Bulgari Release A Plethora of Delights at Geneva Watch Days
By Sarah Jayne Potter | 4 minute read
To coincide with watch fair Geneva Watch Days, Bulgari have released a beautiful selection of new timepieces that serves to showcase their innovative creativity and ability to turn their hand to both delicate detailing and robust manufacture. There is also an undercurrent of travel and exploration in a handful of their new pieces, and with the return of international travel to the world makes it the perfect time to peruse the offerings of this luxury brand.
Their concentration first begins on their new Octo Roma WorldTimer. The piece enables instant reading of the time in 24 cities and therefore 24 different time zones, a feature that will delight watch enthusiasts who regularly travel and need to keep time no matter where they land. The piece joins the brands' current Octo Roma collection and boasts a new integrated movement comprising 261 components, developed and produced by the Manufacture in Le Sentier. The intricate dial information features a central display of the hours, minutes and seconds combined with a double rotating disc on the outer edge: one for the 24 reference cities and another with a 24-hour graduated scale.
Made from a satin-brushed and polished stainless steel or in a black steel livery with sandblasted surfaces, the model is the perfect travel accessory!
Another piece to join the Octo Roma collection is the Octo Roma Central Tourbillon Papillon. This piece merges complex construction and intricate inner workings with simplicity for reading hours and minutes. As the name suggests, it is named after a butterfly, or more specifically it is inspired by the flight of a butterfly.
The piece has two independent retractable diamond-shaped hands positioned on a supporting disc, each running in turn along a 180-degree semi-circular minute track. While the jumping hour appears in the window located at 12 o’clock, the minutes are indicated successively by each of the two hands.
When the first hand reaches the 55th minute on the display segment, the other hand will gradually make a quarter turn to take a position parallel to the first on the 00-minute indication. The first hand will then move to the retracted position for the next 55 minutes.
Bulgari goes even further by associating the most prestigious of horological complications with its Papillon patent. The new Octo Roma Central Tourbillon Papillon features this high-precision mechanism integrated into the heart of the watch with a 24-hour jumping hour display by means of a disc on a ceramic ball bearing via an aperture located at 12 o’clock. At the end of the 60 minutes indicated by one of the “butterfly” hands, the disc jumps to display the new time in the aperture.
The advantage of the Papillon device is that it consumes less energy than the traditional minutes display, which has a positive impact on the power reserve. The sophisticated workings of this model are driven by a hand-wound mechanical Manufacture movement, Calibre BVL 332, entirely designed and assembled in the finest tradition by the master-watchmakers of the Manufacture Bulgari. It features a 60-hour power-reserve indication on the back of the rose gold Octo Roma case.
Bulgari also looks to merge horology with the jewellery in their new Divina Mosaica models. The brand takes inspiration from the splendour and indulgence of the Roman Empire, their historical roots, and the detailed Baths of Caracalla in the intricate fan-paved detailing motif on the three timepieces.
The Divina Mosaica Minute Repeater beats to the rhythm of the world’s thinnest striking movement and is housed in a white gold case with curved lugs and adorned with brilliant-cut and baguette-cut diamonds and semi-precious gemstones that capture and reflect the light so beautifully.
The fan detailing can also be found in their Divas' Dream collection with the new models created using luxurious rose gold, rich green malachite and striking blue lapis lazuli.
Sensual and feminine, they draw and hold every gaze, mirroring the aura of the Divas gracing the finest hours of the Dolce Vita era.
