What We Know
While I hate to repeat myself, I will yet again call something “the most surprising collaboration.” I mean, it feels warranted, especially when I say that not only have the minds at Bulgari handed over the reins to collaborate with an independent watchmaker for the first time ever, but they’ve done so with a maximalist mind that contrasts with Bulgari’s measured take on design. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Dual x Vianney Halter. What a world. And not only that, but Bulgari allowed Halter to take an Octo Finissimo movement and work with the brand to create modules to complement the Jules Vernian steampunk design.
The new movement, the BVF 200, is based on the BVL 138 and has an automatic microrotor winding system, but with modules to add a dual-time/GMT function, Day/Night indicator, and a large, rotating date. At the top right, you have the main time zone. Bottom left has another window for the GMT time (ostensibly set forward and backward with pushers on the left-hand case side, like a Patek travel time watch), a day/night indicator at the bottom right (capped by Vianney Halter’s name), and a giant aperture with a date disc, highlighting the date with a small fork. All of these functions are in porthole-style apertures like those found on Halter’s Antiqua. The movement runs at 3Hz and has a 60-hour power reserve.
From the side, the Octo Finissimo Dual Time x Vianney Halter is noticeably thicker than previous models. That’s not hard to do, since the Chronograph GMT is 6.9mm thick and the new 37mm version is 6.45mm. But it’s still not very thick. The watch comes in both sandblasted titanium cases (with a titanium bracelet) and a rose gold case (on a brown alligator strap), both measuring 40.5mm by 9.7mm “thin” (as the brand says). That number drops to 7.7mm when you don’t count the superfulous (but obviously unremovable) porthole flourishes. The cases have 30m water resistance. If either of these surprises tickle your fancy, or fantasy for the steampunk fans, the titanium version retails for $80,000 and is limited to 30 pieces, while the rose gold is $123,000 and is limited to 15 pieces.
In another interesting Octo Finissimo release, the brand is launching the “Dazzle,” an 80-piece limited edition Octo Finissimo built around the brand’s 40mm by 5.15mm sandblasted titanium case. The watch is inspired by automotive camouflage, though I should note that the history of dazzle camouflage is actually tied to an idea from British zoologist John Graham Kerr, who proposed (to Winston Churchill in 1914) a disruptive pattern material (DPM) to not conceal, but to change the perceived outline, size, distance, and direction of ships at sea—think zebras. The idea was widely used (though its efficacy was debated) until the larger implementation of radar made it easier for ships to find their targets. Now, automotive manufacturers use it to try to obscure their cars during street tests.
The watch has the BVL 138 micro-rotor movement with a 60-hour power reserve, running at 3Hz, and has only hours, minutes, and seconds. The watch has a laser-engraved geometric motif along the case and bracelet, which the brand said is meant to make the already geometric pattern of the watch dissolve into something more abstract. The Dazzle Octo will retail for $18,300.
What We Think
As I mentioned, the collaboration with Vianney Halter might be one of the most out-of-left-field things that I’ve seen in my time writing about watches. It really wasn’t something I expected, nor frankly wanted, when I first saw it. It’s growing on me, however. I don’t know if it’s a clash of steampunk and the possibly Italian Rationalist or Modernist styling of the Octo Finissimo, or if—just maybe—the two styles actually go together somehow, against all odds. Yes, it looks like a Halter dropped on top of an Octo Finissimo, but there’s something that keeps drawing me back in, even if at the same time I don’t really want to love it.
I don’t quite get the “Dazzle” watch, though maybe the effect works better in person. One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard from collectors about Bulgari’s original Tourbillon Ultra (an incredibly impressive watch) was the QR code on the mainspring barrel. Now the entire watch looks like a QR code (though my phone assures me it’s not). As someone with a passing interest in camouflage patterns (yet an inability to often spell the word on first, second, and often third attempts), it also doesn’t strike me as dazzle camouflage either. Despite its many variations, the closest I’ve ever seen in automotive design is Land Rover.
Going back to the original, while the RMS Mauretania had a navy, black, grey, and white harlequin-style checkerboard on its bow at one point, Kerr’s “parti-colouring,” as he called it, usually leaned heavily on zebra-style stripes. The pattern used here reminds me of multi-scale camouflage (or digi-cam, as some call it) used in Canada’s CADPAT and the US Marine Corps MARPAT. When the US Army attempted to use its own Universal Camouflage Pattern with a pixelated design, it remained unconvinced and went back to a Multicam-style Operational Camouflage Pattern. As evidenced by their GPHG entry, Toledano & Chan have their own dazzle watch coming, which fits the dazzle DPM brief better (in my opinion). That said, maybe I just can’t let go of the fact that I missed out on the Lee Ufan limited edition from last year. As for outlandish camo, I’ll take the reddish-brown and orange mix used by Oman’s military starting in the 1980s.
Pricing & Availability
Price: $80,000 (Bulgari x Halter in Titanium); $123,000 (Bulgari x Halter in Rose Gold); $18,300 (Bulgari “Dazzle”)
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: 30 pieces (Bulgari x Halter in Titanium); 15 pieces (Bulgari x Halter in Rose Gold); 80 pieces (Bulgari “Dazzle”)
For more, click here.
