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These stunning limited-edition complications epitomise horological excellence and refined masculinity.

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Art Direction Sepfry Ng 

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Bvlgari, the world-renowned Italian Jeweler of Time, launched in Shanghai, China its new Serpenti Seduttori styles and brilliant new editions of its most iconic collections.

Related article: A Golden Extravaganza At Bvlgari’s “Born To Be Gold” In Shanghai

Like all Bvlgari jewels and watches, these pieces are designed for a man who desires to stand out, with signature motifs capturing the rare character of the Bvlgari aesthetic.

A SYNTHESIS OF ITALIAN PASSION AND SWISS PERFECTION

Bvlgari has always been unconventional, turning the status quo on its head with its distinctive Italian exuberance and an enduring passion for innovative materials and techniques. True to form, the brand continues to the push the envelope and rewrite the rules of watchmaking with its timepieces, each of which represents an inspired fusion of Italian creativity and Swiss engineering and design, which reached a pinnacle with the Octo Finissimo saga, the ultrathin watches that carried the entire genre into the 21st century and were recognized with five world records for their extraordinary design. Riding that wave of momentum, the manufacture continues to forge ahead with new styles and collections that exhibit the same fearless and striking spirit.

WATCHES WITH THE SOUL OF A JEWEL

Through the years, Bvlgari has assumed a unique position as the “jeweler of time”. In both its women’s and men’s collections, timepieces stand out for their sublime details and proportions, the subtle way they catch the light, the preciousness of materials and ultra-refined craftsmanship. To the most minute degree, function follows form; each technical element must not only be impeccably wrought, but it must also exist in service to the distinctive design codes of the brand.

BORN TO BE GOLD

Bvlgari’s inimitable aesthetic is beautifully brought to life in the new Serpenti Seduttori styles. Born to be gold, they evoke the precious moments of a woman’s life, and three new models complete the line, making for a confident collection that sets a new standard of contemporary glamour. Other designs will also make their China debut at the event, linked by their excellence and the uncommon values that underpin each creation. For men or women, each timepiece is not only beautiful but meticulously made, and therefore quintessentially Bvlgari in every facet of its existence.

Here are 5 Bvlgari watch models on our radar:

1. Octo Roma Monete

With Extra-Thin Skeleton movement

Antiquity meets cutting edge contemporary design with the new Octo Roma Monete watches with Finissimo Tourbillon movement.

Set with 2000-year-old Roman coins, each of the styles fuses Octo’s innovative eight-sided shape with the allure of Bvlgari’s unique connection to the Eternal City. The coins open with the touch of a button to reveal the caliber BVL 268 SK, a mechanical manufacture movement with manual winding and flying tourbillon.

2. Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton

In platinum with blue skeletonized movement

This precious model features a 40mm platinum case set with baguette-cut diamonds and has been made in a limited edition of 50 pieces.

Fitted with the same movement as the Octo Monete, its blue skeletonized movement is a nod to the color of the year.

3. The Octo Finissimo

The saga continues with five world records

Since launching in 2014, the Octo Finissimo has achieved five world records for its remarkably thin design. The latest was given to the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT introduced at Baselworld 2019, the thinnest ever mechanical Chronograph in watchmaking history.

The most extraordinary breakthrough is that it is an Automatic with GMT function and a record-setting 3.3mm thinness. The Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Automatic represents the fifth element for the collection — in other words, it is the quintessence of Octo, a perfect fusion of design and technology in a remarkably thin body.

4. Octo Roma Tourbillon Sapphire Skeleton

With jade and lapis lazuli

Bvlgari continues to reinforce its position as the Jeweler of Time through the introduction of men’s timepieces featuring jade and lapis lazuli. This is the first time these types of stones have been used in men’s styles.

The construction of the case, combining sapphire and hard stones, is specifically complex since it relates to assemble perfectly delicate gems of nature but offering a sparkling combination of colors. The jade version, Yu or Jewel of Heaven, is brand new.

5. Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie

with Perpetual Calendar

2019 is the year of the Grande Sonnerie. To mark the occasion, Bvlgari is presenting a new extraordinary Octo Roma Grande Sonnerie with Perpetual Calendar. Similar to a style presented at Baselworld 2019 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first Grande Sonnerie created by Gerald Genta in 1994, the new style features an 18-karat white gold case set with baguette diamonds and a titanium middle case.

It is available in an ultra-limited edition of 8, and the one we will exhibit at the event is number 8 in the series, making it a very special piece for the Asian markets.

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In the upcoming ‘No Time To Die’ James Bond film, 007 will be wearing a special new Omega Seamaster watch. Guess what? You can actually buy this very watch. The new Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition was designed in collaboration with Daniel Craig and the producers of the film. The timepiece itself comes in at […]

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MB&F has just announced the new Legacy Machine Thunderdome, a timepiece that’s been in the works for four years. Maximilian Büsser, the founder of MB&F, had an idea four years ago to bring together two of the world’s most talented watchmakers. They are Eric Coudray and Kari Voutilainen. Eric was tasked with making the “craziest, […]

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Girard-Perregaux has just announced that their new Laureato Absolute Rock is available for purchase. This watch was first unveiled at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie back in January of this year. Since then, watch collectors have been waiting patiently to get their hands on the new watch. There are many aspects that make […]

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Watch aficionados and members of the media were given a special treat at The St Regis Hong Kong hotel on November 22, when Hublot lifted the lid on its high jewellery watchmaking craftsmanship, imagination and history at a special event, the 2019 Hublot Watch Academy.

[caption id="attachment_177110" align="alignnone" width="1343"] Hublot Big Bang Meca-10 Nicky Jam King Gold[/caption]

Arriving at the event, guests were treated to an interactive experience at the Cave of Gemstone, where they could immerse themselves thoroughly in the world of a Hublot craftsmanship.

[caption id="attachment_177111" align="alignnone" width="2240"] Hublot Big Bang One Click Rainbow[/caption]

It was then time for the main event, with guests proceeding on to the Mystery Room, which housed the Watch Academy, hosted by Hublot R&D director Mathias Buttet, who explained the significance of the many remarkable pieces on display. They included the Big Bang Unico King Gold Paraíba, Big Bang Unico Haute Joaillerie, Big Bang Meca-10 Nicky Jam King Gold, Classic Fusion Orlinksi Aerofusion Chronograph High Jewellery, Spirit of Big Bang Tourbillon 5 Day Power Reserve King Gold Jewellery, Big Bang 45mm, MP11 White Gold High Jewellery, and Big Bang Unico and Big Bang One Click Rainbow.

[caption id="attachment_177112" align="alignnone" width="2240"] Mr. Mathias Buttet, Hublot R&D Director sharing the remarkable innovations and achievements in high jewellery watches[/caption]

The last of those, together with the Big Bang Unico Rainbow, are the most recent watches to be introduced by the house, and have already caused quite a stir. A riot of colour, they are as innovative in their design as they are luxurious in their lavish adornment of gemstones. Each features a chromatic bezel featuring 48 baguette-cut gems, while an entire rainbow of colours lights up their dials and cases, thanks to the presence of brilliant-cut rubies, pink sapphires, amethysts, blue sapphires, blue topazes, tsavorites, yellow sapphires and orange sapphires; the 39mm Big Bang One Click Rainbow comes with 425 stones and the 45mm Big Bang Unico Rainbow with 388. The timepieces’ vibrant colour scheme extends to their straps, which come in a combination of alligator leather and natural rubber; the straps are also fully and easily interchangeable. The Big Bang Unico Rainbow is powered by a Manufacture Unico chronograph movement featuring a 72-hour power reserve, while the Big Bang One Click Rainbow comes equipped with a mechanical self-winding movement featuring a 50-hour power reserve.

[caption id="attachment_177113" align="alignnone" width="1272"] Hublot Big Bang Unico King Gold Paraíba[/caption]

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A new line of sports watches by Chopard expands technological horizons while remaining firmly in the traditions of the long-established watchmaking and jewellery house.

Introduced in 1980, the St. Moritz was the first sports watch to be created by the illustrious watchmaker and jeweller Chopard. Named after the ritzy Swiss Alpine resort town where the company operated one of its early boutiques, it was also the first timepiece to be designed by Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, whose parents – Karl and Karin – had bought the Geneva-based brand in 1963. At the time just 22 years old, the young Scheufele had come up with a watch that, with its elegant, functional and a forward-thinking design that incorporates a screwed bezel, tonneau shape and integrated bracelet, ticks many boxes today and in retrospect appears remarkably prescient.

Perhaps for Chopard customers, however, the St. Moritz was just a little too far ahead of its time because, though certainly handsome – it came in steel, and yellow- or white-gold, as well as two-tone and diamond-set versions, with dial indices a distinctive mix of simple markers and Roman numerals – it was eventually replaced in the brand’s line-up. As Chopard’s men’s collections began to veer in two different directions – namely classic dress watches and motorsport-inspired timepieces – the St. Moritz remained little more than a memory until the moment when Scheufele, who was by now the company’s co-president, was asked by his son Karl-Fritz about the example that he’d spotted lying on his dad’s desk. Not only was the third-generation scion intrigued by St. Moritz’s evident modernity, but he also told his father that it was exactly the kind of watch that the family-owned concern should be making in today’s market.

[caption id="attachment_173134" align="alignnone" width="2000"] Johannes Huebl wearing the Alpine Eagle[/caption]

Fast forward some five years to the autumn of 2019 and a world that’s now mad for sports watches in steel, and Chopard has done exactly what Karl-Fritz suggested, by mining its history to create a new model that references its own legacy, yet perfectly connects with the prevailing zeitgeist. Although not exactly a rebirth of the St. Moritz – if nothing else, the resort town has settled into what might be called a hyper-affluent maturity in the intervening years, so the name isn’t quite as glamorous as it once was – the new Alpine Eagle retains several key elements of its predecessor, though all have been subtly reinterpreted. More contemporary and sporty, it’s been given a mildly outdoorsy edge of ruggedness, which contrasts with its svelte lines and embodies Scheufele’s own professed love of the mountains.

Initially available in two sizes – 41mm (in three references) and 36mm (in seven references) – the Alpine Eagle has been designed for both men and women, with the smaller size not necessarily being aimed at the latter. All are powered by a COSC-certified, self-wound manufacture calibre – either the 01.01-C with a 60-hour reserve in 41mm variants and, in smaller models, the 09.01-C with 42 hours of power – and all, thanks partly to the bezel’s eight retaining screws, boast water resistance of 10 bar.

[dual-images right-image-url="https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/298600-3001-6.jpg" left-image-url="https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/298601-3002-2.jpg" right-caption="A 41mm timepiece in Lucent Steel A223 featuring an Aletsch Blue brass dial with sunburst motif inspired by the iris of an eagle’s eye, equipped with the Chopard chronometer-certified (COSC) 01.01-C mechanical movement with automatic winding, presented on a Lucent Steel A223 bracelet." left-caption="A 36mm timepiece in Lucent Steel A223 featuring a Frosted White mother-of-pearl dial and a diamond-set bezel, equipped with the Chopard chronometer-certified (COSC) 09.01-C mechanical movement with automatic winding, presented on a Lucent Steel A223 bracelet."]

As is now customary at Chopard, ethical rose gold is an option on the Alpine Eagle, as are diamond-set gold bezels and bracelets, as well as mother-of-pearl dials. The hero material on this new line of watches, however, must surely be stainless steel – or, to be much more accurate, a rare and unique new alloy created after four years of research that’s known as A223 Lucent Steel. Remarkable, among other attributes, for its purity, hardness, physical brilliance and beauty, it also contains a proportion of recycled stainless steel, which also helps the brand attain its sustainability objectives. Chopard also claims that its vertically integrated production processes mean that all movement, case and bracelet parts are manufactured in-house.

As equally arresting as the case, screw-down bezel and integrated bracelet is a rock-textured dial on some versions of the Alpine Eagle that evokes the raptor’s eye, against which the slender, Super-Luminova-coated hands and indices (and, as with the St. Moritz, the latter comprise markers and Roman numerals) gleam in the dark like the snow on a rocky mountain top. The dial’s rough contours also contrast strikingly with the satin-brushed flat surfaces, the polished chamfered edges and the elegant simplicity of its bracelet.

A passionate skier and hiker who spends as much of his spare time as he can in the mountains, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele is a member of the Alp Action programme, an ecological initiative set up by the late Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan in 1990. Dedicated to the great bird that rules the skies over those majestic mountains, Chopard’s new Alpine Eagle is a state-of-the-art symbol both of that passion, yet it’s and also the perfect embodiment of the creativity and savour-faire of a maison that has more than a century and a half of craftsmanship, technical mastery and tradition to draw on.

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Corum AC-ONE 45 Chronograph Since 1960, Corum has been a leader in the yachting watch world thanks to its innovative Admiral’s watch with nautical pennants on the dial. Now, the brand unveils its newest rendition – one that offers modernity and character thanks to several important design details. The 45mm watch is crafted in titanium […]

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In September, OMEGA announced the new Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond Limited Edition watch and it was an instant hit. To continue to the success of this watch, OMEGA is now releasing the Seamaster Diver 300M James Bond Limited Edition Set. Just 257 sets have been created and each comes in a Globe-Trotter™ suitcase. Inside […]

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Casio has just announced the new MTGB1000XBD-1, a new addition to their MT-G model line. This new metal-based watch has a mid-sized case and bezel crafted out of carbon fiber. It comes with a few of the sought-after G-SHOCK features. The addition of Bluetooth connectivity allows the watch to connect to the G-SHOCK Connected App. […]

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