Bulgari’s 2023 high jewellery watch collection demonstrates what happens when a house with deep roots in both gemstones and mechanical movements treats those two disciplines as a single language rather than two separate ones. The Octo Finissimo — a watch that has set eight world records in ultra-thin watchmaking since 2014 — arrives in a new iteration combining anthracite-toned high-tech carbon with the luminous contrast of gold. The case is 40mm, 6.90mm thick, powered by the ultra-thin BVL 138 calibre at 2.23mm, visible through a transparent caseback.
The Serpenti Misteriosi collection develops the house’s history with secret watches — timepieces in which the dial is concealed, the time reading revealed only by opening a piece of jewellery. The Piccolissimo BVL 100 movement, the smallest round mechanical movement available, drives both new models: one in white gold set with over 33 carats of diamonds, one in rose gold with black lacquer and navette-cut diamonds. The Monete Catene takes the concept further by incorporating ancient Roman coins.
One version features a denarius bearing the effigy of Emperor Caracalla. A second uses two coins representing the legendary partnership of Emperor Septimus Severus and his empress Julia Domna, the two coins activated by emerald cabochon pushers to reveal the dual time display. Both pieces carry the Piccolissimo BVL 100 manual-winding movement, 2.5mm thin, with a 30-hour power reserve. Bulgari’s central argument — that jewellery and watchmaking are not separate disciplines but extensions of a single creative vision — has rarely been more clearly stated.