The Bvlgari Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon (Live Pics & Price)

Rome-based watchmaker/jeweller Bvlgari has unique credentials as a maker of chiming watches. Following the acquisition of Gerald Genta and Daniel Roth some 20 years ago, the brand has inherited and cultivated a tradition of crafting exceptional striking watches. Bvlgari is one of the very few makers to produce grande sonnerie wristwatches or to be capable of creating mechanical wonders as the Octo Finissimo minute repeater, the thinnest minute repeater ever. To kick off 2022, the brand presents a new version of its tourbillon minute repeater watch, the Bvlgari Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon in platinum with its highly graphic movement treated in blue.

The Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon combines two traditional complications – the tourbillon and the minute repeater – in a resolutely contemporary design language. Just like the blacked-out version presented last year, this new chapter in the “Sinfonia della Meccanica” stands out with the original and tri-dimensional architecture of its movement. In an unusual fashion, the hammers of the minute repeater mechanism are featured dial side while the one-minute tourbillon beats at 6 o’clock. The skeletonised grille-style bridges (now coated in blue with an ALD treatment) reveal the complex mechanism. Flip the watch over and the exhibition caseback offers a clear view of the intricate chiming mechanism with its cams and racks. Such mechanisms are usually hidden underneath the dial and seeing it in action is a feast for the eyes.  

Entirely manufactured in-house, the hand-wound calibre BVL428 measures 35mm in diameter and is 8.35mm thick. It comprises a total of 432 components. Beating at 3Hz, its power reserve is of 75 hours when fully wound (there is a circular power reserve indicator on the caseback). As mentioned before, it is an inverted construction with the hammers visible dial side. Last but not least, as its name suggests, it is a carillon minute repeater. As such, it features not two but three hammers to chime the time. Activated by the pusher on the left side of the case, the melodic sequence strikes three tones: the note C for the hours, the notes E-D-C for the quarters and the note E for the minutes. 

The movement of the Bvlgari Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon is housed in the architectural octagonal Roma case. Measuring 44mm in diameter, it is made of platinum with a blue titanium middle case. The crown and the pusher are in white gold. The caseband is designed to maximise sound and allow its diffusion. The various grooves are meant to reduce the amount of metal between the inside and outside, and the three openings on the caseband correspond to the three gongs, thus allowing the sound to exit the chamber in an optimal way (the gongs are attached directly to the body of the case for optimal sound transmission). The back is also hollowed out for the same reason.

Availability & Price

A blue alligator strap with a platinum three-blade folding buckle completes this new chapter in the Bvlgari Sinfonia della Meccanica. Limited to 30 pieces, the Octo Roma Blue Carillon Tourbillon retails for EUR 262,295 (excl. taxes). More information at www.bulgari.com