If someone asked you to name the quintessential Roman jeweller, who would you say? Chances are the name that would pass your lips is Bvlgari, with its saturated, colourful and glamorous creations. This “unique cultural heritage” is something that the brand refers to in its literature for the Aeterna High Jewellery collection, which is its most expensive and opulent to date. Nestled within this offering is a series of watches – all inspired by the Eternal City – that fuse the jeweller’s signature 1950s-Old-Hollwood-Elizabeth-Taylor-meets-Sophia-Loren-style with Swiss watchmaking kudos. They’re collectively known as ‘Fuochi D’Artificio’ and draw inspiration from fireworks lighting up the sky on an Italian summer’s night. Featured are rare coloured stones, multi-coloured gemstones, pink and white gold, titanium, and platinum, all crafted to tell the world that Bvlgari is confident in its identity and here to stay.
“Flexibility and dynamism are infused into the watches, all equipped with the Piccolissimo mechanical micro round movement - the smallest round mechanical movement on the market.”
6. Fenice Octo Roma Secret Watch
For the horologists among you, this may indeed be your favourite of the new Bvlgari Aeterna high jewellery watches, largely for its mechanical ultra-thin skeletonised movement, flying tourbillon and 52-hour power reserve. This is the most sophisticated watchmaking evidenced among the new creations, but it has a real creative punch, too, in the form of a multi-coloured gemstone phoenix, set with 2.12 carats of brilliant-cut blue sapphires, further purple and pink sapphires, as well as aquamarines, rubies and amethysts. All this is set on a hinged door inspired by the traditional secret watch, which lifts to reveal the complexities of the movement beneath. There’s also the small matter of the diamond-encrusted bezel, case and lugs, including 11.42 carats of baguette-cut diamonds and 2.60 carats of round brilliant cuts set in polished platinum. As finishing touches, this genderless watch has a transparent case back, a blue alligator leather strap, and a diamond-set white gold buckle.
5. Serpenti Misteriosi Chimera
The Serpenti motif is a recognised Bvlgari signature, but it has been given a sparkling twist with the Chimera – a fire-breathing mythological creature with two heads! We can see that idea brought to life here with the head of a snake – concealing a watch dial - and a lion, twisting towards each other in a flurry of round diamonds, marquise-shaped emeralds and a smattering of pear-shaped emeralds. According to the brand, all this symbolises rebirth, eternity, courage and determination, which are powerful sentiments to wear on the wrist! The piece is actually based on an archival design from the 1950s and features the smallest round mechanical movement ever made – dubbed ‘Piccolissimo’ with a 30-hour power reserve – all encased in 18k white gold. In total, there are 3.42 carats of marquise emeralds, 19.78 carats of round diamonds, two larger diamonds totalling 2 carats, two pear-shaped emeralds for another 0.60 carats, and two fancy-cut emeralds for eyes.
4. Fuochi D’Artificio High-Jewelry Petite Watch
This is undoubtedly a sensational firework of a watch, but as fans of big, bold and colourful gemstone displays, this petite timepiece found itself at position four on our list. When the dial is hidden by a 2.11-carat round ruby, this secret watch appears more like an elaborate (albeit semi-flexible) cuff bracelet, exploding with pear-shaped gems and round-cut diamonds in rainbow shades. A special feature is the shard-like inserts of aventurine – a translucent glass with sparkling inclusions of copper – that evoke the night sky and serve to intensify the minerals on display. In addition to the central ruby, you’ll find 5.61 carats of pear-shaped yellow sapphires, 3.50 carats of rubellites, 3.14 carats of pink tourmalines, 2.45 carats of peridots, 2.18 carats of amethysts, 1.94 carats of tanzanites, 1.34 carats of topazes and more green tourmalines, Mandarin garnets, round mixed rubies, cabochon sapphires and pavé-set and round brilliant cut diamonds, totalling 13.50 carats! And, as this is a watch, there’s a Piccolissimo manufacture manual winding micro-movement, also with a 30-hour power reserve, which only adds to the luxury.
3. Serpenti Misteriosi Dragone
There’s something beautifully ‘Old Hollywood’ about the Serpenti Misteriosi Dragone and its triple-looping snake body with polished golden scales. As this is the Chinese Year of the Dragon, the brand saw it as only fitting to translate its Serpenti motif into something a little more mythological while also staying true to a historic piece worn by Elizabeth Taylor when she played Cleopatra in Rome’s Cinecittà studios in 1962. Similar to this heritage piece from the Sixties, the snake’s body is made with a tubolari bracelet, and its head is set with baguette-cut diamonds that conceal a watch dial and surround a Piccolissimo manual-winding mechanical movement. According to Bvlgari, this watch required more than 960 hours of craftsmanship, much of which was taken up by setting 26.74 carats of baguette-cut diamonds, 1.28 carats of marquise diamonds, 2.88 carats of round brilliant-cut diamonds and two pear-shaped emerald eyes in white and yellow gold.
2. Fenice High-Jewelry Watch
Perhaps controversially, the star of the Bvlgari Aeterna High Jewellery Watch story – the Fenice – only made it to our second spot, despite its rare 9.78 carat Paraiba tourmaline and 3,000 hours of meticulous workmanship! The first thing you’ll notice about this remarkable bejewelled timepiece is its sheer size and scale, followed by its colour palette of pink, lilac, violet, true purple and blue. The Creative Director of Bvlgari’s watch division, Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, reportedly wanted “to celebrate eternity with a mythological animal,” and so chose the phoenix and the colourful possibilities of its plumage.
Under his leadership, the brand selected more than 160 carats of gemstones, including sapphires, amethysts, rubies, pink garnets, tanzanites, iolites, aquamarines and diamonds, to create an incredible degradé effect. All this leads the eye to that super-sized Paraiba tourmaline with the mineral’s quintessential neon blue hue. Another clever choice is the radiating ‘spikes’ of white and rose gold that were inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s altarpiece located at the Roman church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. Finally, let’s talk carat weights. There are 51.74 carats of blue sapphires in various forms, 19.61 carats of pink sapphires, 27.54 carats of purple sapphires, 7.50 carats of aquamarines and more than 5 carats of pink garnets, rhodolites, rubellites and pink tourmalines. We could go on and on!
1. Fuochi D’Artificio High-Jewelry Manchette
An extra-large cuff bracelet is often evocative of powerful women, like ‘the Bracelets of Submission’ worn by Wonder Woman herself or the Bone cuff designed by female legend Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. Perhaps that’s what drew the KaterinaPerez.com team to the Fuochi D’Artificio Manchette (meaning ‘cuff’ in Italian) and its amazing depiction of mineral fireworks in a Roman sky. Requiring more than 1,450 hours to complete, this secret watch begins with an asymmetrically placed, diamond-set watch dial, surrounded by radiating lines of diamonds and topped with a 2.93-carat round ruby. From here, everywhere you look is bursting with colour, including 38.35 carats of blue sapphires, 3.18 carats of rubellites, 4.60 carats of yellow sapphires, mandarin garnets, tanzanites, tsavorites, pink and green tourmalines, topazes, amethysts, rubies, peridots, emeralds and more than 13 carats of diamonds. What makes this piece extra special is its contrasts between onyx, blued titanium and romantic rose gold; without these inky black depths, the gemstones wouldn’t sing quite so loud. Finally, a note on the watch itself, which is another Piccolissimo manufacture manual winding mechanical micro-movement with a 30-hour power reserve.
So, you’ve seen our ranking, but what would yours be? It’s safe to say that any one of these horological treasures is a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition, full of the Italian spirit, creativity and colour that Bvlgari is renowned for. However, for us, it’s the fabulous fireworks of the Fuochi D’Artificio that make us want to jump on a plane to the Eternal City and experience our own Elizabeth Taylor-inspired love affair!
