First, a flashback to 2020 when we launched our Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT in sandblasted titanium with a fully luminous dial designed by the incredible Fabrizio Buonamassa Stigliani, Director of Watch Design at Bvlgari. The objective was to create the ultimate “tool” version of the stunning record-setting automatic chronograph with the peripheral rotor. Any tool watch needs to have luminous indexes and hands. But with a dial that is only 0.3mm thick, the indexes and hands were just too thin to be coated with LumiNova. The solution then proposed by Buonamassa was to paint the entire dial with LumiNova so that all of the all the indications would stand out in negative relief.
During the creation process, there was a second prototype that was made which featured an altogether different dial. It was a dial that was so luminous that it basically glowed bright green all the time — almost giving the illusion of the watch having an LED screen.
Accordingly, we named this dial the Nuclear Option. Even though it was passed over for the White Light project, we couldn’t stop thinking about it. When we asked Buonamassa what kind of watch the Nuclear Option dial should go into, he immediately replied, “It should be the ultimate stealth material for maximum contrast, like black sandblasted ceramic.”
And with that, the follow-up to the “White Light” chronograph was born: the 2021 Bvlgari Octo Finissimo Ceramic Chronograph GMT “Nuclear Option” for Revolution & The Rake, our third timepiece with our friends at Bvlgari. Limited to just 30 pieces, priced at USD $19,550, and available now on RevolutionWatch.com
