Released a couple of weeks ago during Baselworld 2019, the new Bulgari Octo Roma Tourbillon Sapphire is not only a very photogenic watch but one of our favorite timepieces released by Bulgari this year. The purity of the lines of its unique case construction along with its sapphire crystal middle case and the blue tones of its strap and blued skeletonized bridges are flawlessly combined in a very attractive watch that can play well in the boardroom as it would while sailing on a mega yacht along the French Riviera.
Posts tagged #Bulgari Octo
Experience: Tiffany & Co. Watch Box. Perfect Box For Most Timepieces.
An important part of our watch collecting lifestyle is to find the right box or boxes to safely keep our precious timepieces at home or while traveling.
During our watch collecting life, we've owned several watch boxes in all shapes and forms and from several reputable brands. Nevertheless, the Tiffany & Co. watch box is one of the best that we've ever owned. This fine grain leather box made in Italy is available in two different sizes —with four and eight watch compartments— and in two elegant colors —black and brown.
This box is nicely crafted and quite light, making it the perfect travel companion for those watchlifestylers wanting to bring several timepieces with them. One thing that we absolutely love about this box over other boxes, is the fact that you can lock it. It comes with a very elegant Tiffany & Co. plaque lock —in palladium plated solid brass — and two handsome looking keys with a traditional Tiffany blue inlay.
This box features four compartments that are deep enough to keep an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore and also wide enough to store over-sized watches like most Panerais, Zenith Pilots, IWCs and Bulgaris amongst other brands.
Based on our experience with these boxes, we would say that watches with a case size of up to 48 mm —like the Zenith Pilot Montre d'Aéronef Type 20 GMT— will properly fit with the pillows in the compartments. The width of the dividers between each compartment is a little bit over a quarter of an inch; therefore, there's no need to worry about over-sized crowns touching the case of the watch in the compartment next to it.
The interior of the box and the watch pillows are perfectly lined with a soft and nice ultra suede in light beige color and the sides of the pillows are covered with the same black leather as the rest of the box. The box also features a small pocket inside the closing lid where you can store straps or polishing cloths and there's plenty of room between the lid and the area where the watches are sitting. The lid also includes a Tiffany & Co. plaque at the very top and all hinges are not visible as they are fully covered by leather.
Lastly, it's important to mention that these boxes are a steal and you'll be paying a very reasonable price compared to other options out there.
The size of the four compartment box is 6" W x 8.75" D x 3.75" H.
Sticker Price $950. For more info click here.
Insider: Bulgari Octo. Evoking Gerald Genta.
The new Bulgari Octo launched back in 2012 is clearly a revamped design of the Octo Bi-Retro and Quadri-Retro predecessors. The revamped design is an improvement to the famous Gerald Genta Octo design, with a somewhat thinner, simpler case with finer lines. The result, a stunning watch in every way.
Bulgari was founded in Rome in 1884 and acquired by LVMH Group in 2011. While it's more famously known for their jewelry creations, its watchmaking credentials were very well established by the famous Bulgari-Bulgari collection. Subsequently, Bulgari acquired Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta brands in 2000 and along with them, their manufacturing facilities at Saigenlegier, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Sentier in the Vallée de Joux. Today, Bulgari relies on their in-house movements to continue to establish their watchmaking credentials.
The Octo has a case diameter of 41.5 mm, a thickness of 10.55 mm and it's fitted with a gorgeous black alligator strap and deployment buckle. The Octo derived from the Italian word 'Otto'—meaning eight— was named this way after the octagonal facets of one of the layers in its case that are clearly visible from the side and also in-between the crystal and the dial. The exquisitely designed casing is assembled by hand with a multilayer complex structure of octagons, hexagons, circles, squares and rectangles. There are a total of 110 facets just on the casing alone with alternating brushed and polished surfaces. The bezel has such an exquisite brushed finish that it almost resembles the finish of white gold rather than stainless steel.
The dial is a black lacquered dial with applied polished large batons and Arabic numerals at 12 and 6 o'clock. The result is a watch that reflects and interacts with light like we have never seen before. No wonder, both laymen watch enthusiasts and seasoned watch collectors have been singing the praises of this watch since its launch. The design is very elegant with phenomenal attention to detail. The beating heart of the Octo is the Bulgari in-house caliber BVL193 with a 50-hour power reserve. The beautiful movement can be seen and enjoyed via the display case back.
Our watchlifestyler and friend Mr. B, mentions that the watch is very comfortable to wear, and one of his most comfortable watches. The black alligator strap is of excellent quality, supple, well made and well stitched; that is no surprise, as Bulgari is also famous for its well crafted leather goods. What is pleasantly surprising, is that the leather comes in a naturally bent shape so that it wraps around the wrist right out of the box with none of the stiffness that commonly comes with brand new leather straps—no break-in period here. The deployment buckle is also of very high quality and the buckle snaps into position with a satisfyingly loud clicking sound. Some of the drawbacks are the lack of luminous material on hands and markers, size of date aperture and watch packaging. With a depth rating of a 100m, only the careless would take this beautiful alligator strap for a swim.
The Octo has a very affordable price for what you get, a perfectly crafted and very comfortable timepiece. Only time will tell if in the far future, if it will be similarly admired as some of the other Genta's creations. This watch is also available in rose gold. Sticker Price for the stainless steel model in this review: $9,500.
For more info on this watch click here.
