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cvalue13
·I’m here to roast myself a bit. The Bulgari brand continues its impressive streak in horology, if not buyers. Meanwhile Rolex. But Tudor.
The 2021 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie jury just awarded the “Aiguille d’Or” the highest distinction for “finest timepiece of the year,” to the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar:
But that’s not all for Bulgari:
-> This year Bulgari had 4 watches as finalists in other categories, and all 4 also were finalists for the grand prize.
-> A Bulgari has won 5 different categories of the Grand Prix over the past 5 years (only one year did it not win a category, but the prior year won two categories), and in those 5 years had at least twice as many more nominated for categories.
-> Perhaps most impressively: this year’s perpetual calendar model was the seventh in an unbroken line since 2014 of Bulgari each year breaking the world record for thinness in new complications (beginning with thinnest automatic, then each year spinning through thinnest chronograph, tourbillon, etc., etc.).
And, for all 7 of those world records, I believe not one has yet been overtaken by another brand.
Really, for next year, I’m hard pressed to think of what complication Bulgari could make as the “thinnest” for which it does not already hold the world record.
Meanwhile Rolex.
I don’t know that Rolex even “enters” these events. If it does not, then it’s not surprising: the most they’ve done in the past 5 years is change the size of the Submariner by 1mm. If Rolex does enter these, then it’s not landed a nomination or prize in the past 7 years (Indidnt look back further).
Perhaps the last “interesting” watch by Rolex was the Sky-Dweller (I have one, and love it).
But Tudor.
In contrast to Rolex, Tudor definitely “enters” these events, and has done rather well over the last several years in the categories of “lower priced” watches, or basic sports models. For example, this year Tudor won the prize for the category “Petite Auguille” (watches with a retail price that falls between 3,500 and 10,000 Swiss francs) for the BB ceramic:
I’d somehow missed this BB ceramic, and I’m rather annoyed to have found it - what an impressive watch for US$4,750!
And Buyers?
Rolex’s newest no-date Submariner is trading well above MSRP, at essentially the same price point as the below-MSRP trade price of Bulgari’s world’s thinnest Octo Finissimo Chronograph-GMT. What are buyers valuing here, precisely?
No doubt the aesthetics of the Octo are divisive - or has hype merely trained us into that aesthetic viewpoint?
I for one think the Octo is incredible looking; and the moment I feel self-conscious about it, I remind myself the Octo is a Genta design contemporary with Genta’s heaviest hitting 70’s sports models (Royal Oak, Nautilus). Even if my aesthetics are off, could Genta’s have been? No, I think Genta was right, and the Octo is an impressive aesthetic addition to any watch box.
There’s also the issue of thinness perhaps deterring buyers. I mean, thin-ness. Perhaps some are hesitant to wear, or have serviced, such a micro-think watch?
In any event, here I sit with a Rolex no-date Sub, but no Octo Finissimo. (In my defense, I got my sub at MSRP.)
I should change this!
The 2021 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie jury just awarded the “Aiguille d’Or” the highest distinction for “finest timepiece of the year,” to the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar:
But that’s not all for Bulgari:
-> This year Bulgari had 4 watches as finalists in other categories, and all 4 also were finalists for the grand prize.
-> A Bulgari has won 5 different categories of the Grand Prix over the past 5 years (only one year did it not win a category, but the prior year won two categories), and in those 5 years had at least twice as many more nominated for categories.
-> Perhaps most impressively: this year’s perpetual calendar model was the seventh in an unbroken line since 2014 of Bulgari each year breaking the world record for thinness in new complications (beginning with thinnest automatic, then each year spinning through thinnest chronograph, tourbillon, etc., etc.).
And, for all 7 of those world records, I believe not one has yet been overtaken by another brand.
Really, for next year, I’m hard pressed to think of what complication Bulgari could make as the “thinnest” for which it does not already hold the world record.
Meanwhile Rolex.
I don’t know that Rolex even “enters” these events. If it does not, then it’s not surprising: the most they’ve done in the past 5 years is change the size of the Submariner by 1mm. If Rolex does enter these, then it’s not landed a nomination or prize in the past 7 years (Indidnt look back further).
Perhaps the last “interesting” watch by Rolex was the Sky-Dweller (I have one, and love it).
But Tudor.
In contrast to Rolex, Tudor definitely “enters” these events, and has done rather well over the last several years in the categories of “lower priced” watches, or basic sports models. For example, this year Tudor won the prize for the category “Petite Auguille” (watches with a retail price that falls between 3,500 and 10,000 Swiss francs) for the BB ceramic:
I’d somehow missed this BB ceramic, and I’m rather annoyed to have found it - what an impressive watch for US$4,750!
And Buyers?
Rolex’s newest no-date Submariner is trading well above MSRP, at essentially the same price point as the below-MSRP trade price of Bulgari’s world’s thinnest Octo Finissimo Chronograph-GMT. What are buyers valuing here, precisely?
No doubt the aesthetics of the Octo are divisive - or has hype merely trained us into that aesthetic viewpoint?
I for one think the Octo is incredible looking; and the moment I feel self-conscious about it, I remind myself the Octo is a Genta design contemporary with Genta’s heaviest hitting 70’s sports models (Royal Oak, Nautilus). Even if my aesthetics are off, could Genta’s have been? No, I think Genta was right, and the Octo is an impressive aesthetic addition to any watch box.
There’s also the issue of thinness perhaps deterring buyers. I mean, thin-ness. Perhaps some are hesitant to wear, or have serviced, such a micro-think watch?
In any event, here I sit with a Rolex no-date Sub, but no Octo Finissimo. (In my defense, I got my sub at MSRP.)
I should change this!
