We all need a little sparkle in 2021, and Bulgari has certainly done its best to deliver, with a collection of ambitious horological novelties that assert its mastery as a jeweller and watchmaker.
From its record-breaking ultra-thin Octo Finissimo timepieces to the mesmerising sparkle of its jewel-encrusted watches for women, Bulgari offers something to delight every connoisseur.
LVMH Group’s watch division unveiled their 2021 novelties at their self-styled Watch Week, the group’s in-house answer to the fading dominance of the traditional Swiss watch fair.
The inaugural event took place in Dubai last year, while the 2021 edition 2 has been beamed virtually around the world to media and industry insiders thanks to Covid-19 restrictions.
One of the most famous jewellery houses in the world, Bulgari has, in recent years, asserted itself as a master of watchmaking too, thanks to several world records and impressive technical achievements.
And while the past year has proven challenging for the luxury segment, at Bulgari, the mood is one of careful yet confident optimism.
The LVMH group overall recorded revenue of 30.3 billion euros ($36.5bn) in the first nine months of 2020, down 21 percent to the same period in 2019, with its watchmaking and jewellery division recording a loss in organic revenue of 30 percent in the first nine months of 2020.
Within that division however, Bulgari reported triple-digit growth in ecommerce, making online sales one of the swiftest growing segments for the brand, and with a rebound during the final quarter bringing the overall decline to 14 percent.
Bulgari has, in recent years, asserted itself as a master of watchmaking too
Bulgari has done well considering the extremely challenging market conditions and closure of boutiques worldwide during the height of the pandemic. What do you attribute to its success in such a tough time?Â
Organisations and people have been affected in all sorts of ways, in purchasing and consuming… but we did not necessarily see a big difference to previous years despite the lockdowns; for me it is interesting to realise that people adapt and are agile in so many ways.
I see two distinct reasons: Firstly there is a strong, positive mind-set about the values communicated by the brand. It is a feel-good brand, and its capacity to convey a positive message has an enduring impact on customers.
This is ongoing through our events, our communication, the enthusiasm of our leadership and our ambassadors. Positive values are extremely important in these kind of moments.Â
In moments of tension, you have to ask yourself what your mission and purpose is. You have to challenge yourself to ask what you can give and to go right back to your basics and you get to the kernel.
For Bulgari, this is the idea of enjoyable items, of celebrating life and natural beauty, of the joy of manufacturing and creating. Inside the company, our watchmakers and gemmologists, our workshop heads, every one of them is so passionate and happy about their work, and this joy and dedication to every piece they are working on, is so important.
Octo Finissimo S Chronograph
How crucial is it to safeguard the right corporate environment for Bulgari to consistently deliver creative, bold products and how is this implemented?
Good leaders lead by example and are the first to be entrepreneurial and creative and agile. This agility in our company is one of the reasons why we passed through the crisis reasonably well.
Our CEO Jean-Christophe Babin is a leader who leapt out of his comfort zone immediately, suggesting we produce sanitising products for hospitals, support medical research for vaccines and support the research against all kinds of future viruses. He expressed an extreme level of energy dedicated to fighting this major disruption in our lives.
We don’t of course imagine that we are a significant actor within the world of CSR, but we still have a role to play and we played it very quickly and with all our hearts.
What are some of the practical ways that Bulgari has moved to adapt its working environment in respect of Covid-19 precautions?
People protection, expressed in several ways. For example, it is forbidden to enter our three production facilities unless you work there.
We respect extremely strictly sanitary guidelines. Anyone who comes into contact with anyone sick has to quarantine for two weeks and take a Covid-19 test.
We have systematic policies in place and fingers crossed have had no cluster cases in the office aside from one time because of one lunch.
The second level of protection is the moral one, which we underestimate, but we have tried to convey that if there is a problem we are here to listen, or if they are lonely because of the reduced social interaction.
The third level of protection is job protection. We have managed to have no headcount reduction. Our directors have worked extraordinarily hard on added value, adjusting capacity, reallocating functions. After a year, fingers crossed, I am happy we have managed to achieve this while maintaining our activity.
The 2021 novelties express the brand’s mastery is several areas within watchmaking, is it important to keep underscoring that the brand is not just a jewellery brand?
It is super important for us. We have spent a lot of time over the past few years creating world records in ultra-thin watches, we have established Octo Finissimo as a watch icon, and we have pushed our expertise in micro-mechanisms.
Our mastery in thin watches for women was expressed last year through the women’s Serpenti Tourbillon, which was the smallest movement in the world for women.
Octo Finissimo Chronograph Blue Dial
What are some of the highlights this year?
This year there are three additions to the Octo Finissimo family, the Octo Finissimo S in a new monochrome style, the Octo Finissimo S Chronograph GMT, and the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Titanium with a new dial and rubber strap.
Bulgari’s Octo Roma Carillon Tourbillon is a true masterpiece of watchmaking, a chiming watch with a very contemporary design. Our women’s watches reflect our jewellery savoir-faire, from the Serpenti Spiga to our Lucea watches and Diva’s Dream high jewellery watches that are exceptional.