Bvlgari Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon
Geneva Watch Days: Bulgari Adds Three New Minute Repeaters to Its Repertoire
The beloved Octo line gets three new minute repeaters, including the Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon, Bulgari’s most complicated watch to date.
By Cait Bazemore
Contributor
When you think of Bulgari timepieces from the past decade, you most likely picture an image of an ultra-thin watch. That is because the brand has dominated the category, breaking the record for the world’s thinnest mechanical watch and thinnest COSC-certified chronometer, with the debut of the 1.7mm-thick Octo Finissimo Ultra earlier this year.
Alternatively, you might think of Bulgari’s deep roots in the world of high jewelry watches (unsurprising, given the brand’s origins as a jeweler). Here, you’ll conjure images of models like the iconic Serpenti that have long displayed Bulgari’s prowess in watchmaking and gem setting.
Still, Bulgari’s breadth of watchmaking savoir-faire goes far beyond these two categories. The brand also has an equally rich history of highly complicated models.
The Queen of Complications: The Minute Repeater
The Roman Maison first tackled the minute repeater – arguably watchmaking’s most challenging complication – with the release of the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater in 2016.
Unsurprisingly, the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater, with its titanium case measuring 6.85mm thick and movement, a calibre BVL362, only 3.12mm thick, was the thinnest repeater when it launched.
Since then, Bulgari has continued to refine its minute repeaters, the most recent, being the Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon, released two years ago. This model, based on a piece by the same name, was first launched in 2021. And while the original featured a DLC-coated titanium case, the second-generation Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon model featured a major upgrade: a platinum case.
Today, Bulgari adds not one, not two, but three new minute repeaters to its repertoire with the launch of the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon, Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon, and Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon, the most complicated watch ever produced by the brand.
The Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon
The “simplest” of the three is the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon, which, as the name suggests, has the instantly recognizable DNA of the Octo line at the core.
This model’s case is rendered in carbon (a rarity for the collection) and features the collection’s signature highly geometric octagonal case design and slightly oversized 40mm proportions. It also maintains an ultra-thin profile measuring just 6.85mm thick.
Finally, powered the calibre BVL362, this minute repeater chimes the hours, quarters, and minutes on demand.
The Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon (Ref. 103986) is priced at CHF 219,000.
The Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon
Next up, we have the Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon. In addition to the minute repeater, this model adds yet another complication – you guessed it – a tourbillon.
Once more, the base of the watch is the Octo Roma architecture, which offers a subtler interpretation of the octagonal shape that gives the line its name with more traditional rounded curves compared to the Octo Finissimo line.
However, to accommodate the two powerhouse complications (the carillon minute repeater and tourbillon), the Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon features a larger build than the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater Carbon, measuring 44mm. Moreover, at 12.6mm, it is nearly twice as thick as the Octo Finissimo.
The Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon’s case is rendered in warm rose gold, which perfectly frames the openworked dial that puts the modified BVL428 calibre (offering a minute repeater, 3-hammer carillon, tourbillon, and power reserve indicator) on full display.
The inner workings get a sleek black DLC treatment, providing a stunning contrast to the rose gold case, the hands, and the indices, so readability is not diminished. Top it off with a complementary black alligator strap, and you have a handsome dress watch with high functionality to boot.
The Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon (Ref. 103933) is priced at CHF 326,000.
The Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon
Last but certainly not least, there’s the Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon, marking the most complicated watch Bulgari has ever made. Here, four hammers mark time with a tune composed by conductor Lorenzo Viotti, reinventing the melody of gongs by adding the “tritone,” a characteristic interval of classical music.
Like the Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon, the Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon has the more rounded octagonal case design typical of the Octo Roma family; however, this model features a 45mm titanium case.
Of course, the pièce de resistance of this watch is the BVV800 calibre. With a minute repeater on two tones, a carillon on three, and a grande and petite sonnerie on four tones, the Bulgari Manufacture in Le Sentier has mastered the gamut of chiming horological instruments.
With a DLC-treated skeletonized dial that coordinates with the black alligator strap, the BVV800 automatically chimes the hours and quarters as they pass, repeats the hour every hour, and can repeat the hours, quarters, and minutes on demand.
The Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie Tourbillon (Ref. 103962) is priced at CHF 859,000.
For more information, including availability, please visit the Bulgari website.
