From One Icon To Another

Bulgari, Serpenti. For decades, the association between the brand and its flagship product has made its mark. Creativity, impertinence, Rome style luxury, the subtle union of Haute Horlogerie and Haute Joaillerie: everything was in place to give substance to this association that seemed to be forever. 

While it undoubtedly endures, it is no longer alone: since 2014, there is also the Octo and especially the Octo Finissimo. Only Bulgari’s Italian creative genius and perfectly mastered excessiveness could have propelled the ultra-thin watch into the 21st century. From a dainty essentially aesthetic complication, it has become strong, imposing, modern, urban, unique. In a word: sexy. In addition, as well as setting eight onsecutive world records in the field of extra thinness and even ultra-thinness. Octo Finissimo is probably the timepiece that has most rapidly found its place on the wrists of the most demanding collectors. Octo Finissimo not only embodies the absolute marriage of technology and aesthetics, it also merges them – a unique case in watchmaking. 

So Bulgari !

Today, two new Octo Finissimo watches are enriching the existing collections. Or should one say rounding off, since they bring a touch that might have been deemed missing. After a predominance of black and titanium tones, the two new models opt for warm shades. 

They are both attired in rose gold. The dial center is brown – chocolate as the more demanding will say – with a sunburst finish that diffuses the light towards the famous 43mm hexagonal case. But there the comparison ends, as the first is a GMT chronograph, a very beautiful complication launched in 2019 that is interpreted in these colors for the first time. We sense this subtle association, because it is counter-intuitive, between a powerful geometry with canted corners, and the daintiness and slimness of a movement that is only 3.3mm thick. Sophisticated? Perhaps. Irresistible? Undoubtedly.

Sculpting Light 

One might be tempted to see the second Octo Finissimo as a more demure interpretation of the Chrono GMT. While this timepiece is indeed quite understated, with ‘only’ three hands, it is just as complex as the previous one, yet simply more discreet. For the first time in this collection, we find alternating matt and polished finishes on the case and bracelet. A model for aesthetes and in which the natural shimmer of gold has been worked as if cutting a diamond. 

Two Snakes On One Wrist

The other Bulgari icon, which is resolutely feminine, takes the shape of the snake. The Romebased jeweler’s favorite reptile can be wrapped around the wrists of the most elegant women in a single turn... or two. While the two timepieces share the same bright, contrasting livery, alternating between matt black and shiny gold, there is a choice to be made between a wristwatch and a bracelet watch.

In the first version, Serpenti Seduttori, watchmaking reigns supreme. The watch and snake head are paired with a bracelet as supple and soft bracelet a second skin. Black predominates, which paradoxically reinforces the rare presence of gold on the hands, hour-markers and bezel, which is also gemset in a more precious interpretation.

In the second version, Serpenti Spiga, the balance of power is reversed. The bracelet takes precedence over the watch. It wraps itself around the wrist in an embrace that is not without sensuality. Each tour is punctuated by a row of diamonds on a bed of pink gold. There will no longer be any need to choose between between the dark side and the light side.

From Land To Sea

The particularity of the Italian peninsula is that it is a long strip of land whose median line is never more than about 300 km from a coastline. This atypical position has naturally translated into the DNA of Bulgari, a Rome-based Maison that cultivates both its terrestrial spirit and its maritime inspiration. 

Sometimes these two inspirations intersect and offer an unexpected artistic twist, as in the Aluminium Soroyama special edition, created with the Japanese artist and exponent of hyperrealism fascinated by the 1930s and its mechanical advances. The result is a 40mm model with a wave-patterned dial, as sleek and streamlined as an aircraft.

Back On Track !

On the road, Bulgari expresses the quintessence of the Italian engine: fast, responsive, accurate and capable of very high revs. The alliance between Bulgari and Ducati is therefore entirely natural, embodying the encounter between two Italian icons in the field of mechanics and design. Made of aluminum, titanium and rubber, the very first Bulgari Aluminium Chronograph Ducati Special Edition is a perfect combination of mastery, strength and passion. 

The timepiece faithfully expresses the spirit of the famous motorcycles, designed since 1946 according to a level of technical and aesthetic requirements that still sets the standard today. The values of the Maison – technicality, lightness, power – are perfectly combined with the DNA of Bulgari, which is constantly seeking innovation and inspiration to lead its pieces on new creative roads.

Today , the combination of rubber and aluminum – an approach that the Manufacture initiated as early as 1998 – simply conveys to the modern mind what a luxury watch should and can be. The innovative nature of the Bulgari Aluminium, breaking with the usual constraints of watchmaking, also enables this supercharged creation to deliver excellent comfort on the wrist, similar to the perfect road handling of the Ducati, of which we often only see...the taillights. 

The Call Of The Open Sea

At sea, Bulgari has chosen a diametrically opposed approach, paying tribute to the most beautiful school ship in the world: the majestic three-masted Amerigo Vespucci, which has proudly flown the Italian flag on the seas of the world since 1931. A special series has been dedicated to her, embodying Italian creativity while combining aluminum, titanium and rubber. Only 1,000 of these timepieces will be produced and delivered in a special case in which the Amerigo Vespucci’s maxim will be inscribed: Non chi cominicia ma quel che persevere (Not he who begins, but he who perseveres). A timepiece made for the open sea, yet equally at ease on the pontoon and in the marina, with a glass of Chianti in hand.