Geneva Watch Days is the only international luxury watch event that has not been cancelled due to the ongoing Covid pandemic. For serious watch enthusiasts, this was the only event that had some of the major Swiss watch brands come together and present their new launches. Bvlgari was amongst one of these brands and one of its new launches is the Aluminium collection. The last time Bvlgari launched watch made of aluminium, it was 1998. These relatively low-costing watches will offer buyers something that they have not seen coming from the Roman luxury goods Maison lately.
The All-New Bvlgari Aluminium Series
The Bvlgari Aluminium and Aluminium Chronograph are essentially renditions of a watch that was released back in 1998. These watches successfully combined aluminium as the base material, quartz movements, and rubber straps. This might not sound very bold right now, but back in the 1990s, presenting a non-precious metal timepiece with a rubber strap was a big deal. I mean, Hublot did it in 1980 and it still took people over two decades to digest the fact that a rubber strap is acceptable in luxury watches.
Getting Into The Details
There have been many changes made in the new generation of Bvlgari Aluminium timepieces. For starters, the new range of Bvlgari Aluminium watches will be available in a case size of 40 mm. The structure of the lugs has also been tweaked a little to make sure that the watches sit nicely on the wrist. Additionally, the watches have been fitted with Swiss mechanical movements to keep watch enthusiasts interested. Unlike this, the previous generation of Bvlgari’s aluminium watches was given quartz movements to keep the costs in check.
Aluminium Time and Date – Three-Hand Model
Two of the models in this collection are classic three-hand references. One has a creamy off-white dial (Ref. 103382) and the other has a black dial. The cases are made out of aluminium while the case backs and crowns are made DLC treated titanium. The dull, matt aesthetic of the watches complement the sporty look of the timepieces and offer a very neat and clean look. The bezel of the new watches is one that will garner a lot of attention from buyers.
The inclined and thick bezel is made out of black rubber and is very bold. The iconic double Bvlgari Bvlgari inscriptions find their way on the top of the bezel as well. The bezel is so prominent that it almost over-powers the dial. For this, the watchmaker tool measures in order to make the dial equally empowering. If you look closely, you will notice the Arabic numeral hour markers at 12 and 6 o’clock are bigger than usual.
The tips of hour markers and the hour and minute hands are marked in luminescence. The date display at 3 o’clock has been retained. The central seconds hand is made in white while having a red tip to offers a dash of colour in a rather monochromatic layout.
Aluminium Chronograph
The Aluminium Chronograph (Ref. 103383) also follows the same monochromatic theme of black and white. It also has a case back and crown that are coated with DLC treated black titanium. Even the chronograph push pieces have the same material on them. The watch, similar to its 1998 counterpart, displays a ‘tricompax’ layout and a panda-style dial design. The bezel is made of black rubber, just like the three-hand references. The double Bvlgari Bvlgari inscriptions are there as well.
The off-white dial displays the same bold and enlarged Arabic numerals at 12 and 6 o’clock. The tips of the hour markers and hour and minute hands are also coated in luminescence. The three black coloured sub-dials are positioned at the lower half of the dial. You have the running seconds at 3 o’clock, the 12-hour totaliser at 6 o’clock, and the 30-minute totaliser at 9 o’clock. The inclusion of a date display at 4:30 might be a little off-putting for some but to each his own.
All that being said, the watch has more to offer in terms of the movement used.
The Movement
As mentioned earlier, the watches use mechanical automatic movements this time around instead of quartz calibres. These are, however, not in-house manufactured calibres. But this doesn’t mean that the movement will disappoint you. The Calibre B77 is essentially an ETA 2892 movement running at 28,800 vibrations per hour and equipped with a power reserve of 42 hours.
As far as the Aluminium Chronograph goes, the watch comes fitted with a Calibre B130, an ETA 2894 movement. The automatic movement offers a power reserve of 42 hours and a chronograph module while running at 28,800 vibrations per hour.
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