A new piece from Bulgari, who has teamed with Maserati to present this piece. I appreciate the retrograde counters and the nice cushioned calfskin strap, but the “Maserati grille” theme on the dial requires some imagaination. Yea, it’s no Hublot Big Bang Ferrari, but if you like Maserati and you’ve got money to burn, put it on your list.
I debated whether or not to even go with this, but here they are, new for 2012 – the new Bulgari Diagono models with ceramic bezels. Really I am not much a fan of Bulgari’s Diagono line — these pieces are too entrenched in the “fashion” segment for a watch die-hard like myself. I much prefer, say, the very high end Bulgari Daniel Roth/Gerald Genta pieces (there are a few new models for 2012 which I will get to in coming weeks). The gaudy BVLGARI branding on the bezel is always what has turned me off from this line (among other factors). This said, it could be worse — the women’s models with white ceramic bezels, for example.
Bulgari Diagono Ceramic
42mm pink gold or steel case, automatic mechanical movement (ETA), satin-finished black ceramic bezel and pushers, black rubber strap
Bulgari Daniel Roth Carillon Tourbillon Minute Repeater
Here is one of three new “Daniel Roth” pieces launched by Bulgari for 2012. The first thing that attracts the eyes is the tourbillon at 6 o’clock — fully visible through a cutout in the dial. The watch makes masterful use of the iconic Daniel Roth case shape, and there are several subtle details which I find particularly compelling (see pictures, video below). The in-house, manual wind caliber DR 3300 has 2 barrels providing a commendable power reserve of 75 hours. In addition, there are three stacked cathedral gongs, each of which individually shaped and bent by hand and then annealed at 900°C, cleaned and fired at 500°C. The gongs are actuated by three individual hammers and strike a C-note for the hours, an E-D-C sequence for the quarters and an E-note for the minutes. I highly recommend watching the video as it gives you a good walk-through of the watch — minute repeater in particular. A really, really marvelous timepiece!
Bulgari Daniel Roth Carillon Tourbillon Minute Repeater
The Endurer Chronosprint collection is now available with a steel bracelet or a rubber strap.
The case, in stainless steel with rubber, measures 56mm x 51mm and has an AR-coated sapphire crystal and a sapphire display back. It is water resistant to 100 meters.
Movement is the Swiss automatic Daniel Roth caliber DR1306, an exclusive and unusual mechanism with a simplified (hours and minutes) chronograph movement that is useful for measuring long times, by contrast with traditional counters generally intended to measure very short times on two to three counters. The Chronosprint function indicates the hours and minutes via two hands mounted on a single axis. The large date window appearing at 12 o'clock is based on a patented mechanism: its dedicated construction is due to the off-setting of the hours and minutes functions which enables optimal positioning of the Chronosprint function.
The movement has a 45 hour power reserve and is finished and adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif and circular-grained surfaces.
