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.
Things to Know About the Watch
The Bulgari Octo Roma Tourbillon Sapphire is a 44 mm watch with an octagonal sapphire crystal middle case that has been carefully caged inside a sandblasted 18K rose gold case. Allowing for light to penetrate the watch from all angles including the sides, the front and the back, the blued skeletonized movement seems to float inside the crystal case as a kinetic sculpture. Sharp angles at the lugs embrace a semi-matte blue alligator strap with 18K rose gold folding clasp.
On the dial side, the fully skeletonized movement with blued bridges, 18K rose gold markers and skeletonized hands frame the exquisite tourbillon cage positioned at 6 o’clock. Thanks to the transparent middle case, each component of the movement including the mainspring barrel at 12 o’clock can be fully appreciated. The flying tourbillon performs a full rotation every sixty seconds. The main difference between a flying tourbillon and a regular tourbillon is that the tourbillon cage is not supported by an upper bridge but rather from the bottom, thus allowing for the cage to rotate every sixty seconds as the fourth wheel underneath it is engaged in motion.
In order to maintain the movement bridges unmolested by adding a logo to it, Bulgari has opted to discreetly add their logo in black lettering directly on the sapphire crystal of the watch. Depending on lighting conditions or the angle at which you observe the watch, the logo seems to almost disappear leaving a clean piece of horological art in full view.
The winding crown is equipped with a black cabochon integrated pusher that when pressed by the wearer, engages the crown into either winding or time setting modes. Indicated in a very small aperture past the crown pinion, a red dot indicates if the crown is engaged for time setting and black if its just set to wind the watch. Due to the use of this mechanism, the crown doesn’t need to be pulled out as on most watches.
The Movement
The Bulgari Octo Roma Tourbillon Sapphire is powered by the manual wound in-house calibre BVL 206 with flying tourbillon. This blued movement has been painstakingly skeletonized and decorated with 18K rose gold indexes on the dial side. The movement is fully visible on both sides of the watch and its transparency allows for a remarkable visual spectacle. This calibre features a power reserve indicator on the back by the 9 o’clock position.
On the Wrist & Price
On the wrist, the Bulgari Octo Roma Tourbillon Sapphire wears true to its size and impeccably. A very unique watch because of its sapphire crystal middle case and a watch with a stunning color combination between its warm gold case and the blued bridges on its skeletonized dial. This watch is limited to only 50 pieces.
Sticker Price $89,000 USD. For more info on Bulgari click here.
