Bulgari brings together two of its most recognisable men’s watch designs to create a watch which has the potential to surpass them both
by James Buttery
Bulgari’s multi-faceted entry to the sports luxe market, the Octo, is as masculine as the house’s high jewellery creations are feminine. Boasting one of the most complicated case designs on the market – no fewer than 110 facets, polishing fans – the Octo’s lines are razor sharp and one of the most interesting genuinely new watch designs in a very long time.
Bulgari’s answer to those for whom the Octo offers simply too much intricate detail, however, (or who would just like a slightly cheaper watch that retains most of the kudos) is the Octo Roma, an unusual but extremely satisfying hybrid of the Octo and Bulgari’s groundbreaking Roma design.
The Roma, aka the Bulgari.Bulgari, was Bulgari’s first watch for men, launched in 1975 as a run of 100 digital LCD watches intended as Christmas presents for the company’s top clients. Not only did the watch wear its Bulgari branding proudly for all to see, but it did so on its rounded bezel.
The introduction of Roma attributes to the Octo case serves to soften the overall look. Where before a hard octagonal bezel framed the dial, now a round bezel sits on top of a simplified, rounded octagonal case, the number of facets having been almost halved to just 58.
But this model is about more than just geometry. The Octo Roma’s case suits a leather strap far better than the Octo ever has, while the Octo Roma’s steel bracelet is a simplified, softened, more flexible take on that of the Octo.
All of these curves lend themselves to a very different colour palate than that of the Octo, which has always been best served by Bulgari’s inky black or electric blue lacquer dials. Aside from black and silver options, the Octo Roma is available with a sumptuous burgundy brown sunray-brushed dial.
In a final flourish of ingenuity the Octo Roma also manages to bring a re-emerging trend into the fold, namely bi-metal. As well as steel and pink gold models a bi-metal variant sits its stainless steel round bezel on top of a pink gold top-plate. The case itself is steel, so you just get that thin slice of rose gold, sandwiched between the two steel parts and set off by a matching pink gold crown.
The Octo Roma is a seriously accomplished piece of design from Bulgari’s Fabrizio Buonamassa. On paper there would normally be no guarantee that incorporating elements of two very different watch designs will work, in fact it sounds like a recipe for disaster. But Buonamassa has coaxed out the best of both designs and created something that is far more than the sum of its parts.
We don’t have UK prices as yet, but in Swiss Francs the Octo Roma costs CHF 5,600 in steel (CHF 6,050 on the bracelet); CHF 6,700 in bi-metal and CHF 17,500 in rose gold.
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