Bvlgari watches: far more than high fashion

I’m really impressed with the way that Bvlgari has come along as a watch company. Of course, for years the house of Bvlgari has been a very prestigious name, and intimately associated with luxury, distinctive elegant designs, and famous and glamorous doings, but watches – well, not quite so much. Now, things are quite different. Under the current management, Bvlgari has taken great strides to advance as a high luxury watchmaker, and the results are most impressive. Bvlgari fit and finish is excellent, and moreover, the watches are real contenders amongst their peers.

My favorite Bvlgari watches are distinctly different from one another in flavor. One is the Bvlgari Diagono Acqua 2000M, which gets back to dive watch basics–its clean, uncluttered, and non-gimmicky. It also has all the important attributes in place: an easily visible luminous dial, a precisely turning unidirectional bezel, a time-tested automatic movement, and truly exceptional water resistance (2000m!) for the most demanding dive applications. The Bvlgari jointed rubber strap compliments the watch nicely, being light in weight and strong, yet intricate and visually interesting. All in all, I think this is one of the better designed sports timepieces currently in the luxury segment.

Another pleasing addition to the Bvlgari watch lineup is the Bvlgari-Bvlgari XL Power Reserve watch. I find this watch, with its intricate silver and black dial to be superbly attractive, and the 41mm case size accentuates it perfectly. Add to that the power reserve complication, animated by the modified Frederic Piguet movement, and you have a very well executed larger dress watch with an expressive attitude. This Bvlgari watch combines classical and contemporary design elements with elan.

Bvlgari’s haute horlogerie watches, particularly those in the Assioma line, are also worthy of praise, but that’s a subject for a future blog!