Long known for its iconic Serpenti watch, Bulgari continues to evolve the collection, regularly infusing it with innovation and elegance. This week in Venice, the Italian house of Bulgari unveiled its stunning new high-jewelry and watch collections. Among them: the Serpenti Seduttori watch. Inspired by the brand’s legendary Serpenti watch, the new pieces are gem-set wonders that elevate the collection in a host of ways.
Until you have it on your wrist it’s hard to appreciate just how thin the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater really is. Introduced back in 2016, it measures a mere 6.85mm thick cased up, with the complicated movement inside accounting for only 3.12mm of that. By way of comparison, a British one pound coin is …
After Xavier’s and Frank’s Top 10 watches of Baselworld 2017, after our list of the 10 most read articles of the fair (just to give us an indication of what collectors loved), it is time for your humble editor to come with his 10 favorite watches of Baselworld 2017. First all, before going into further details, this ranking is not about the 10 best watches of the show but it is based on my personal tastes – and as collecting dive and sports watches myself, you’ll see it is a little biased. From a super-friendly priced Oris to a complex Patek, here are my 10 favorite watches of 2017 (and yes, all of them are on my wish-list).
Back in 2008 the world faced a new challenge. The worldwide financial crisis began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The following year the watch industry was kind of nervous and saw a small drop in sales. And while the financial crisis went on, on a global scale (we’re still recovering from that), the big crisis in the watch industry didn’t really come through… yet. Last year was the first year that brands and luxury groups published numbers that showed serious signs of the crisis, and this year’s numbers are actually more than worrisome. This year the crisis could also be felt in the novelties as presented by the brands, not only during the SIHH in January, but also at the 100th edition of the Baselworld Watch & Jewelry show that has just come to an end. Still, it was possible to list ten watches that got me exited! However first some musings about this year’s edition of Baselworld…
The 100th anniversary edition of Baselworld has just came to an end. It has been another packed event, despite a strange overall impression and the current situation that prompted brands to be more cautious. As for each fair, the offerings are diverse but we have to come with our highlights. A tough choice but as we had to pick ten, here are the Baselworld 2017 watches that have caught my eyes – presented without specific order… But as always with Monochrome watches, it is guaranteed 100% quartz- and android-free!
In early 2017, Bulgari unveiled a new addition to its emblematic Octo collection. True to the designs codes of the collection, (in particular a circle framed by an octagon), the lines of Roma have been smoothed featuring only 58 facets instead of the traditional 110 of the regular models. The Roma captures the traditional chic of the collection with urban, universal appeal. Inspired by a bold and nonconformist vision of watchmaking, the Roma is now enhanced with a luminescent tourbillon movement, revealing its inner workings in complete transparency. Meet the Bulgari Octo Tourbillon Sapphire.
Bulgari makes headlines again, this time with “the world’s thinnest automatic movement“. After presenting the thinnest Tourbillon watch and movement (Baselworld 2014) and thinnest minute repeater (Baselworld 2016), we hoped Bulgari would set its sights on breaking yet another record. We were not disappointed…! Presenting the Octo Finissimo Automatic powered by a staggering thin 2.23 mm self-winding movement. Let’s take a closer look at the new world record holder.
Since over a decade now (designed by Bulgari’s Roman design department in 2004), the Octo has become the iconic watch collection of the brand, known for its delicate and precious jewellery creations but also now for some distinctive watchmaking products (see the Finissimo collection and you’ll understand…) Yet, as desirable this watch is, it is a razor-sharp design, with no fewer than 110 facets and a shape that can’t go unnoticed. This year, the brand gives an answer to those for whom the Octo is simply too bold, with a more delicate and softer creation, still impregnated with the Octagonal DNA, the Bulgari Octo Roma.
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton – The record-breaking Octo Finissimo Tourbillon now comes in a ‘skeleton’ version. The perfect opportunity to satisfy our curiosity, taking advantage of the now unobstructed view of the inner workings of the thinnest Tourbillon ever. A testament of the Bulgari watchmaking expertise, the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton combines several smart technical solutions. More than that, its open-worked movement illustrates the brand’s design capabilities down to the very last details.
It will be hard to hide the fact that, since a few years, the brand Bulgari has become a major actor in the field of watchmaking. What has long been a superb jeweler and a manufacturer of jewelry-oriented watches is now recognized as a proper innovator and a respected high-end watch brand, showing to the world an great expertise in ultra-thin movements (in-house developed and produced) mixed with a unique design inspired by Roma. In order to understand the changes operated by Bulgari and to see what will be the coming developments of the brand, we sat down with Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari, talking about his nearly 4 years as CEO, about the iconic Octo design and about the new models for 2017.