The following article was produced in partnership with Bulgari.
Watchmaking is both an art and a science. It demands extreme precision, engineering wizardry and uncompromising efficiency, yet it is also deeply emotive, artisanal and creative.
Music is the same. Of course, it’s a discipline where keeping time is utterly crucial, especially if one performs in a group or an orchestra – it’s about being part of a fine-tuned machine. But music is nothing without spirit, passion, improvisation and individuality, too.
That’s why when famed luxury maison Bulgari announced Lorenzo Viotti as their new global brand ambassador last year, it made so much sense.
The chief conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Dutch National Opera, the highly acclaimed 33-year-old’s career has been nothing short of meteoric. Viotti ranks as one of the most famous and talented conductors active today, having conducted renowned orchestras and opera houses throughout the world, from the Staatskapelle in Berlin and the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon to The Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Born in Lausanne, Switzerland to an Italian family, the French-Swiss conductor perfectly embodies Bulgari’s constant search for excellence and its unique balance of passion for the heritage and desire to break new grounds.
In many ways, Bulgari couldn’t ask for a better ambassador. Bulgari’s watches are crafted in Switzerland but have unmistakably Italian roots, and Lorenzo is Swiss with Italian heritage. But to be more poetic, there’s no mistaking those deep parallels between the flowing artistry of Lorenzo’s conducting – the interplay of precision and passion – and high-end mechanical watchmaking.
That interplay between Italian aesthetic flair and Swiss watchmaking excellence is typified by Bulgari’s newest Octo Roma collection. Inspired by the enduring architecture of Rome, the Eternal City, the Octo Roma is indeed a Roman watch by both name and nature… Yet it beats with a practical and refined Swiss heart.
Available as either a time and date-only piece or as a chronograph, the 2023 Octo Roma features a striking new Clous de Paris dial which gives the versatile timepiece a sporty and intensely luxurious character.
That sporty character is enhanced by Bulgari’s new in-house calibres, the BVL191 and BVL399 chronograph movement, which are twice as water-resistant as previous Bulgari calibres while being more refined and precise.
(ref. 103829)
(ref. 103738)
A new quick-change strap system makes it easy for wearers to express themselves by swapping out the Octo Roma’s sporty rubber strap for a more formal leather strap or its alluring steel thin-link bracelet. If you’re anything like Lorenzo, you’ve got a packed social calendar that demands different dress codes – why compromise?
Whether you’re a globe-trotting master conductor or simply just a lover of Italian design, Swiss engineering and the finer things in life, the Bulgari Octo Roma is the watch you need in your life, prestissimo.
Find out more about Bulgari’s partnership with Lorenzo Viotti as well as the new Bulgari Octo Roma collection here.