This is the kind of watch I picture a Russian Oligarch wearing.  According to Bulgari, the sonnerie function will chime over 433,500 times per a year if it is continuously operated.  The movement is quite impressive, with almost 1000 parts — watch the video below for a closer look.  One interesting thing about the movement is that it is an automatic (hence the rotor).  In ultra-complicated watches such as this one you almost always see a manual-wind movement.  This is nice, because it must be kind of a hassle to always be re-setting this watch as might be the case if it were a manual wind.

The Bulgari Daniel Roth Grande Sonnerie Quantieme Perpetual Calendar watch will be priced at 980,000 Swiss Francs, or in excess of $1,000,000 at current F/X.

Bulgari Daniel Roth Grande Sonnerie Quantieme Perpetual Watch

Video:

A full list of features is as follows:

-Westminster Carillon chimes
-Four gongs
-Grande Sonnerie
-Petite Sonnerie
-Minute Repeater
-Silence mode
-Tourbillon
-Perpetual Calendar
-Leap Year Indicator
-Month indicator
-Weekday indicator
-Date indicator
-Moon phases
-Automatic winding for movement and striking system
-Silent centrifugal governor
-Power reserve indicator for movement (48h)
-Power reserve indicator for striking system (28h in mode « Little »)
-Secured striking mode (during striking, the time setting system is disconnected)
-Secured time setting (during time setting, the striking system is disconnected)
-Secured striking system (the minute repeater is disconnected during striking in « passing » and vice-versa)
-Striking mode selector “chimes/silence » (rotating water resistant selector with indication)
-Striking mode selector « little/grand » (rotating water resistant selector with indication)

Impeccable…

A Grand Complication model housing a wealth of superlatives, the new Bulgari Grande Sonnerie Perpetual Calendar, Daniel Roth Collection, boasts a 923-part movement that sounds the Westminster chime while also providing full calendar indications.  The creation of this timepiece requires the steady hand of a master-watchmaker for a full year; 20 different functions are resident within its mechanical architecture.  Bulgari claims this watch to be in the 10 most complicated watches ever presented, though I have not verified this claim (lazy Thursday).  It is undoubtedly a majestic looking watch, with the sounds of the Westminster chime making it a desirable object for the serious watch connoisseur.

Bulgari Grande Sonnerie Perpetual Calendar

Pink Gold case, crown at 9 o’clock for time adjustments; strike/silence and Grande & Petite Sonnerie selectors at 10 and 7 o’clock respectively, minute repeater pusher at 9 o’clock

Dial
18-carat pink gold with alternating lacquered finish, opaline anthracite & snailed surface treatment, openworking; semi-transparent sapphire discs indicating the days and months.

Movement
Manufacture movement, Cal. DR 5307, comprising 923 parts & 82 jewels.
Grande Sonnerie with Westminster chime, 4 hammers, Perpetual Calendar, Minute Repeater, Tourbillon & Moon Phases.
Indication of the hours and minutes, day of the week and months, leap years, moon phases and date; double power-reserve indication for the movement and the striking mechanism

Complications and functions

Westminster Carillon
Four gongs
Grande Sonnerie
Petite Sonnerie
Minute Repeater
Silence mode
Tourbillon
Perpetual Calendar
Leap Year Indicator
Month indicator
Weekday indicator
Date indicator
Moon phases
Automatic winding for movement and striking system
Silent centrifugal governor
Power reserve indicator for movement (48h)
Power reserve indicator for striking system (28h in mode « Little »)
Secured striking mode (during striking, the time setting system is disconnected)
Secured time setting (during time setting, the striking system is disconnected)
Secured striking system (the minute repeater is disconnected during striking in « passing » and vice-versa)
Striking mode selector “chimes/silence » (rotating water resistant selector with indication)
Striking mode selector « little/grand » (rotating water resistant selector with indication)

This special edition Bulgari Diagono X-Pro is perhaps my favorite of the many special edition watches being produced for the upcoming celebration of “Purists” 10 year anniversary celebration in Las Vegas.  I really like the overall look of the regular Diagono X-Pro (see it here), and the blue color accents on the dial of this special Purists edition make it particularly appealing to me.  More broadly, I find the X-Pro to be a respectable offering from Bulgari as compared to its more tradional Bulgari Diagono’s which have bezel’s emblazoned with huge BVGLARI lettering that I find to be obnoxious and gaudy.  Price it:  $16,250.    Buy it.

BVLGARI PuristS 10^th Diagono X-Pro Watch

Limited edition 50 pieces

45mm steel+titanium case, special blue color accents on the dial, rubber-coated chrono pushers and crown, automatic mechanical movement (Bvlgari Calibre 312 which is a Valjoux 7750 base customized by La Joux-Perret Manufacture with an additional GMT module), on rubber strap with pin buckle

“PuristS 10th / One of Fifty” text on caseback

Here is a new watch from Bulgari “Daniel Roth”, the Grand Lune.  More on the “Daniel Roth” co-branding at the bottom of the post.  But first, the watch — it is a most interesting watch, good and bad — as I will also discuss below.

Bulgari Grande Lune

44mm rose gold elliptical case, split-level dial with white lacquer (top) and black gold satin-finished (bottom) surfaces, “3-hand” seconds hand (20 second increments), manual wind Frederic Piguet movement with Daniel Roth complication,

What I like about it is the split-level dial in different materials (white lacquer / satin-finished black gold) and the rather unique ’3-hand’ seconds hand — note each hand (each a different length) covers a 20-second increment.

The real deal killer here, though, is the “31-day” sub-dial.  Look closely and you can that some numbers face “inward” and some face “outward”.  If this it is a matter of preference, I guess I am in the “not a fan” camp.  I think it is confusing and does not look good, particular when the numbers transition from facing inward to outward — for example see the transition from “7″ to “9″ (which actually looks like a “6″) and “23″ to “25″ –looks just awful if you ask me.

Now as for the “Daniel Roth” name on the dial — you may recall that in January 2010, Bulgari announced the “end” of the high end and much adored “Daniel Roth” (and “Gerald Genta”) watch brand that it had previously acquired.  Actually, the strategy Bulgari announced was to feature the DR (and GG) brand along with the Bulgari brand on the watches.  Really, though, Bulgari basically co-opted the DD/GG brands and the “co-branding” strategy is now nothing more than a token nod to the Daniel Roth or Gerald Genta heritage.  In other words, what formerly would have been a “Daniel Roth” or a “Gerald Genta” watch is now a Bulgari watch.  While this transformation is lamented by many high-end watch collectors who have much love for both Roth and Genta, it is life — as an independent, you either survive, you get gobbled up, or you die. In another year or two, I expect you will neither see nor hear about Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta as they relate to Bulgari’s watches.

A nice addition to the Diagono collection…

The new Bulgari Diagono X-Pro is a watch I have been excited to write about since it was first previewed at Baselworld earlier this year.  I think that this is really a fantastic looking watch.  You may find it interesting to compare this watch to the Bulgari Diagono Caliber 303 Chronograph which was also introduced earlier this year, or even the Diagono collection in general — you will see that the new X-Pro has a somewhat sleeker and sportier look to it along new bezel and rubber strap designs, and as well the “BVLGARI” branding is much less in your face — precisely what I think makes this watch a winner.  The movement is a Bvlgari Calibre 312 which is a Valjoux 7750 base customized by La Joux-Perret Manufacture with an additional GMT module.   Perhaps the most distinctive element of this watch is the notched bezel which also has some interesting functionality with respect to its ability to measure a third timezone (two others on the main dial of the watch).  Not yet sure where it is being priced.

Bvlgari Diagono X-Pro

45mm case in titanium/steel/rubber

hours, minutes, small seconds; central chronograph seconds hand; central GMT hand; notched GMT bezel; date display

Here’s another new watch from Daniel Roth. Err, Bulgari.  Err, Bulgari Daniel Roth.  However you now call the brand, the watch is still every bit as beautiful and reflective of the technical expertise of the former Daniel Roth.   But I suppose it is time to get used to the “BVLGARI” branding on it because soon I expect that is all there will be.  Not that this would be a bad thing if they continue with watches such as this — one of the new novelties from Baselworld 2010 – a split-second chronograph (aka rattrapante) with tourbillon.  It looks quite nice, in my opinion, though some may prefer Bulgari Daniel Roth Torubillon Lumiere Skeleton watch that I showed a couple weeks ago.  I’d guess the price on this beauty would be somewhere close to $100,000, but no official word yet.

46 mm double ellipse case in 18-carat rose gold, crown and pushers in 18-carat rose gold, transparent sapphire crystal caseback, water-resistant to 30 meters; Mechanical hand-wound movement, Tourbillon regulator, split-second chronograph, date and 48 hour power-reserve, Côtes de Genève and circular-grained finishing; Convex split-level white lacquered and satin-brushed dial; Alligator leather strap fitted with a triple-blade folding clasp in 18-carat rose gold.

Minimal, transparent and elegant…

For the first time we see a very obvious Daniel Roth watch with the Bulgari brand on it.  While I’m still not sure how this whole “co-branding” thing will work out between Bulgari and Daniel Roth (Bulgari owns Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta and recently announced that Bulgari brand would essentially become the primary brand –and you can read more here), I can still appreciate the incredible look of this new watch.  The plates, bridges and ratchet-wheel are meticulously openworked.   The dial merges into the movement and features a minimum of finely engraved metal serving to mark the hour circle on the front and the power-reserve display on the back.   The main plate is barely 3.48 mm thick, making this model one of the world’s thinnest tourbillon watches.

Bulgari Daniel Roth Tourbillon Lumière

44 mm 18-carat rose gold, mechanical hand-wound “skeleton-work” movement, Calibre DR 780, Tourbillon, power-reserve display, hand-decorated gold bridges and mainplate, 64-hour power reserve, anti-glare sapphire crystals on the front and back, blued steel serpentine hands. comes on alligator leather strap with rose gold pin buckle.

Bulgari Diagono Caliber 303 Chronograph

A Baselworld pre-release from Bulgari, and it is a nice looking chronograph in the Diagono collection.  Nice looking as in I like the choice of colors.  As you may know, the Bulgari Diagono collection has been around for more than 20 years now, and it is probably the “signature” look for Bulgari watches.  While I think Bulgari is still a bit too much on the “fashion brand” side of the watch world for me, they are clearly trying to change that now by assimilating integrating Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta, so maybe I will keep a closer eye on the brand. This particular model is of course powered by the 303-part BVL caliber 303, an automatic movement that is finished entirely by hand (it is a Piguet 1185 base movement, for you real watch nerds out there).  This movement is a column-wheel chronograph which means which is a step-up from your basic chronograph movement in that it prevents the chrono second hand from skipping when it starts/stops/resets.  Other Specs:   40mm steel case, 13mm thick, sapphire crystal caseback, water resistant 100 meters, blue alligator strap.  Here it is:

As a partner of The TimeTV.com, I on behalf of Perptuelle.com am pleased to bring you this exclusive message from Mr Francesco Trapani, CEO of the Bulgari Group, about Bulgari’s new watchmaking strategy.  Daniel Roth and Gerald Genta will no longer stand on their own, but will instead be co-branded on Bulgari watches.

FULL VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

“Dear Friends, Collectors and esteemed watch Connoisseurs,

Today, I would like to share with you some important news as Bulgari is entering a new era which is significantly impacting the future of the Brand.

Ten years ago, I expressed in an interview the desire to develop our know-how in the watch complication craftsmanship sector.

Subsequently Bulgari built, in different stages, a network of manufacturing facilities for the production of top-of-the-range cases, dials and watch bracelets.

In parallel, we progressively expanded our knowledge of the mechanical base movement as well as our expertise in the field of the complicated movement.

Today I can safely say: our mission is accomplished!

This long process has now reached its final stage, after following a strategy which developed and integrated the mastery of watchmaking operations that began a decade ago.

Now it is time for a further step: to complement Bulgari watchmaking with a strong presence in the high-end and grandes complications watch creations.

Consequently I have decided to merge the cutting-edge skills of our Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth Manufacture in Le Sentier with the prestigious image of Bulgari, a strong name in the world of luxury.

While preserving their technical and aesthetic qualities, the Daniel Roth and the Gérald Genta timepieces will from now be fully integrated into the collection of the Bulgari Brand.

This alliance is sealed on the new watch creations, where the Bulgari Brand is featured along with the Gérald Genta and Daniel Roth logos.

This union is the fruit of a rational and organic evolution.

This integration into the overall dynamics of our Brand represents a great achievement. United, our respective areas of expertise will from now on allow Bulgari to complete its strategic process.

The merger of these skills offers Bulgari new perspectives and dimensions.

It allows us to advance in the sector of watch excellence through exclusive collections at a very high level.

The merger will also ensure that the know-how of the Manufacture Daniel Roth and Gérald Genta will be permanently preserved in a definitive manner also by strictly respecting its DNA and its tradition.

Every union of two individualities embodies a positive evolution.

As in all unions, the meeting of individual values sets off a new concept.

Our union combines 125 years of history dedicated to the passion for beauty and contemporary design with the sum of exceptional technical human skills and finest quality.

I am therefore, today, extremely pleased to invite you all to discover our newest creations by visiting us at the Salon Mondial de l’Horlogerie in Basel on March 18th, 2010”.