Limited editions are limited to 30 pieces.
In its sixth year, GWD has established itself as one of the two main Swiss watch salons — and this is evident primarily from the premieres of major brands and the overall atmosphere of technological breakthroughs that hovered over their stands this time.
This year, Jean-Christophe Babin became the CEO of the entire watch division of LVMH, and now all its watch brands, except for Hublot, are presenting at GWD as a united front at the Hotel de la Paix. There was an exhibition by Bvlgari dedicated to the history of Octo Finissimo from its inception in 2014 to the latest world records for thinness. The event concluded with two premieres — Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bvlgari and Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon.
The Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bvlgari is made of titanium: a collaboration with Korean artist Lee Ufan, who lives in Tokyo and is a classic of contemporary art, and let’s say right away: these are some of the most beautiful art watches from Bvlgari. The company’s chief watch designer, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, says he is very passionate about the possibilities of different textures and materials and that Lee Ufan’s sculptures, where stones are placed on mirrors, made a strong impression on him. For me, this combination of a mirrored dial with a rough, hand-scratched case and bracelet evokes memories of a freshly flooded ice rink and its icy surface, cut by skates, or a frozen pond seen through a window covered with frost patterns — and this ability to awaken not just emotions but deep memories and images is quite unique for watches.
In general, this time Bvlgari is all about materials, and these materials were very Roman and even ancient Roman — gold, bronze, and marble. Bronze greets us in the Bvlgari Aluminium collection, which has for the first time received another metal. The essence is that bronze changes color from contact with air and skin, and each model of Bvlgari Bronzo, its case and bronze links in a black rubber strap, will gradually acquire a unique patina. Two models have been released — Bvlgari Bronzo GMT with a second time zone and Bvlgari Bronzo Chronograph with a small seconds counter and date. Gold and marble are divided between Octo Finissimo and Bvlgari Bvlgari.
The first version of the Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon — made of yellow gold with a green marble dial Verde Alpi — was seen in April at W&W, and now the blue marble Blu Incanto with platinum has been presented. Both are absolutely exceptional and have different, as they say, vibes. But the true celebration of marble this time is in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Bvlgari Bvlgari collection (the parent model for Bvlgari Aluminium, by the way) — here two different watch diameters are used, 38 and 26 mm, three types of marble — green Verde Alpi, dark blue Blu Incanto, and icy gray Azzurro Infinito, and two golds — yellow and rose.
Our favorite version is the 38 mm with dark blue marble, in a rose gold case and with the same bezel featuring double Bvlgari around the edge, just like the imperial names were engraved on Roman coins. And the numbers of the limited editions: anniversary Bvlgari Bvlgari — 150 pieces of each model, Octo Finissimo Marble Tourbillon — 30 pieces, and Octo Finissimo Lee Ufan x Bvlgari — also 150 pieces.
Hublot is currently outside the general watch celebration of LVMH, as it is not participating in Geneva Watch Days. However, it is still showcasing new products in its Geneva store. One of the most striking is the 42-millimeter Classic Fusion Chronograph UEFA Champions League Titanium with the Champions League logo on the dial and its stars on the strap. Chopard also followed suit, officially not participating in GWD. There were many new watches, as always with Chopard, but of course, the wonderful work of Karl-Friedrich Scheufele’s watch division was somewhat overshadowed by the jewelry watches Swan Lake, a true apotheosis of the figurative style of Caroline Scheufele, already nominated for the GPHG award in the jewelry watch category. And the word "overshadowed" has almost a literal meaning here — these are large, wrist-encompassing watches with a secret in the form of a real swan on the surface of a pond (everything, both the swan and the pond, is covered with precious stones — diamonds, spessartites, and onyx) and even with real swan feathers.
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