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Kong
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The BVLGARI Diagono X-Pro

Without having to pick the watch up yet, just a glance at the muscular BVLGARI Diagono X-Pro,  would force a 'WoW!' from me.

Listening to the comments of some friends in our forum, this BVLGARI Diagono X-Pro certainly evoke emotion and excitement.

Not only it is a fine-looking watch, it seems to weigh substantially with a new case construction.  However, with the smart use of various materials, this sports and action watch has just the correct weight without tiring the arm (for a long wear) and infuse a feeling of speed too. 

For more details of the specifications, please refer to the  press release .

Below are some pictures, hopefully would arouse your curiosity to check out the X-Pro yourself


The Diagono X-Pro is a three time-zone and a chronograph.  However, it can be turned into a four-time zone using the chronograph's 12-hour counter.


Firstly for the two-time zone representation,  it is thoughtful to have halves to represent the day and night.  On the dial from 0600 to 1800, the light shading indicating day and afterward is night. 
Likewise for the notched bezel, at 1800 to 0600, it is darken with the help of the rubber compound fused to the steel. 

Besides, to indicate the 'night' hours, the rubber compound served as a  frictional pad to facilitate rotation of  the bezel using your palm, which is useful when thick-gloves are worn.


The bezel is normally locked and to rotate the bezel, intentional force is required to depress the bezel down to unlock and turn bi-directionally.


The pushers and the crown are fused with the rubber compound to provide a non-slip surface, which is more likely to be useful when turning the crown for adjustment of time and date.  For the pushers, the striated pattern reminded me of the automobile accelerators, providing a sense of speed.


Red is a also synonymous with speed too, which complements the 'accelerator -pushers'.  The chronograph second-hand was red-tipped,
while the small-second (9H) was full red.


Next is the clever play of contrast on a black dial. 

The markings and prints are on different level, if you observe carefully, it has a 3D effect. 
The hour-markers and the 'BVLAGARI' logo seemed to be popping out from the sub-counter-dials and the radial minute-train.


How was this effect achieved?  It is by printing on both sides of a sapphire dial.


Reference to the above slide provided by BVLGARI, the dial consists of two substrates - a sapphire dial and a solid brass-plate.

On the sapphire dial, the hour-markers a printed on the front-side with white Superluminova C1, and on the second-surface or reverse side,
the rest of the dial details are printed.




Another observation is the  congruent theme of he 'skeletonised' hands with the printed hollow-out hour markers providing the correct balance with the aesthetic and not a uncluttered dial.  Functionally, it also helps to see other hands, when they happen to coincide. 
Perhaps the GMT arrow-head size could be reduced, just slightly cleared of the date-window.


The case work of the 45mm X-Pro is totally new, so new investment in costly  toolings was definitely made.  This is the area which I take my hat off to BVLGARI,  as most companies will re-use the existing or previous components and tooling and just made few modifications to save cost and has a new product.



To enhance the look and feel of the dual colour  X-Pro, different finishing like polished, brushed and sandblast were alternated, which provide interesting contrast and light-reflection.


The new lug design which allows the straps to close in to embrace the wrist snugly.


A picture of the exploded-view of the casework of the X-Pro.


The 4-part , 104 components case was constructed for a water resistance of 100m.

Besides the rubber-fused bezel, the other interesting part is the top piece (just under the bezel).  Using light-weight Titanium Grade 5, the surfaces were brushed and highly polished till 'black-polish' quality.  Understand from other sources, processing of titanium, especially in cutting and polishing is more trickly than typical steel.
The Titanium Grade 5  for the caseback is also great for its hypoallergenic properties.


Interesting sectional view of the structure of the casing, note the beveled super polished top piece.


The caseband is made of steel and black DLC coated.  Though the DLC is known for its anti-scratch feature, the caseband has lesser chance to be scratched than the top-plate and the bezel. so it is more for aesthetic. 
Perhaps there could be a version with the reverse colour scheme or an all-black version soon.


Instead of plain boring rubber straps, the striated pattern continued and reinforced by steel pieces, giving the impression of ruggedness and strength.




Views from the sides ...





The straps would flow with the shape of the wrist, however, would need to have a minimum wrist width of 50mm to wear the watch.
Though my wrist size is small at 170mm (6.7"),  my wrist width at 55mm allows me to wear the X-Pro.

Before moving on, the above picture also shows the attention to details for the casework.  Note the lug-assembly.  The internal of the lug-holder was sandblasted matte, while both the inner and external walls and the screw were polished.


No effort was spared for the sapphire caseback.  Curvex shaped  to seat well on the wrist, beveled edges and gloss polished.


A full-view of the polished caseback...


A Valjoux 7750 base with with the added GMT module by La Joux-Perret Manufacture and certified COSC.
Decorated movement and with the column wheel black PVD.




Several wrist-shots ...









A case in point, that the X-Pro needs a minimum wrist-width to wear or to clear the lug to lug dimension. This lady really has a very small wrist, otherwise it should look  good on her. 

So if you have a lady companion or spouse with you, please request her to give the X-Pro a try.

Overall, the Diagono X-Pro is a magnet to attention, and must be viewed in steel to appreciate the fine and detailed work done with the case and dial.

Thanks for viewing.


Kong

Related Read:

The BVLGARI P10 X-Pro, for more pics, please click the links below :

bulgari.watchprosite.com

bulgari.watchprosite.com

Ed's review :

bulgari.watchprosite.com

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