Bvlgari leads in Swiss Watchmaking

Since 2010, Bvlgari has won a number of awards for its timepieces—and this year is no exception, with an unprecedented five out of six of their newest creations entering the final selection of the Geneva Watch Awards (GPHG), the world’s most prestigious watch awards. This recent recognition confirms Bvlgari as a pinnacle of a new movement in the world of watches and comes right after Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix, Siar 2017 and Red Dot 2018 historical awards.

The Bvlgari approach to design has always been visionary, resting on more than a century of expertise and 135 years of High Jewellery artistry but just as passionately devoted to rewriting the rules. Bvlgari’s distinctiveness in watchmaking sits at the intersection between Roman architecture inspiration and contemporary design genius.

This year’s five outstanding timepieces embody that sense of daring in design. The first, OCTO Grande Sonnerie Perpetual Calendar combines two grandes complications, the Grande Sonnerie and the Perpetual Calendar. Neither round nor square, OCTO’s unerring innovation transforms Roman influence into a piece that is both groundbreaking and sublime. This watch is the single most complicated product mastered by Bvlgari. It includes: Tourbillon, Minute Repeater, Petite and Grande Sonnerie, Perpetual Calendar, Moonphases and the GMT functions, requiring one year to be completed thanks to the utmost watchmaking expertise.

The second, SERPENTI Pallini fuses jewellery with horologerie like never before, immortalizing the spirit of the snake in 18-karat gold, diamonds, mother-of-pearl and sapphire. The latest incarnation of the iconic serpent, it is a precious jewel with an exquisitely engineered heart.

The third is a special edition LVCEA Tubogas, designed for Chinese New Year 2019. Set on an iconic tubogas bracelet, the watch display is sunburst red, a fitting choice from a Maison that has long been known as the Master of Color. The fourth is another LVCEA watch, also with a tubogas bracelet and a magnificent skeleton construction.

The fifth is DIVAS’ DREAM Roman Nights. It is a feminine complication displaying time through the rotation of two disks. They symbolize the starred sky of the Eternal City. Following the nominations at the Geneva Watch Awards, all eyes will be on Bvlgari, waiting to see what’s next for the newly recognized Master of Time.

SERPENTI, THE MULTI-FACETTED ICON

Serpenti, emblematic of perpetual renewal, is the absolute Bvlgari symbol. For seven decades, the collection has been demonstrating its ability to reinvent itself with great creativity. Serpenti Misteriosi Manchette, a daring and sophisticated creation entirely in tune with the spirit of the Maison, wraps the wrist with a wide 18kt white gold bracelet set with malachite plates and featuring an undulating snake set with diamonds and rubellites. Serpenti Pallini symbolises masterful jewelry construction, since the 18kt gold structure of this creation is topped by several hundred subtly mobile 18kt gold beads. In an entirely different vein, Serpenti Seduttori offers a “bracelet” version: the 18kt rose gold structure elegantly surrounds the wrist in various precious interpretations. The snake’s head opens to reveal the hours and minutes hands sweeping around a black-lacquered, mother-of-pearl or brilliant diamond-set 18kt rose gold dial. The fourth incredibly precious version is entirely made of 18kt white gold full-set with diamonds, while the snake’s eyes are carved from sapphire.

Alongside these exceptional creations, two new Serpenti Incantati watches bring to life refined elegance. Coiled around the 18kt rose gold case, the snake on the first model is adorned with alternating diamonds and mother-of-pearl. The second one is composed of malachite elements. The mother-of-pearl and malachite dial materials are designed to match the colour of each watch. The playful and charming Serpenti Twist/Twist Your Time appears in a new 33mm case size. Interpreted as four new 18kt white and rose gold versions featuring colorful matching double tour straps, they embody the eternally youthful nature of the collection.

FROM A NEW SHAPE TO THE CULT WATCH

Octo now belongs to the exclusive circle of cult watches. Within just a few years, the formal aesthetic of the watch has had a profound and lasting impact in the contemporary men’s watches category. Through its successive innovations, Finissimo and its four world records have redefined horological frontiers. Moreover, Octo line is versatile, including exceptional and unique models such as the Octo Monete. This spectacular one-of-a-kind creation can be worn as a pocket watch equipped with an elegant 18kt gold chain, or as a wristwatch thanks to clever removable attachments. Its cover featuring an ancient Roman coin opens to reveal a skeleton tourbillon movement housed in an 18kt rose gold case set with baguette-cut diamonds.

The likewise one-of-a-kind Octo Grande Sonnerie Perpetual Calendar is equally magnificent in its own way.  As its name implies, this watch combines two elaborate and complex complications: the Grande Sonnerie (grand strike) and the Perpetual Calendar. Equipped with four hammers, the movement sounds the hours, quarter-hours and minutes on demand. Bvlgari is currently the brand displaying the fullest mastery of two, three and four-hammer striking mechanisms. The Perpetual Calendar features the full range of calendar indications – day, date, month and year – along with moonphases. This exceptional model is regulated by a Tourbillon.

The Octo Finissimo collection welcomes two new titanium-clad versions. The first of these wristwatches is equipped with the Finissimo self-winding movement and a dial bearing blue hands and hour-markers. The second, Octo Finissimo Skeleton, has the same color theme but with blue hands, small seconds, counters, power reserve, minute scale, and matching alligator leather strap.

DIVAS’ DREAM ROMAN NIGHTS: A POETIC MYSTERIOUS DISPLAY

The Divas’ Dream welcomes two poetic new Roman Nights models. They indicate the hours and minutes on two overlaid Aventurine discs, each set with a diamond pointing to the hours and minutes shown by sapphires serving as hour-markers and minute-track, alternating with brilliant-cut diamonds. These creations belong to the grand tradition of ‘mysterious’ watches. Crafted in 18kt rose or white gold, they offer a poetic and mysterious vision of time appearing against a diamond-studded Aventurine backdrop.

LVCEA DRESSES IN RED&TUBOGAS SKELETON

Lvcea has undergone a major evolution this year with the introduction of the iconic Tubogas bracelet, while the new skeleton executions embody the brand’s seamless blend of jewelry-making tradition and watchmaking prowess. These new timepieces represented the first major change in the design of the collection since its launch in 2014. The Shanghai event unveils a new 18kt rose gold and stainless steel interpretation of both the case and the Tubogas bracelet, framing a sunburst red dial adorned with diamond hour-markers.