tribute to this tradition and renews it through a spectacular hand-crafted approach: the dials of the two new Lvcea watches are composed of tiles made of gold rather than stone. The result is an infinite variety of subtly shimmering light effects achieved by the meticulous placing of the tiny tiles in a long and patient process.
The exploration of new crafts embedded in ancient practice is an integral part of Bulgari history. The refined gold mosaic technique draws inspiration from this resolutely new approach representing an authentic world premiere.
A 18kt gold plate is first cut into around 700 tiny square tiles measuring precisely 0.84mm each. Each of them is then placed on the dial plate, starting from the centre and progressively radiating towards the outer sides. This order of adjustment is especially crucial given that the artisan does not create any joints between the tiles. It avoids any misplaced light effects that might appear in the tiny gaps between the specks of gold dust. Rather than composing a specific pattern on the surface of the tiling, the artisan follows personal inspiration to obtain the best possible reflection. One by one, the tiny gold squares are placed in such a way that the overall gold mosaic tile is not uniformly flat. Only tiny shifts in position of the many times, together with slants barely perceptible to the naked eye, will combine to achieve this result that could be described as the art of imbalance.
Grains of sand
But just how does one place 0.84mm of gold in a slanting position? Beneath each of the precious metal tiles lies a… grain of sand that serves to achieve the slightly oblique position. Once in place, the 700 mirror-polished gold fragments form a surface which, when caressed, reveals infinitely small bumps that serve to generate the desired shimmer. After two days of work, each of the dials is absolutely unique.
These scintillating effects make it impossible to be more radiant than Lvcea, daughter of light as its name implies! Created in tribute to the sun dial and celebrating the inseparable ties between light and time, this collection has become iconic within barely three years. It once again takes centre-stage in a striking expression of the power of light.
The Lvcea Mosaïque models come in a 18kt pink or white gold case measuring 33mm in diameter, with a crown set with a pink cabochon-cut rubellite. It is water-resistant to 50m. The bezel and lugs are set with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds (~ 1.79ct). The hours, minutes and seconds are powered by a mechanical self-winding movement. The galuchat strap is brown for the 18kt pink gold version and black for the 18kt white gold variation.
These two rare creations are issued in extremely limited series.
