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Bulgari Il Giacatore Veneziano: The complicated player
During our visit to Baselworld we had the
opportunity to learn more about the Bulgari Il Giacatore
Veneziano. I've seen various pictures and reports about this
fascinating watch but this was the very first time I was able to handle
one in person.
The Il Giacatore Veneziano
was introduced in 2008 under the Daniel Roth brand and was the first
watch with a movement that combined a minute repeater and automaton
complication together. This grand complication can be
activated either as a minute repeater by itself, or the automaton, or
together simultaneously. There are two pushers on the right
side of the case. The 2 o'clock position pusher activates the
automaton, while the lower pusher at the 5 o'clock position allows the
owner the ability to activate or deactivate the minute repeater
mechanism.
Pressing the upper pusher causes the
automaton figure to raise and lower both of his arms, which reveals the
dice underneath both hands. The dice are randomized and
according to Bulgari watchmakers there are over 500 possible
combinations. In addition to the dice players' movements, the
intriguing detail is the small flickering candle that changes color when
the automaton is activated.
Let's take a closer look at the dial. The highly detailed figure is inspired by Caravaggio's oil on canvas painting in 1595 named 'The Card Players'. The base material of the dial is made of solid gold, and the figure's hands, table, candle, and coins are also made of solid gold material. After many hours of artistic engraving and finishing, the dial is then hand painted and fired in a kiln. Here's a closeup picture of the lower section of the watch. Do you see all the little details? Notice things such as fingernails of the hands, and creases on his sleeves. Even the coins have denominations on them. As mentioned earlier, the color of the flame is part of the automaton movement and 'flickers' by changing color from a bright yellow to a dark orange tint.
The hands are blued and are simple arrow shaped for both the hours and minutes.
Here's a closeup of the dial near the 6 o'clock position with the candle with the flickering flame.
The Bulgari Il Giacatore Veneziano uses the signature Daniel Roth elliptical case made in 18k pink gold. The case measures 46mm by 43mm and has a total thickness of 14.10mm. The manual wind mechanical movement itself is only 28mm in diameter and is 5.80mm thin. This grand complication movement is designated as the DR7300 caliber with a power reserve of 45 hours
But.... pictures really do not do justice to this work of art. It really has to be seen and heard in person to appreciate the fine details. So here's a video I made while visiting the dedicated room that showcased Bulgari's Masterpieces collection. Each complication was displayed in it's own case so we took out the Il Giacatore Veneziano and activated the watch with both the automaton and minute repeater:
The Bulgari Il Giacatore Veneziano was a fascinating watch and I'm really glad to have had the rare chance to see it in action. I hope you all enjoyed the pics and video.
Regards,
ED-209
More posts:
Bulgari Il Giacatore Veneziano: The complicated player
During our visit to Baselworld we had the opportunity to learn more about the Bulgari Il Giacatore Veneziano. I've seen various pictures and reports about this fascinating watch but this was the very first time I was able to handle one in person. The Il G...
It was a pleasure to share the pics and video
Hi Salman! Hope you're doing well. Thanks for checking out the Bulgari Il Giacatore Veneziano. Regards, ED-209
I remember you post from a few months ago...
And to tell you the truth it was your pics that inspired me to seek out the Il Giacatore Veneziano. Thanks and have a great weekend. Regards, ED-209
Wish you were there to see it
Hi DRMW, I think you would have loved to see this one, the details were very nicely done. Regards, ED-209
Brilliant!
To be honest it's not something I would wear but definitely something I would love to play with. Thanks for sharing the experience!
Thanks Davo, it was a cool experience
The Bulgari setup at Baselworld was really incredible. The room with all the complications was like visiting Disneyland. Thanks again for checking out the pics an videos. Regards, ED-209
Nice!
Thanks Ed for the detailed explanation of the Il Giacatore Veneziano, and the videos sure help to better illustrate the features of the Automaton. Always interesting to learn something new - that the candle flame changes colour! With the candle located in...
I didn't noticed the shadows
Hi Kong, Thanks for checking out the videos of the Il Giacatore Veneziano. It was pretty cool to discover the flickering candle. I didn't realize that the shadow seems to be in front of the candle, maybe because I was using a point&shoot camera and th...
Thank you, Ed.
Something not easy to see. Not my kind of watch, but it's a nice piece. Thanks for sharing. Vte
You're welcome and thanks for looking
Hi Vte, The room was dedicated to Bulgari complications and it was the first watch that I asked to see. It's so rare that I had to jump at the opportunity. Can you guess which complication I asked for after the Il Giacatore Veneziano? I'll be posting more...
Fantastic watch!
It's even better than I imagined it. Thanks for the post, Ed. I'll be looking forward to your upcoming reports.
This is the first time I've seen it in action
Hi Allen, Thanks for the kind words and for checking out the video. It was exciting to be able to handle this watch and see the automaton move. Will we see you at IGOTT2? Hope to see you there! Regards, ED-209
Very impressive.
There's a lot more going on than meets the eye. The sound of the MR is to my untrained ear, very audible and clear and chimes at a decent pace. The watch is truly a work of art! Thanks for sharing fernando
RE: Very impressive
Hi Fernando, Thanks for reading the post on this watch, and for your comments. Yes it was very audible and clear to hear the repeater and the movement of the dice player was pretty cool. And speaking of audible chimes, I also had a chance to play with sev...
Are you sure that it is the first movement associating an Automaton and a M.R?
... on a wristwatch? AFAIK, it has been done years before 2008, by U.N for example ( I have no otrher examples in mind ), with the Genghis Kan, the Jungle, the " Forgerons " etc... Best, Nicolas. This message has been edited by amanico on 2011-04-30 00:35...
It's the first one with both...
Hi Nicolas, Glad to see you joining us here on the Bulgari forum! The Il Giacatore Veneziano is the first to have the minute repeater and automaton with the ability to activate the two functions independently or together. Which other Bulgari,DR, or GG com...
Thanks for the clarification, Ed.
To answer your question, I loved a few DR and GG pieces. Such as the DR Chrono Papillon, or the GG Gefica, and some Octo Bi Retro. The DR and GG names were very important for me, as there were interesting men behind these watches, true watchmakers, and Mr...
