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Presentation of the Bulgari Octo Watch - Full Report from Rome

Presentation of the Bulgari Octo Watch at Complesso Monumentale Santo Spirito in Sassia

There is something to be said about witnessing a smart company be smart. A historical brand in a historical city, Bulgari presented the world with their newest creation. And a terribly smart one it was. The new Bulgari Octo Watch was unveiled to eager spectators with the pride and confidence of an Olympic triathlete crossing the finish line. It was the same confidence that is always evident in everything they do; that allows them to do something simply because they can. And with this watch, the confidence that lets them believe that less is more. 

The setting was an old church in Rome, the Complesso Monumentale Santo Spirito in Sassia, completely fitting for the event with its dramatic scaled interior space. We sat in the first section of the nave where seats were set up for the press. In front of us, Managing Director of Bulgari's Watch Business Unit, Guido Terreni spoke of history, traditions, shapes and strengths as the new watch was slowly revealed to the public.

For Bulgari, the Octo serves to embody all the “eternal values” that are in intrinsic in Bulgari’s Italian culture and heritage. According to Bulgari, it is "a powerful masterpiece, blending the most exquisite aesthetics with the highest quality."
It was only appropriate that the backdrop happened to be the “eternal city” of Rome where the history was driven by conquest and power and there existed a culture of luxury and beauty and a heritage of boldness and magnificence – all values that have been channeled into Bulgari’s approach towards watchmaking and the central theme of the Octo.

"And this explains the deepest meaning behind our vision in Watchmaking: we have the ambition to create the most BEAUTIFUL TIMEPIECES in the world." 

If I hadn’t already seen the watch the previous evening, I would have been slightly surprised at their newest addition to the Octo line which consists of a black lacquer dial with simple hour, minute, seconds and date functions.

In the new Octo, circle meets square in perfect balance. It takes us back to basics and serves to truly celebrate the shape that’s been a powerful symbol since ancient times. With the stripped down dial, the octagon shaped case has become the true focal point of emphasis. Previous Octos used the same case shape. However the busy dials and intricate complications took attention away from the beauty and uniqueness of the case. In this new version, we take more notice of the watch’s physical makeup. Suddenly, intersecting lines are clearly visible along with the 110 separate facets that make up the exterior landscape of the watch.

The Case

The case measures 41mm in diameter, a pared down version of the original Octo case which is slightly more substantial at 43mm. While holding the watch in hand, one can immediately notice the difference in heft.  The new Octo is much lighter, thinner and less bulky and without a doubt, more appropriate and fitting for conservative business settings without being conventional. The stainless steel version has a more casual look whereas the pink gold model can be worn for dressier occasions.

With the simple dial, the intricate design of the case becomes more prominent and noticeable. One can spend hours marveling at all the different angular surfaces that the case contains. A Bulgari Marketing Manager commented that, “We stopped counting after 110.” Also, it becomes immediately apparent that the bezel is made up of two different shapes stacked on top of each other, a circular one atop an octagonal one. The sides of the octagon are visible through the inner edge of the circular bezel, giving the dial a double frame in a sense. The crown has a number of facets and surfaces of its own for the grip, when examined closely. The tip of the crown is constructed of black ceramic – a small detail with an interesting choice of material considering that black ceramic isn’t found anywhere else on the watch. Often a big part of creating a successful watch such as this one is the careful use and management of the little details because they are what make the watch distinguishable.   

Dial

If a contemporary watch as the Octo can be made to look just different enough to be cool but also mainstream enough to garner widespread appeal, Bulgari would be the ones to pull it off. They’ve already had over a century of experience evolving historical and dated looks and finding ways to constantly modernize ancient themes and motifs. If people are still buying jewelry with ancient coins stuck to it then clearly they are doing something right. Bulgari is simply a master at stripping way excesses and extracting the essence of beauty in all the designs that they work with.

With the Octo Watch, they took the most distinguishing element of a Genta Octo watch, the case, and fused it with a signature Bulgari dial and made it look like they’ve always belonged together. The black lacquer gives the watch a rich and elegant look while the date window, baton hour markers and the signature 12 and 6 numerals are taken directly from a BVLGARI BVLGARI Watch dial. The open dauphine hands were retained from the original Octo. The amalgam of separate elements results in the strongest integration of Bulgari and Genta DNAs thus far.

One might argue that this watch is more Bulgari than it is Gerald Genta and rightfully so. When Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Bulgari Watch Design Centre Director was asked why the Gerald Genta name was absent from the dial, he explained that it was no longer a Genta watch and didn’t have a GG movement. It made sense in a forward thinking way. Stigliani also mentioned that the Octo took 2 years to develop which begs the question, what else is Bulgari currently working on that we will see in a year or two.  They’ve acknowledged on more than one occasion that there are plans to develop higher complication ladies watches and definite intentions to expand the Octo line of watches. With the brand’s constant moving towards the next step in design and in business growth, it’s an exciting prospect for the public to keep up with the pace.  

Additional Details

The Octo is powered by the BVL 193 Caliber and fitted with twin barrels, a 50 hour power reserve and sapphire caseback. Since the case is much thinner, the watch appears to be a lot more comfortable to wear compared to the original case design, creating a better fit under dress shirts for men. The watch will be available in Stainless Steel (8900CHF) and 18 carat Pink Gold (26,000CHF). Boutiques should begin to see the first shipments hitting stores in the fall of this year. 

The design is a successful and intelligent direction for Bulgari, giving fewer elements more dominance, creating visual harmony and proving that less can definitely be more. The watch will appeal to those that liked the interesting design of the Gerald Genta case but might not have been crazy about the offbeat and colorful dials that distinguished the original Genta look. Creating a base Octo watch also gives mainstream watch buyers an entry point into the haute horology that Bulgari has to offer. At just under $9000 for the stainless steel model, the Octo is the most affordable sample of fine watchmaking with an automatic movement that one can get from the company. The price point is a more doable investment for traditional Bulgari customers who are looking to try something new and different.

Terreni concluded his dramatic presentation by showing an extremely well-produced video as are all of Bulgari’s videos complete with graceful, dancing technical images that make a watch seem more like a waltz through a metallic maze than a mechanical presentation.   

After the presentation, we were able to walk towards the far end of the church to where the watch was on display. I was impressed with how Bulgari put careful thought into even this detail. There is no question that Bulgari is the master of details. Standing in front of the Octo’s display case, I looked directly up towards the ceiling and saw an octagon shaped tower. It was the perfect frame within which to house the new watch.

Observing the crowd of people and international press surrounding the display, I noticed that just about every Bulgari male staff member was wearing the watch. I doubt the same would have been true with the Octo Bi-Retro or any other Octo watch. Just about anyone can wear this watch. After seeing it in person, there is no doubt that everyone will certainly want to. However, it still may not be for everyone. Terreni said it best in his speech, "The new Bvlgari OCTO is not for everyone. The new Octo is an object that exhibits achievement and competence. It is not for those who follow the stream. It is for those who are able make a personal choice and stand up to its charisma."

All photos courtesy of Oliver for PuristSPro.

Full Report of Octo Dinner Event at Stadio dei Marmi to follow shortly.

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