Italian luxury jeweler and watchmaker Bulgari has become renowned for its extremely beautiful timepieces in recent years. Baroque Access takes a look at their latest limited edition, the Bulgari Octo Tourbillon Sapphire
Bulgari is becoming synonymous with extremely complicated masterpieces of horology, and their latest timepiece is no exception. The recently revealed Bulgari Octo Tourbillon Sapphire is, in fact, quite unique, and a step up from the technological innovations the Italian luxury watchmaker has created in the past.
This new model features innovative movement architecture that uses the bridges of the caliber as indicators of the hours. These bridges are also coated with DLC and feature luminescent green material that provides a shock of color and an extremely legible skeletonized dial.
Although this Italian luxury brand is better known as a jeweler than a watchmaker, it is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in the watchmaking industry. Bulgari, which was originally founded in 1884, only started creating watches in the 1970s. In 2000, Bulgari acquired two established luxury Swiss watchmaking companies – Gerald Genta ad Daniel Roth SA. To this day, one can see traces of distinctive Gerald Genta design in the Bulgari Octo collection of watches, and this is also evident in the latest Bulgari Octo iteration.
The Bulgari Octo Tourbillon Sapphire boasts a 44mm, geometric titanium watchcase coated with green luminescent DLC and features both polished and brushed surfaces. The case is inspired by motifs decorating the Basilica of Maxentius, an ancient building in the Roman Forum in Rome, which is a reference to Bulgari’s initial Italian roots.
As its name implies, the watch is a striking blue color – this color is repeated in the stitching on the rubber-lined black alligator leather strap. Another important feature is the timepiece’s in-house caliber BVL206 that is manually wound and is regulated by a flying tourbillon at 6 o’ clock that makes a full rotation every 60 seconds. The new iteration, which boasts a generous 64-hour power reserve, was first revealed at Baselworld 2017 where it was declared one of the most futuristic timepieces.
The watch, which is limited to just 50 pieces, comes in two versions, including DLC-coated titanium (approximately $65,000) and 18-karat pink gold (around $78,000). Its case is water-resistant to approximately 50 meters.